BJP brings back ‘Ramji’ in Ambedkar

Lucknow: The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh waded into a political controversy on Thursday by deciding to introduce “Ramji” as the middle name of the Father of the Constitution, B.R. Ambedkar, in all official correspondence and records.

The decision, designed to give a Hindu identity to dalits in the state, did not go down well with the Opposition ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

BSP supremo Mayawati termed it as a “politics of selfish interest” triggered off by casteist designs, and said that Dr Ambedkar was popularly known as Baba Saheb and he had signed his resignation letter as law minister in 1951 as “Dr B.R. Ambedkar’.

“Mahatma Gandhi is known as Bapu and is rarely referred to by his full name, which is Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. Similarly, Prime Minister is referred to as Narendra Modi and not as Narendra Damodar Das Modi. The BJP has not been able to produce a leader of the stature of Baba Saheb and are now indulging in such tactics”, she said.

A Bahujan Samaj Party functionary said that the Bharatiya Janata Party  is in a tearing hurry to claim Ambedkar and project a dalit-friendly image since elections are round the corner, while a fuming Samajwadi Party said vote-bank politics was behind the move.

Truing to blunt the Opposition’s attack, a BJP functionary said on Thursday, “In the 2014 and 2017 elections, dalits had turned Hindus first and voted for the BJP in large numbers which led to our spectacular victory in the Lok Sabha and then the Assembly elections. Most of the dalits do not know that Dr B.R. Ambedkar used ‘Ramji’ as his middle name in his entire signature. We are simply reminding them that their icon also believed in Ram”.
 
Ramji was the name of B.R. Ambedkar’s father, Ramji Maliji Sakpal. And as per practice in Maharashtra, father’s name is often used as the middle name by sons. The initials B.R. were short for Bhimrao Ramji though it is popularly used as Bhim Rao.
 
The change in the name of the dalit icon was made on the suggestion of UP Governor Ram Naik who had written to the Prime Minister and chief minister in this regard in December last year.
 
“The Hindi speaking states have been writing his name incorrectly. Most importantly, his name is written as Bhim Rao as two words, however, the correct way to write is Bhimrao,” the Governor told reporters on Thursday.
 
He further said that the spelling of Ambedkar in English will remain unchanged, but in Hindi it will be spelt as ‘Aambedkar’.’
 
“The BJP government is playing politics with the name of the dalit icon,” SP leader Anurag Bhadoria said hours after the state government issued the order.
 
In Mainpuri, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav said instead of altering Ambedkar’s name, it is important that the path he showed is followed.
 
“A change has been made in the name of Bhim Rao Ambedkar ... Whosoever has the right to vote knows his name... It is essential today, when he is being remembered and a new name is being affixed with his name, to follow the path shown by him,” he said, adding, “Every child knows Ambedkar’s name”.
 
A BSP functionary said that the BJP was in a tearing hurry to claim Ambedkar and project a dalit-friendly image since elections were round the corner.
 
“They have added Ramji to Ambedkar’s name in order to promote their own Ram. Where are they when Ambedkar statues are desecrated across the state?” he asked.
 
UP minister Siddhartha Nath Singh said, “In Maharashtra, a father’s name is mentioned in the middle of his son’s name. But if they (Opposition) sees Ayodhya in it, this shows how hollow they are and how low they have stooped to that they connect everything with it (Ram and Ayodhya)… We are not doing anything drastic but are merely correcting a mistake. Dr Ambedkar himself signed his name as Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar and we are simply correcting this historical fact… Those who follow his ideals should not dabble in politics on his name... When it is being written and used rightly they should praise it.” 

Surprisingly, BJP MP from Delhi, Udit Raj was quoted as having said that, “I don’t find any reason to change his name. It is an individual’s choice to decide how he wants to be known. Why create a controversy unnecessarily? The dalit community has expressed its displeasure”.

The order to include Ramji in Ambedkar’s name was issued on Wednesday night by principal secretary (administration) Jitendra Kumar, an official spokesman said in Lucknow on Thursday.