BE YOUR OWN LIGHT ! 379
MRA : The best way to teach teachers ! They often don’t know what is not in the text book. As a matter of fact, even in one’s mature youth, one can only grow by asking questions. I learnt this from Henri Bergson’s book Creative Evolution. I was in difficulties about various philosophical problems after reading Hegal, Kant and Descartes. Bergson said : One can heighten consciousness by questioning every philosophical proposition . . . . .
BRA : Buddha argued with Brahmins about every one of their beliefs. They had degraded whole people as outcastes. They said, God had ordained you varnas—Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, Shudras. Buddha asked : What about man himself—the individual ? Because a man is born in a family which handles corpses of dead cattle, he is condemned to be an Untouchable. All forest people are junglis to the Hindus . . . . .
MRA : Rejected !
BRA : Indeed ! Everyone who works with hand was, and is, rejected. Those who skin animals! Those who carry dung! Those who do menial labour on the land ! All branded and bonded forever ! After five thousand years it is still worse ! An Untouchable can’t enter a temple even if he has a bath before he goes there ! He can’t draw water from the village well—he must take it from the filthy pond outside the village ! He can’t graze his cattle on the landlord’s land. He is dirty because he cleans dirt. Always considered impure ! An animal can be touched, not an Untouchable . . . . .
MRA : As a member of the Constituent Assembly have you been able to assert the rights of the individual ? I see that your committee gives fundamental rights—the right of the individual to freedom. But we see that you have also conceded the right to property as a fundamental right Does not the right to property give a decisive advantage to those who have inherited wealth ? So the poorest of the poor, the Untouchable will always be at a disadvantage.
BRA : In our Constitution, we have put forward the ideal of a secular, socialist democracy... If every one can have the right to till the land from the State tenancy rights then equality of privilege