 |
| Dr. B. R. Ambedkar’s Constitutional Morality and Indian Constitutional Values — A representative image. |
File Information
| Document Information | Details |
|---|---|
| Title | DR. B. R. AMBEDKAR’S CONSTITUTIONAL MORALITY |
| Article Credit | (Pubd in: Oxfordscholarship.com) |
| Author | Dr. Jay Kumar Bhongale (Assistant Professor, Bharati Vidyapeeth Deemed to be University, New Law College, Pune) |
| Subject | The article explains Ambedkar’s idea of constitutional morality and relates it to Indian constitutional law, democratic conduct, and administrative practice. It also compares constitutional morality with social morality through Supreme Court cases and constitutional principles. |
| Category | Law |
| Institution | Bharati Vidyapeeth Deemed to be University, New Law College, Pune |
| Main Topics | Constitutional morality, Dr. Ambedkar’s constitutional thought, Constitutional law and constitutionalism, Rule of law and administrative duty, Equality, liberty, and fraternity, Minority rights and social justice, Judicial interpretation of constitutional morality, Constitutional remedies and Article 32 |
| Number of Pages | 17 |
| Language | English |
| File Type | |
| File Size | 370.4 KB |
Summary Note of this Document
DR. B. R. AMBEDKAR’S CONSTITUTIONAL MORALITY
DR. B. R. AMBEDKAR’S CONSTITUTIONAL MORALITY examines Ambedkar’s idea that constitutional values must guide both citizens and administrators if India is to sustain democratic government. The article defines constitutional morality through the relation between constitutional law, constitutionalism, and the duties of public officials, then links that idea to equality, liberty, fraternity, rule of law, and accountability. It argues that constitutional morality is not a vague ethical preference but a set of governing principles drawn from the Constitution itself, including non-discrimination, minority protection, federal balance, and respect for constitutional remedies. A large part of the discussion follows judicial decisions that have invoked the idea, especially Kesavananda Bharati, S. P. Gupta, Government of NCT of Delhi, Naz Foundation, Navtej Singh Johar, Joseph Shine, Indian Young Lawyers Association, and Jigya Yadav. These cases are used to show how constitutional morality can stand against social morality when rights, dignity, religion, privacy, or sexual autonomy are at stake. The article also stresses Ambedkar’s warning that political democracy without social and economic democracy is unstable, and that constitutional norms must shape administrative conduct in practice, not only in text.
Core Themes
- Supremacy of constitutional values over social morality
- Administrative responsibility under the Constitution
- Judicial use of constitutional morality
- Protection of minorities and backward classes
- Equality, dignity, and individual rights
Keywords
About Dr. B. R. Ambedkar
Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar was born in 1891 as the fourteenth and youngest child of an army Subedar in Mhow. Born into the Mahar caste, which was considered untouchable, Bhimrao faced many hardships at school. He had to sit on a gunny sack that he brought from home. He was not allowed to touch the water vessel or cup, so he could drink water only when the school peon was present to pour it for him. He later described this experience with the words, “No peon, no water.” His mother died when he was very young, and he had a difficult childhood. However, he was the only one of his siblings to pass his examinations and continue to high school, becoming the first person from his community to attend Elphinstone College. With a scholarship from the Maharaja of Baroda, he went on to study at Columbia University and the London School of Economics. He earned doctorates in economics and trained as a barrister at Gray’s Inn. According to the account supplied for this biography, his books were lost when his ship was torpedoed during the First World War.
Despite his education, Ambedkar continued to face prejudice. When he returned to India, he was required to work in Baroda but had to leave the position because of discrimination. His business providing investment consultancy failed when clients learned that he belonged to a community considered untouchable. While working as a professor in Mumbai, his colleagues objected to the idea of him sharing a water jug with his students. These experiences helped spur his activism. He established newspapers to give a voice to marginalized people. He led the Mahad Satyagraha, asserting Dalits’ right to collect water from a public tank, and publicly burned the Manusmriti in 1927. In 1932, he negotiated the Poona Pact with Mahatma Gandhi. Although it involved a difficult compromise, the pact provided reserved seats in legislatures for the Depressed Classes. Ambedkar was outspoken in public life but private by nature. His wife Ramabai died in 1935, and he filled his home in Bombay with a large personal library reported to contain more than 50,000 books. He declared, “I am born a Hindu, but I will not die as one.”
During the period of Indian independence, Jawaharlal Nehru invited Ambedkar to become India’s first Law Minister. Ambedkar chaired the Drafting Committee that prepared the Constitution of India, which abolished the practice of untouchability and established civil liberties and constitutional safeguards, including reservations for historically oppressed communities. He acknowledged the contribution of other constitutional experts, including B. N. Rau, who had prepared an earlier draft. Because of his poor health, including diabetes, Ambedkar married Savita, a doctor who cared for him. In October 1956, he converted to Buddhism in Nagpur along with a vast gathering of followers, commonly estimated at around half a million. He died in his sleep just weeks later, shortly after completing his final major work, The Buddha and His Dhamma. He was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna in 1990. His message, “Educate, agitate, organise,” continues to inspire people seeking equality and social justice.
Complete Ambedkar Research Collection
Download the entire collection of Ambedkar research PDFs available on HISTORY MARG