Opinion: War, Peace and Dr Ambedkar

Dr Ambedkar incorporated fraternity in the Preamble of the Constitution as a sacred ideal which all citizens are rightfully entitled to enjoy on a par with justice, liberty, equality and dignity

By MN Bhushi, B Maria Kumar

On December 6, India with due solemnity is observing the 67th death anniversary of Babasaheb Dr Ambedkar, the chief architect of the Indian Constitution.

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Never before has the need for Dr Ambedkar’s philosophy been felt so imperatively as of today. His all-time impactful ideas on how to better the human condition have changed the course of history profoundly. Whether it is the emancipation of the marginalised sections or the uplift of women or whether it is social justice or secular ethos of the Indian republic, his seminal thoughts on various matters concerning the individual, state and the world, have brought about fundamental transformation not only in the social structure of modern India but also in the realm of thinking for international harmony.

Furthermore, his conception of peace has more relevance right now across the global landscape, particularly in view of the ongoing bloody conflicts between Russia and Ukraine for nearly two years on one side and between Israel and Hamas since two months.

While referring to happenings in the continuing Russia-Ukraine war, American political analyst Douglas Schoen commented in his Boston Herald column some time ago that the West has been paying the price for peace in dollars and euros whereas the Ukrainians with their lives. The UN has expressed serious concerns about the growing civilian casualties and the escalating humanitarian crisis in Gaza, consequent to the Israeli response to the Hamas attack. The prospect of attaining peace in the foreseeable future appears daunting due to the day-to-day proliferating Russia-Ukraine war and expanding hostile tensions in the Middle East.

Elusive Peace

Is peace, then, elusive? Why is it so? What is peace, exactly? How can we achieve it? We will find answers and have an absolutely inspiring and the most comprehensive understanding of peace if we know what Dr Ambedkar actually meant by it. He equated it with brotherliness. He wanted that it should not merely refer to managing people’s affairs but to promoting camaraderie among people in a concrete sense, irrespective of national borders.

While reviewing the Nobel prize-winning British philosopher and mathematician Bertrand Russell’s anti-war book, ‘Principles of Social Reconstruction’, the young Dr Ambedkar observed way back in 1918 at the end of the First World War that, “We must use force constructively as energy and not destructively as violence”. As and when force turns destructive, peoples’ lives and corresponding international relations dwindle. Resultantly, dire calamities would befall the societies at world level. As we see these days, the deadly Israel-Hamas conflict and the long war between Russia and Ukraine have been driving many nations to go through insurmountable strains and pains in the form of severe food, energy and other socioeconomic disasters.

Because of the lack of co-existential bonhomie, a new Cold War is also seriously bursting between China and America despite the alerts and warnings of the UN. Declining people-centric culture has been resulting in the deterioration of the quality of world governance. At present, it is almost a Third World War-like scenario not just between NATO and Russia but also in the Middle East which are in fact on the brink of nuclear apocalypse. Albert Einstein once said after the Second World War, “I know not with what weapons the Third World War will be fought, but the Fourth World War will be fought with stones and spears.”

Fraternity First

International wars are perilous for brotherhood and they can never justify peace processes. It is for this very reason that Dr Ambedkar put fraternity on a higher pedestal, likening it to harmonious human coexistence. Because, he knew it would be disastrous when enmity and humanity stood pitted against each other during the times of war. He explained, “… there must be social endosmosis. This is fraternity, which is only another name for democracy.”

Democracy is a mode of associated living — of conjoint communicated experience. It is essentially an attitude of respect and reverence towards fellowmen within and across the neighbouring territories. Here, let us also not forget that Dr Ambedkar incorporated fraternity in the Preamble of the Constitution as a sacred ideal which all the citizens are rightfully entitled to enjoy on a par with justice, liberty, equality and dignity. How genuinely have the people been able to attain a sense of brotherhood amongst themselves planet-wide will determine the quality of global peace and stability that has been achieved. It is also an indicator of universal brotherhood’s robust vitality.

Thus, Dr Ambedkar’s definition of peace is plainly expressible, presupposing fraternal coexistence which is as crucial as the existence of man himself. Life systems will be under threat if coexistence is not secure. Because, the purpose of life is to be a meaningful experience which in turn depends primarily on the intelligent and congenial affinities between human and fellow human. Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore felt that the strength of education depends on the degree of ability to live together. He said, “The highest education is that which does not merely give us information, but makes our life in harmony with all existence.” And it is education that comes first in Dr Ambedkar’s three-pronged slogan, “educate, agitate and organise”.

Mutual Goodness

The cementing bond of harmonious coexistence is mutual goodness which stands out as the hallmark of fraternity. As food is to existence, so is ‘good’ to coexistence. Dr Ambedkar accorded a pivotal role to goodness in the matters connected with the affairs of the state, specifically the rule of law and its enforcement.

While presenting the draft of the Constitution in the Constituent Assembly on November 25, 1949; he said, “However good a Constitution may be, it is sure to turn out bad because those who are called to work it happen to be a bad lot. However bad a Constitution may be, it may turn out to be good if those who are called to work it happen to be a good lot.”

Thus goodness and fraternity, as espoused inter alia by him, are the two most essential virtues which solely can safeguard every nation from internal and external hostilities and wars. And sincerely upholding these righteous principles will be a befitting tribute to Dr Ambedkar on his death anniversary worldwide.