I am privileged, don’t need reservation, says BR Ambedkar’s great grandson
On March 26, when thousands of Dalits gathered at Mumbai’s Azad Maidan to demand the arrest of Sambhaji Bhide, the right-wing Hindutva leader accused of instigating violence in the aftermath of the Dalit event at Bhima Koregaon, a youngster’s presence at the public rally evoked curious reactions.
Twenty-three-year-old Sujat Ambedkar, great grandson of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, was the cynosure of all eyes.
“The response to his speech was huge for two reasons,” said Siddharth Gaikwad, one of the attendees, adding that besides the speech, his long curly hair evoked as much reaction from the crowd.
For Sujat, the response made him explore the option of dedicating himself wholly to politics, and to work with his father Prakash Ambedkar, president, Bharipa Bahujan Maha Sangh. “I would definitely want to work with the party my father is heading,” said Sujat, who has completed his graduation in political science from Fergusson college and journalism from the Asian College of Journalism.
On reservations though, Sujat has slightly different take: “I
While it was his first public appearance at the Azad Maidan rally, he had already hit headlines two years ago. In March 2016, Sujat and members of a leftist union clashed with members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), when the latter tried to organise a function inside the Fergusson college campus.
Sujat and other students, calling themselves as “Ambedkarites”, opposed the function, which forced college authorities to call for police intervention, that later snowballed into a major political row. Student politics triggered by the Fergusson incident resonated at various levels in the state tha witnessed the caste churning after Marathas came out on the streets in large numbers following the Dalit assertion post the Bhima Koregaon violence.
The controversy offered Sujat, born in the city and a student of an English medium school, the first few lessons in politics, one of these being to be politically correct. Sujat also spoke about the Prevention of Atrocities Act, because of which various states in north India witnessed violence on Monday, killing nine persons.
“Atrocity Act is the only safeguard Dalits in India have. We should not dilute it,” said Sujat, while reacting to recent Supreme Court ruling.
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