84 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
the state of Godhood, laid the naked child on a glowing bed of embers. The child, Demophoon endures the fiery charcoal, he gathers strength from the ordeal. Something Superhuman is fostered in him, something robust, something beyond all hope glorious. But Metoneira becoming anxious, says the legend, burst suddenly one evening into the room where the experiment was being carried on and guided by her mistaken fears, thrust aside the goddess at her work of foregoing the superman, pushed away the embers and took away the child with the result that she saved the child but lost the Superman and eventual God”.
What does this tale teach ? To my mind, it teaches that greatness can be achieved only by struggle and sacrifice. Neither manhood nor Godhood can be obtained without going through the ordeal of fire. Fire purifies, fire strengthens, so does struggle and suffering. No down-trodden man can achieve greatness unless he is prepared for struggle and suffering. He must be ready to sacrifice the comforts and even the necessities of the present for building up his future. To use the language of the Bible for the race of life all are called but only few. are chosen. Why ? The reason is obvious. Most down-trodden men fail to achieve greatness in this race of life because they have not the courage nor the determination to sacrifice the pleasures of the present for the needs of their future.
Can there be a better and a greater message than what is contained in this legend ? I can find one. It is the best and the most appropriate message I can think of for the Untouchables. I am aware of their struggle and their sufferings. I am aware that in their struggle for liberty they have suffered more than I have. With all this, I can give them no other message. My message is struggle, and more struggle, sacrifice and more sacrifice. It is struggle and struggle alone without counting the sacrifices or sufferings that will bring their emancipation. Nothing else will.
The Untouchables must develop a collective will to rise and resist and must believe in the sacredness of their task and develop a command determination to achieve their goal. Their