By Kumkum Chadha
When Rahul Gandhi walked the 2024 Lok Sabha campaign trail with a pocket edition of the Constitution in hand, it struck a chord. His rallying cry that the Constitution was under threat may have helped the Opposition check the BJP’s advance. The saffron party, for all its confidence, fell short of the 400-plus seats it boasted about—and even failed to secure a majority on its own.
But beneath the electoral surface lies a deeper reality: every party now wants a piece of Dr BR Ambedkar’s legacy. The man once marginalised during his lifetime is now a prized icon—used as a political talisman.
Few observe this with sharper insight than Dr Prakash Ambedkar, Babasaheb’s grandson, former MP, and unflinching commentator. In a candid conversation, he exposes the contradictions, hypocrisies, and instrumentalisation of Ambedkar’s name. “Political parties are not cashing in on his ideology. They’re cashing in on the growing class of citizens who will never forget him,” he says.
From Dalits and tribals to Muslims, Prakash notes, Babasaheb is now seen as a guardian figure. “Even Muslims say it is because of his Constitution that we are safe in this country.”
ON RAHUL GANDHI, CONGRESS AND CONSTITUTIONAL POSTURING
While Rahul Gandhi may carry the Constitution, Prakash asks a pointed question: “Has he read it? Has he understood its philosophy?” He calls out Article 15—meant to guard against discrimination on caste and religion—and questions whether the Congress practises the values it professes. “There is no democracy left in the Congress. State leaders have been reduced to puppets,” he says.
Even sharper is his critique of Congress’s contradiction in embracing Jawaharlal Nehru and Ambedkar: “You cannot carry both Nehru and Dr Ambedkar. Their worldviews were fundamentally different—on foreign policy, religion, nationalism.”
ON BJP, MODI AND HISTORICAL AMNESIA
Though agreeing with PM Narendra Modi’s criticism of Congress for denying Ambedkar the Bharat Ratna, Prakash points out that the RSS and Hindu Mahasabha also opposed him: “In 1949, they burnt his effigies.
During the Mumbai elections, they united with Congress to defeat him.” Dr Ambedkar was a nationalist. They were casteist and religious. They didn’t want a leader who rose on merit.”
ON AYODHYA AND JUDICIAL EVASION
Commenting on the Babri Masjid verdict, he calls out the judiciary for ignoring archaeological findings: “Had the courts been honest, they would have included the archaeological report. Instead, they went with majority sentiment. That’s postponing justice, not delivering it.”
ON FUTURE FAULTLINES: AURANGZEB AS 2029’s AYODHYA
Prakash warns of a dangerous turn in political discourse: the demonisation of Aurangzeb as the next communal flashpoint. “The temple is built. What next? Aurangzeb. The BJP will use him to rally Hindus in 2029—make him the villain, project itself as the saviour.”
When he laid a chaadar on Aurangzeb’s grave, it created controversy, but he says it helped calm tensions: “It defused a volatile situation. The politics of demonisation will destroy us.”
ON CHINA, PoK AND NATIONAL STRATEGY
Prakash revisits his grandfather’s prescient warnings:
- On China: “Babasaheb predicted an attack in 1954. By 1962, it happened.”
- On PoK: “He said if you take it on, do it fully—not halfway. Half measures will bleed the nation. And today, the nation is bleeding.”
—The writer is an author, journalist and political commentator