"There is nothing extraordinary in saying that we ought to strive hereafter to limit the definition of religion in such a manner that we shall not extend beyond beliefs and such rituals as may be connected with ceremonials which are essentially religious." Dr B R Ambedkar.
Dr. B R Ambedkar as a liberal and
as a humanistic-scientific thinker should have welcomed Hinduism as a
non-dogmatic, catch-all hold-all of a religion. But he seems to have been
influenced by the Christian/ Islamic/ Buddhist models based on rigorously worked
out theological systems. On December 1948 when article 13 was under discussion
in the assembly, Dr. Ambedkar again made himself clear on the question of
personal law. He was of that the personal law cannot be put under the saving
clause because such an act would disable the legislature from initiating any
social measures whatsoever. Ambedkar the
democratic values are universal in the sense that they apply equally to
everyone in principle, for all humans are individuals and all humans have or
ought to have equal rights and obligations, and all humans deserve the opportunity
to discover their own true talents.
Religion becomes conceived as a body
of doctrines about salvation that the individual can choose to adhere to
because he finds it the best, the most rational, and the most suitable for his
or her personal needs. The religious principles of equality, liberty, and
fraternity make possible a ‘secular’ society in which religion becomes a matter
of personal commitment and choice. Many rituals and festivals take place in
public, meaning that such expressions of faith are societal as well as
individual forms of human behaviour. The similarity in the general patterns of
rituals and festivals across cultures and religions is striking. Ambedkar rose
above the narrow barriers of religion, caste, language and region and laid
emphasis on strengthening the national unity and in the absence of universal
human religion these can survive neither unity nor democracy.
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