The mask fell suddenly.
On the second and concluding day of the ‘Constitution at 75’ debate in the Rajya Sabha, as home minister Amit Shah delivered his closing speech, he said: “These days, there is a fashion. Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar. If you took the name of God this many times, you would attain heaven for the next seven lives.” All of us listening in the Rajya Sabha were taken aback. Many MPs quickly sat up, shocked by Shah’s biting, mocking tone. He sounded brusque and insulting.
Reciting Ambedkar’s name in a sing-song manner six times sounded like Shah was ridiculing the father of the Indian Constitution. His tone was sneering, like a send-up of those who do chant Ambedkar’s name and teachings as a manifesto of social justice.
