#Thread Babasaheb's view on China.

"Buddha would never allow violence, but the communists do. No doubt the communists get quick results because when you adopt the means of annihilating a man, they do not remain to oppose you. Humanity does not only want economic values, 1/n

it also wants spiritual values to be retained. Permanent communist dictatorship has paid no attention to spiritual values and does not seem to intend to. Carlyle called political economy a pig philosophy. Carlyle was of course wrong. For man needs material comforts. 2/n

But the communist philosophy seems to equally wrong, for the aim of their philosophy seems to be fatten pigs, as though men are no better than pigs. Man must grow materially as well as spiritually. Buddha’s method was to change the mind of man without the use of force. 3/n

Buddha sought to change man’s moral disposition to follow the path voluntarily. The means adopted by the communists are equally clear short and swift; one is violence and second is dictatorship of the proletariat" 4/n

"The Prime Minister has been depending upon what may be called the ‘Panchsheel’ taken by Mr Mao and recorded in the Tibet treaty of non-aggression. Well, I am somewhat surprised, that the Prime Minister should take this Panchsheel seriously. 5/n

The Panchsheel, as you, Sir, know it well, is the essential part of the Buddhist religion. If Mr Mao had any faith in the Panchsheel, he would certainly treat the Buddhists in his country in a very different way. There is no room for Panchsheel in politics, 6/n

and secondly, not in the politics of a communist country. The communists’ countries have no morality. Today’s morality is not tomorrow’s morality" - Dr. B.R. Ambedkar in 1954

@threadreaderapp please unroll