'THESE PEOPLE' & WHY THEY MATTER

When crowds head to Dadar’s Chaityabhoomi for the December 6, Dr BR Ambedkar’s death anniversary, every year, the common complaint is how “these people” take over practically every available space.

- Chinmay Raval

Public transport, common areas, every nook and corner is occupied by the ‘Jai Bhim waale”. It is a cause for complaint among Mumbai residents as well as commuters, who are resigned to grit their teeth for these few days.

“If we are not vigilant, they enter our building and sleep overnight in the corridors,” says Mitali Patankar, a resident of Shivaji Park. She goes on to explain that it is not a bad thing by itself, “but they leave no space for us residents to move”.

People pour in a day or two earlier from all over the state, to honour the memory of one of the greatest reformers of society. More than the acknowledged architect of the Constitution, Dr Ambedkar was a revolutionary thinker who paved the way for modern life as we know it.

Sociology lecturer Kiran Vengurlekar explains: “People love to box Ambedkar into ‘oh, he only gave reservations’ or ‘only helped SC/ST’ but that's a lazy half truth. The reality? His impact is everywhere around us, even if people don’t connect the dots. Our Fundamental Rights like freedom of speech, equality before law and protection from exploitation? That’s Ambedkar’s Constitution at work. The reason you can even criticise him openly on social media without fearing jail is because he made sure those rights were enshrined.”