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| Constituent Assembly Debates Official Report — A representative image. |
File Information
| Document Information | Details |
|---|---|
| Title | CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY DEBATES OFFICIAL REPORT |
| Article Credit | Vol.: VII, Year: 1948, (Pubd in: Bombayhighcourt.gov.in) |
| Author | Dr. B. R. Ambedkar (The Honourable Dr. B. R. Ambedkar (Bombay : General)) |
| Subject | A speech in the Constituent Assembly on the Draft Constitution of India, especially its parliamentary form, federal structure, fundamental rights, Directive Principles, and amendment procedure. |
| Category | Parliamentary Debates |
| Institution | Lok Sabha Secretariat, New Delhi |
| Country of Publication | India |
| Main Topics | Draft Constitution of India, parliamentary system of government, federalism and dual polity, single citizenship, fundamental rights, Directive Principles, amendment of the Constitution, Union and States relationship |
| Number of Pages | 15 |
| Language | English |
| File Type | |
| File Size | 184.4 KB |
Summary Note of this Document
CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY DEBATES OFFICIAL REPORT
The document presents Dr. B. R. Ambedkar’s motion on the Draft Constitution before the Constituent Assembly on 4 November 1948. It is chiefly a defence of the draft as settled by the Drafting Committee, and a detailed response to criticisms already voiced in public and in legislative discussion. Ambedkar argues that the proposed Indian system should be parliamentary rather than presidential, with a responsible executive bound to Parliament. He also explains the Constitution’s federal design, stressing that India would have a dual polity with single citizenship, one integrated judiciary, and room for both flexibility and central authority in emergencies. A large part of the speech compares the draft with the constitutions of the United States, Australia, Britain, Canada, and Ireland to justify provisions on amendment, concurrent powers, and Directive Principles. He rejects demands for absolute fundamental rights, defends safeguards for minorities, and dismisses appeals to village republics as a constitutional model. The speech also addresses the relation between the Centre, Provinces, and Indian States, warning against disunity while urging integration under a single Union. The extract ends with the introduction of Maulana Hasrat Mohani’s amendment proposing postponement of the draft.
Core Themes
- parliamentary responsibility versus presidential executive
- flexible federalism
- minority safeguards
- limits on fundamental rights
- Directive Principles as instruments of instruction
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.
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