There are two or three questions which I have always asked my communist friends to answer and which, I must frankly say, they have not been able to answer. They establish by means of violence what they call the dictatorship of the proletariat. They deprive all people who have property, of their political rights. They cannot have representation in the legislature. They cannot have right to vote, they must remain what they call second-grade subjects of the State, the ruled, not sharing authority or power. When I asked them, “Do you agree that dictatorship is a good method of governing people”? They say, “No, we don’t, we don’t like dictatorship”. Then we say, “How do you allow it?” But they say, “This is an interim period in which dictatorship must be there.” You proceed further and ask them, “What is the duration of this interim period? How long? Twenty years? Forty years? Fifty years ?” No answer. They only repeat that the proletarian dictatorship will vanish, somehow automatically.

Very well, let us take the thing as it is that dictatorship will vanish. Well, I ask a question, “What will happen when dictatorship disappears? What will take its place? Will men not need Government of some sort?” They have no answer.

Then we go back to the Buddha and ask this question in relation to his Dhamma. What does he say? The greatest thing that the Buddha has done is to tell the world that the world cannot be reformed except by the reformation of the mind of the man, and the mind of the world. If the mind is changed, if the mind accepts the Communist system and loves it loyally and carries it out, it is a permanent thing, it does not require a soldier or a police officer to keep a man in order. Why? The answer is: The Buddha has energized your conscience itself that is acting as a sentinal in order to keep you on your path. There is no trouble when the mind is converted the thing is permanent.

The Communist system is based on force. Supposing tomorrow the dictatorship in Russia fails, and we see signs of its failure, what would happen? I really like to know what would happen to the Communist system. As I see it, there would be bloody warfare among the Russian people for appropriating the property of the State. That would be the consequence of it. Why? Because they have not accepted the Communist system voluntarily. They are obeying it because they are afraid of being hanged. Such a system can take no root, and therefore in my judgment unless the Communist are able to answer these questions, what would happen to their system? When force disappears, there is no use pursuing it. Because, if the mind is not converted, force will always be necessary…

Source – Babasaheb Ambedkar, BAWS, Vol 17, Part 3, Pages 554-555

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