Ambedkar advised shunning violent ways in post-1947 India: Bhagwat

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Tuesday said B R Ambedkar had felt that violence and even a non-violent protest such as a "Satyagraha" should have no place in independent India.

Interestingly, his statement came against the backdrop of today's anti-quota Bandh and last week's shutdown by Dalit outfits against the alleged dilution of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, which had witnessed violence.

"Today, our methods and deeds are totally different (than those of the freedom fighters) and they will have to be so. In the speech in the Constituent Assembly, Ambedkar had said that what we did during the British rule was fine for that time. Resorting to violence, like we did during the British rule, will not work in our own rule (post Independence)," Bhagwat said.

"He (Ambedkar) had even said that while a Satyagraha was legally permissible, even that was not required in our rule. The only way to get a work done was through the courts," the RSS chief said, speaking at the launch of a website dedicated to revolutionary Sardarsinh Rana.

The freedom fighters had contributed to the country in different ways, Bhagwat said, adding that while some had focussed on a political awakening, others had taken up social reforms, while yet another section of them had taken up arms.

"Men of a similar nature work differently in special situations, but that does not make them different....what they (freedom fighters) did is inspirational and worth following, but the times have changed and we cannot do what they did in their time," he said.

"We should all work for the betterment of the country, trust each other's authenticity, and if we are authentic, those who are wrong, will change themselves.

"But instead, we are always trying to drag each other down out of selfishness. There is no exception to this. I am not blaming any one person. Why do we tend to do so in public life?" he wondered.

The website on Rana would provide an insight into the life of the revolutionaries, who were "thoughtful people who took a step after considering everything", Bhagwat said.

"The revolutionaries teach us the meaning of sacrifice and how to give everything to the country. To learn these things, follow the example of the revolutionaries and Sardarsinh Rana was one such example.

"We have to create a new India. It is required. The country either progresses or goes back. If the country moves forward, we will also progress, but if it goes back, we will face the same situation," the RSS chief said.

Rana (1870-1957), who hailed from Bhavnagar, was one of the founders of the Paris Indian Society in France and supported the Indian freedom movement.