Ambedkar instrumental in incorporating Dhamma Chakra wheel in national flag, says Mallikarjun Kharge

68th Dhamma Chakra Pravartan celebrated at Buddha Vihar in Kalaburagi on Saturday

All India Congress Committee president and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said that B.R. Ambedkar was instrumental in incorporating the wheel of Dhamma Chakra (Ashoka Chakra) in the national flag. He was addressing the gathering after participating in the Dhamma Vandana at Dhyan mandir (Meditation hall) at Buddha Vihar on the 68th Dhamma Chakra Pravartan Din here on Saturday.

Mr. Kharge said that Buddha’s message of non-violence and compassion has inspired the Indian Constitution. India has adopted Buddha’s teachings and incorporated them into daily life. Even the 12th Century social reformer Basaveshwara, who led the Bhakti movement, was a leading advocate of the Lingayat Dharma, which promoted direct devotion avoiding rituals. Like Lord Buddha, the Basaveshwara’s philosophy was also based on human values and rejected Vedic practices and caste hierarchy, Mr Kharge reiterated.

The veteran leader said that Dr. Ambedkar too rejected the idea of god, and ritualistic practices like idol worship; and he believed that Buddha never claimed any supernatural origin or supernatural powers. Mr. Kharge appealed to the people to understand Buddha, Basaveshwara and Ambedkar ideologies, and those raising ‘Babasaheb Zindabad’ slogans should first adopt Dr. Ambedkar’s ideologies and Buddhism into their daily lives, he added.

Retired professor Rahamath Tarikere delivered a special lecture on the occasion. Prof. Tarikere said that Dr. Ambedkar embraced Buddhism as it allowed people to live with equality and respect for each individual. Dr. Ambedkar argued that the ideas of liberty, equality and fraternity that he espoused, were not from the French Revolution, but were derived from the teachings of Lord Buddha. To mark his belief that only the ideals enshrined in Buddhism could ensure social democracy in a society, Dr. Ambedkar embraced Buddhism at Nagpur in Maharashtra on October 14, 1956. According to Dr. Ambedkar, the first Dhamma Chakra Pravartan was done by the Buddha in Sarnath, and 68years ago Dr. Ambedkar set the motion of the wheel of Dhamma by breaking the age-old shackles of caste hierarchy and untouchability practised by the Hindu religion, walking on the path of emancipation which the Lord Buddha practiced more than 2,000 years ago.

Mr. Kharge’s wife Radhabai M. Kharge, his son Rahul M. Kharge, Kalaburagi MP RadhaKrishna Doddamani, Medical Education Minister Sharan Prakash Patil, legislators B.R. Patil, M.Y. Patil, Allamprabhu Patil, and MLCs Thippannappa Kamaknoor and Jagdev Guttedar were present.

Published - October 12, 2024 08:25 pm IST