‘Jai Bheem’ is inspiring not only Dalits but various marginalized communities to bring about transformative change.
Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar is often seen only as a Dalit icon. And ‘Jai Bhim’, a slogan coined by Babu Hardas, a firebrand Ambedkarite working class leader from Nagpur, is generally considered a communal greeting. However, this greeting, which reflects the reverence of the marginalized sections for Ambedkar’s contribution to their emancipation, is emerging as a political slogan. It connects and inspires various marginalized communities for social and political action.
Towards Ambedkar’s point of view
actor surya movie, Jai Bheem, confirms the validity of this slogan and extends its application to other subaltern groups. Based on a real-life incident, the film depicts the everyday crises in the lives of the poor and illiterate Irular of Tamil Nadu. We see that the police illegally arrest Rajkannu (K. Manikandan) and his relatives on a false complaint of theft. His pregnant wife Senggeni (Lijomol Jose) watches helplessly as the police torture her. She traces a leftist activist-lawyer Chandru (Suriya) who fights and wins her case in the Madras High Court (the character is inspired by Justice Chandru who fought the case). His victory restores the faith of vulnerable communities in the law.
Ambedkar envisaged that a free India would protect the fundamental rights of the marginalized. He cautioned that democracy would collapse if institutions failed to do so. Ambedkar disagreed with the Marxists for undermining liberal democratic principles and criticized the socialists for neglecting the political claims of the ‘lower’ castes and the so-called ‘untouchables’. He believed that the modern institutions of India would accommodate the disadvantaged classes and protect their social and political interests.
Until recently, the Left leadership maintained a subtle distance from Ambedkar’s political views. He saw the socio-cultural symbols of the Dalits as disruptive to the unity of the working class. However, it is within the realm of local leftist activism, particularly in Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, that engagement with the Dalit question began. The Left in these states acknowledged the contribution of anti-caste leaders such as Jyotiba Phule, Periyar and Ambedkar in building social consciousness among disadvantaged communities and often tried to form social and class alliances to fight incidents of social injustice. Surya’s character represents this social association between Left activists and the Ambedkarite political agenda.
On Chandru’s wall we see a mural by Karl Marx. In other scenes, various symbols of the Communists (such as red shawls and flags, a small statue of Lenin) are shown to suggest the hero’s close association with Marxism. However, the film does not address the issue of class and social injustice through populist leftist rhetoric such as workers’ strike and mass mobilization. It opposes anti-establishment propaganda. While the film critically demonstrates that state institutions such as the police and judiciary have failed to protect the rights of the Irular, it eschews populist mainstream solutions to tell the rest of the story. Finally, we see the court reprimand and punish the conservative social elite and the police for attacking and exploiting a vulnerable tribal people.
Chandru does not have a ‘savior complex’. Instead, he emerged as an Ambedkarite hero who fights to protect the lives and dignity of the tribal people by adopting democratic and legal mechanisms. Moreover, the film presents the victim Sangageni not as a powerless and wretched spectator but as an eminent claimant of equal rights and justice. It focuses on his valiant struggle against an equally powerful establishment and promotes him as the parallel hero of the story.
beyond the ghetto
Although Ambedkar’s name is mentioned only briefly in the narrative, it is Chandru’s commitment and Sangeni’s zeal to achieve justice that brings him closer to Ambedkar’s vision of social justice. Thus, the title of the film assumes meaning. It also leads diverse marginalized groups to lay claim to modern institutional mechanisms hitherto ruled by caste elites.
Today with the expansion of the right, the impartiality and legitimacy of state institutions are being compromised. The judiciary and police are often obliged to follow the instructions of their political masters and serve the interests of the social elite. At the same time, left-socialist organizations have failed to inspire the poor, vulnerable and depressed classes to achieve political and economic change, except in select areas. Thus the slogan ‘Jai Bhim’ is moving beyond caste/regional settlements and mobilizing marginalized communities, youth and intellectuals to bring about transformative changes in social and class relations.
Harish S is Assistant Professor at Wankhede Center for Political Studies, JNU, New Delhi
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