[Reader-list] Re: My God became a dog

[lakshmi kutty]

prashant, 

glad to know that u and i share ambedkar's thoughts on the importance of not investing anything with sacredness such that it inhibits re-evaluation! 

my intention in sending the greeting across was not to suggest that he be treated akin to gods, rather to remember & value an idea that has much to offer our lives and practices today. and it is worth reiterating who/what/where we wish to draw our legacy from, isn't it? 

also, it would be interesting to discuss how/why ambedkar has come to occupy the same space in public memory (like in yours) as shivaji and savarkar. this would imply an ignorance of the vastly different political investments made by these three figures ('mythic' maybe, but political nonetheless). 

since i dont want to assume wrongly or misunderstand u, do write back...

lakshmi.  


On Sat, 16 Apr 2005 Prashant Pandey wrote :
>this is with due respect to all the politicians and people who have fostered Ambedkars's vision at a tremendous social cost.
>i think its time we forget Ambedkar( and other mythic figures like Shivaji,Savarkar etc ) and move on.
>what he said applies to himself, isnt it ?
>let every 50th year convert our gods into dogs.
>i rather belive in "once sacred makes other always scared"
>prashant
>
>
>
>On Thu, 14 Apr 2005 lakshmi  kutty wrote :
> >To all those who cherish the spirit of relentlessly questioning and de-stabilizing the status quo... greetings on Ambedkar jayanti!
> >
> >Ideals as norms are good and are necessary. Neither a society nor an individual can do without a norm. But a norm must change with changes in time and circumstances. No norm can be permanently fixed. There must always be room for re-evaluation of the value of our norms. The possibility of revaluing values remains open only when the institution is not invested with sacredness. Sacredness prevents revaluation of its values. Once sacred always sacred.
> >
> >-Babasaheb Ambedkar
> >(Courtesy 'Insight', a magazine of the Ambedkar Study Circle, JNU)
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