Avantika- Week 7

Anand Teltumde was booked under the UAPA for allegedly fomenting violence during the Bhima Koregaon event. After reading his open letter and a few other articles I have concluded that there is a list of things that make people Deshdrohis and Deshbhakts.

We are living through un-precedented times, a global pandemic. While the nation is in lock-down, it is strange to see how the country is treating its citizens and what this differential treatment is based on. Awanish Kumars article helped me identify the sheer lack of empathy that both politicians and upper-class people have for two categories of citizens; the lower class/ caste and intellectuals that analyse and criticize government policies. If one belongs to the latter category then despite the fact that prisoners are being “freed”, (are we really free? well freedom of speech is definitely a myth) citizens like Anand Teltumde are jailed. On one hand, as thousands of Migrant workers walk home, with no food or water. On the other, one just has to have a social media profile to view how the upper class is going over-board by posting stories of every single meal they cook, moreover most of these households have atleast one 24/7 domestic helper who are away from their family members, who might not have adequate resources for the entire month, forget being able to receive proper medical help if they contract COVID-19. These instances help us understand what Ambedkar means when he explains the two broad classes that exist in society, and how they deal with modern democracy.

‘Social endosmosis’ is a process written about by Ambedkar for the first time in his work “Evidence before the Southborough Committee” he implies that through this process fractured societies can break away from social isolation when a person from an oppressed class enters a ruling class through inter-group communication and mobility. It helps make a more efficient society, by involving all sections of society. Kumar goes on to explain how we need a social democracy first. He emphasises on the importance of fraternity and says that if there are antagonist interests, then how will it work. When policy makers do not even consider the people at the bottom of the structure, how can good policy be implemented, how can their issues be addressed if they aren’t even considered as relevant issues. Moreover people on the top live in a different India from the ones at the bottom, and the issues that people from marginalised societies face cannot be understood by ones on top.