The second thing we are wanting in is recognition of the principle of fraternity. What does fraternity mean? Fraternity means a sense of common brotherhood of all Indians-if Indians being one people. It is the principle which gives unity and solidarity to social life.” — Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s concluding remarks in the Constituent Assembly on the Constitution making process and future of our democracy, November 25, 1949
The festive season is relatively subdued thanks to the Covid-19 Pandemic. Still, we cannot entirely give up the celebrations that essentially bring positivity in our life. Vijayadashmi is the celebration of victory – the victory of Dharma over Adharma. When the world is going through different kinds of upheavals, how to stand for the cause of Dharma? Similar to an unknown virus Like Covid-19, if we deal with the known viruses with full rigour and by increasing our inherent immunity, we will be contributing to the cause of Dharma.
The irresponsible, expansionist and exploitative behaviour of Communist China is evident even when the world is grappling with the Pandemic. Though the political and military leadership is fighting the enemy with full rigour, overall intellectual and media narrative looks very defeatist. Some media houses and political parties are using the occasion to corner the present dispensation for their petty political objectives. The role of ordinary people is also very crucial in such a scenario. As Prime Minister Modi cautioned us – ‘Lockdown is over, but the virus is still there’, and we cannot be careless until a tested vaccine is available.
Similarly, the communist virus that has been inflicting many blows from outside and within is down but not out. It has been trying its best to weaken our democratic structure in all possible ways. We must continue to boycott and reject Chinese dumping of goods in the Bharatiya market and opt for the Swadeshi goods as we did during the freedom struggle.
Another threat to peace and prosperity is the virus of Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism. The recent incident of teacher’s beheading in France is a lesson for the entire humanity. Blasphemy is an alien concept to the Bharatiya ethos. Unfortunately, practitioners of such intolerance are exercising unconstitutional censorship and perpetuating violence. They consistently target our real practice of ‘liberal’ spiritual democracy. Some intellectuals even defend the same in the name of ‘secularism’. This fraudulent interpretation of concepts itself is a virus, and we have to fight it out with the same intellectual acumen.
Not that the Communist-Jihadi viruses cannot be neutralised with a vaccine. The problem lies in our weakening social immunity. Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar right from the debate on Preamble to the Constitution to his last speech in the Constituent Assembly reminded us about the value of fraternity. A sense of common brotherhood of all Bharatiyas is the only solution for most of our problems. That is not going to happen through legal means. Primarily, when many inimical forces are attacking the faultlines for their advantage, the solution lies in the common understanding of our history, ancestry, culture and idea of the motherland.
Each one of us, who wants to stand for the righteousness, will have to inculcate this fundamental sense of fraternity in our fellow Bharatiyas. We will have to reciprocally instil among them these values common to us and keeping ourselves alive as a civilisation since the time immemorial. Bharat can defeat all kinds of viruses due to its civilisational memory. Fortunately, there are positive signs of a reawakening of Bharat on the sound edifice of those civilisational values. Starting from the individual level, if we impress upon that sense of belongingness to the entire society, victory of Dharma against all Adharmic viruses will be ensured. The festival season is to make a firm resolve in this direction.
@PrafullaKetkar
