Empathy: Bhimrao Ambedkar
Empathy is not just a soft stirring of the heart at the sight of another’s suffering. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar showed that it is the courage to feel deeply, understand honestly, and above all, act decisively. Born in a caste of so-called untouchables, Ambedkar experienced humiliation every moment of his life. He was made to sit apart in classrooms, refused water by those who believed that his touch would defile it, and reminded constantly of his ‘place’ in a rigid social hierarchy. Ambedkar grew up and transformed personal suffering into a profound sensitivity towards the suffering of others. His life became an answer to a silent question: What does one do with pain? His answer was: Enlarge it into empathy. His concept of empathy was, however, not a soft feeling, but a radical, political, and reconstructive force. It was a force that led thousands of Dalits, people who were oppressed for centuries by the brutal caste system, in a peaceful procession to the Chavdar Lake in ...
