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| Indian Constitution the Vision of B. R. Ambedkar — A representative image. |
File Information
| Document Information | Details |
|---|---|
| Title | Indian Constitution the Vision of B. R. Ambedkar |
| Article Credit | Historical Research Letter, ISSN: 2224-3178, Vol.: 17, Year: 2015, (Pubd in: Historical Research Letter) |
| Author | M.SAMPATHKUMAR (PhD,Research Scholar P.G.Research Department ofHistory, Arignar Anna Government Arts College, Musiri-621 211) |
| Subject | A study of how B. R. Ambedkar's social and political philosophy shaped the Indian Constitution, especially its provisions on equality, rights, untouchability, reservations, and constitutional remedies. |
| Category | Academic article |
| Institution | Historical Research Letter |
| Main Topics | B. R. Ambedkar and constitution-making, Indian Constitution and social justice, untouchability and caste discrimination, fundamental rights and constitutional remedies, reservations for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, constitutionalism and democracy, education and weaker sections, Article 32 and Article 17 |
| Number of Pages | 6 |
| Language | English |
| File Type | |
| File Size | 239.0 KB |
Summary Note of this Document
Indian Constitution the Vision of B. R. Ambedkar
Indian Constitution the Vision of B. R. Ambedkar argues that the Indian Constitution carries Ambedkar's social and political philosophy into its central provisions. It places the Constitution in the context of independence, caste inequality, and the hopes of depressed classes who expected legal protection from discrimination and exploitation. The paper presents Ambedkar as the chief architect of the Constitution and links his ideas to rights of equality, liberty, fraternity, and social justice. It stresses the importance of constitutional remedies, especially Article 32, and treats untouchability as a defining issue that the Constitution sought to destroy through Article 17 and related safeguards. The article also connects Ambedkar to reservations in legislatures, civil services, schools, and colleges, and to provisions for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Alongside these measures, it discusses democracy, minority safeguards, education for weaker sections, and the need for social union in a divided society. The final section notes the gap between constitutional ideals and continuing caste oppression, suggesting that Indian institutions have not fully realized the egalitarian vision associated with Ambedkar.
Core Themes
- constitutional equality
- social justice for depressed classes
- anti-untouchability legislation
- political representation and reservation
- democracy with minority safeguards
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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