Social Study Circle	Current upload: 15.1.2001
	Last upload: 8.3.2000
EMERGING SOCIO-ECONOMIC SCENARIO (As The Weaker Sections Are Coming To Power) Dr Ambedkar is undoubtedly the Messian of the Dalits, Liberator of all those oppressed, Champion of the cause of the Weaker sections, and a Great statesman with a farsighted vision into the future. He was at the same time an Activist, Reformer, Rebel, Revolutionary, Thinker, Writer, Teacher, Law Giver, Constitution Maker, Democrat, and the Father of the Future India. The Constitution he gave to the country, lays prime emphasis on the four pillar of Liberty, Equality, Fraternity and Justice in all spheres of life. To realize these in practice, In a society that has always been irrational, unjust, undemocratic and deliberately promoted and preserved inequalities he wanted the State to take all these four basic principles of Democracy to the doorsteps of the people. He therefore, wanted the State to end all discriminations of the people by the people, especially by those holding the offices of the State. Hence, his Constitution declared everyone to be equal Citizens, and that no one could be discriminated on ground of race, sex, colour, caste etc. Not satisfied with the Constitutional declaration of equality, and forcing the State and its Machinery to end all discrimination of the people, he wanted to ensure equal Opportunities in real life to the large masses of the Weaker Sections who had not spoken till then. This he did, by legally compelling the State to provide for specific political Reservation to SCs&STs, in the Legislatures and to Facilitate Reservation in other spheres like Employment, Education and Economic Development to all socially and Educationally Backward Classes of people. This is exactly what the Dalits of the Country are today fighting for, and the Mandal Commission Recommendations aim to achieve. Thus, what he wanted the State to legally provide for, in the interests of all the Weaker Section of this Country, in his Constitution adopted on 26^th November 1949, and formally brought into effect w.e.f. 26^th January 1950, has not yet become a reality, even today. Thus, true in real life is the adage - Liberty cannot descend on a people, but the people have to raise themselves to deserve the Liberty, and enjoy the fruits of it. What Baba Saheb has provided for in the Constitution is yet to become a reality, since the Weaker Sections are still to wake up and come clearly out of the Millennium, long slumber, assert for their rights and share in the National Wealth, Natural Resources, and benefit from the fruits of Development. An experiment of the People with a new Government in 1977, saw the emergence of two new institutions- (i) National Commission for SCs&STs (ii) Mandal Commission on Backward Classes. Thought this experiment of the people with a new Government was short lived, and failed Completely by 1979, ten years later, the People once again experimented with a New Government. That Government tried to fulfill the decade old promises, and complete the unfulfilled tasks that were conceived earlier in 1977. Thus, we had seen- (i) Constitutional Status being given to the National Commission for SCs&STs. (ii) Government’s Resolve to begin the implementation of Mandal Commission Recommendations for the Development and Socio-Economic Liberation of the Backward Classes. These attempts were not taken either kindly or highly by the elites of the State and the Society. Their reactions were convulsive, strong and incisive. Their comments were hypercritical, and they unleashed unimaginable fury in the Society. Effectively using the Media under their control and influence, they swept through the Cities and other Urban Areas like a Tornado, up-rooting the dreams and dislodging the will and the Governments of the people. Thus, while the people’s first experiment with the new Government failed was failed in 1979, the Second Experiment was failed in 1990. The hopes and aspirations of the People, raised by the new Governments and the forces unleashed in the Society could however be no more contained or reversed. This resulted in slow though unwilling acceptance of the decisions taken by the New Government in 1990. Acceptance and agreeing under pressure or compulsion is one thing, and allowing that necessity to become a reality is another. The World had seen that the reservations for the SCs & STs accepted long long ago – in fact it started as a solemn pledge, an agreement and contract between two groups of the nation, as for back as 1932 - is yet to cross even one third of the minimum promised levels of representations. That is the tragedy, and a social reality in this Country. The Economic Implications of these are obvious. Nearly half-a-century after Independence, the Country is still limping along, and all its machineries are slowly coming to a grinding halt, and proving to be totally inefficient, top-heavy, unproductive and useless. The public Sector, and the Educational institution, with all their investments and infrastructures are proving to he sad failed monuments or living fossils. Taking advantage of these sad state of affairs, and the unexpected unfortunate pause in the external environment, the doors of employment opportunities to the Weaker Sections are being opened up only to show that there is nothing there, no room and no hope for them, and that the interiors have rotted and collapsed, and are to be cleared out and be salvaged by the Private Sector Tycoons who are all caste hindus and have grown with the Government and PSUs till the other day. It is sad that the growth and Development Path of the Weaker section has thus been abruptly cut by the collapse of the draw bridge of employment in Government and Public Sector, that could have taken them reasonably in a safe state across the yawning gulf dividing their life between poverty and misery on the one side, and hopes of development and for a better future on the other end, thus throwing them all of a sudden into the bottomless pit of Private Sector dictated by International Exploitative MNCs etc. This at a time when the Regional parties headed by the local Backward Class Leaders and Dalit forces are coming up, to capture the levers of power in the state, one by one, almost all over the Country. Thus, the prediction, the hopes and aspiration of the people that the 21^st Century belongs to Dr, Ambedkar, the Blacks and Dalits is slowly coming true. But at this juncture of radically changing Socio-Political Scenario, the national Economy and International Power structure are changing so fast-rapidly and wildly, as if they are unpredictably overwhelming. This is not really true. For, the events are infact unveiling them-selves in a carefully planned and calculated manner -that there is growing apprehension that the Weaker Sections, when they really emerge free, would inherit only an empty Treasury, barren Coffers powerless Governments and meaningless State. They may find them-selves to be nominal Rulers, with both hard Economic and cold Political decisions taken somewhere in a distant Board Room, half the World away, while they ceremonially occupy their seats only to endorse the distant decisions like petty Managers and toothless Administrators. A true Ram Raj, with the slippers in the thrones while the real powers are wielded by others behind. This is the inevitable unenviable dead end to which the Nation and Society is moving today. What could be the Response and Strategy of the Weaker Sections, depends upon the extent to which the Weaker Section could realize, and acknowledge the realities as the dangers confronting them now or likely to encounter in the future, to their person, property, dignity, human existence, liberty, and ultimately life. That is not just enough, but should also think and debate on the alternatives and what they should do, and how they should respond! ***************************************************************************************************************************