Dr Ambedkar: Architect of the Indian Constitution

Ms. Poonam Lamba

Assistant Professor

Department of Law

MMDU, Mullana, Ambala

Contact No. 9468332287

poonamlamba842@rediffmail.com

Abstract
“So long as you do not achieve social liberty, whatever freedom is provided by the law is of
no avail to you” B R Ambedkar
Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar is popularly known all over India as the chief architect of the Indian
Constitution. His efforts to eradicate social evils were remarkable and that is why he is called
the “messiah” of the Dalits and downtrodden class in India. Dr Ambedkar was appointed the
Chairman of the Constitution Drafting Committee. The text prepared by him provided
constitutional guarantees and protections for a wide range of civil liberties for citizens,
including freedom of religion, the abolition of untouchability and outlawing all forms of
discrimination. Ambedkar argued for extensive economic and social rights for women, and
also introduced a system of reservations of jobs for members of the SC and ST. He provided
an inspiring Preamble to the Constitution ensuring justice, social, economic and political,
liberty, equality and fraternity. His contribution in Indian Democracy is not to be forgotten as
he gave a shape to our country of a complete Sovereign, Democratic and Republic based on
adult franchise. According to Ambedkar, there are two fundamental tenets of a free social
order. They are: (i) individual is an end in himself and the aim and object of society is the
growth of the individual and the development of his personality and (ii) the terms of
associated life among members of society must be based on the principles of liberty, equality
and fraternity. The creation of an egalitarian social order, however, remains an unfulfilled
wishful thinking to this day. This research attempts to give closer and analytical insight into
the thoughts of Ambedkar on equality and freedom and the contributions made by him in
framing of the Constitution.

Introduction
Perhaps, the greatest achievement of India after the attainment of independence was framing
of the constitution within a period of 3 years from December 1946 and November 1949.
Framing of the Constitution was a stupendous and a challenging task considering the size,
density and complex problems in India. The credit for the above achievement must go to the
national leaders and their enlightened leadership during that critical period.
The Constituent Assembly was really fortunate to have many distinguished statesmen,
freedom fighter, intellectuals and patriots coming from several spheres of national life and
representing India’s most of the region, interests, social groups and political parties. One such
distinguished statesman and intellectual who was called upon to play a great role in the
making of the India’s Constitution was Dr. B R Ambedkar, who was persuaded by the leaders
of the INC at the suggestion of Mahatma Gandhi to accept the chairmanship of the Drafting
Committee of the Constituent Assembly. Dr. Ambedkar not only accepted the responsibility
of the chairmanship of the Drafting Committee, but also raised to the expectations of the
Constituent Assembly and the people of India.
The role and contribution of Dr.B R Ambedkar to the making of the Indian Constitution is
certainly of the most significant level due to which, when India achieved its independence,
Nehruji made Ambedkar as his first Law Minister and also, in fact, made him the Chairman
of the Indian Constitution Drafting Committee. As writer/drafter/framer and 'prime mover' of
the new Indian Constitution, Ambedkar also had a central role in guiding his committee
towards the sort of socialistic, idealistic vision that he had, and that to some extent he also
shared with Nehru.
Ambedkar's legacy as a socio-political reformer had a deep effect on modern India. In post-
Independence India, his socio-political thought is respected across the political spectrum. His
initiatives have influenced various spheres of life and transformed the way India today looks
at socio-economic policies, education and affirmative action through socio-economic and
legal incentives. He passionately believed in individual freedom and criticised caste based
society. Babasaheb was an Indian nationalist, jurist, political leader, activist, philosopher,
thinker, anthropologist, historian, orator, prolific writer, economist, scholar, editor,
revolutionary and the revivalist of Buddhism in India. Above all, he was the chief architect of
the Indian Constitution. Born into a poor untouchable family, Ambedkar spent his whole life
fighting against social discrimination, the system of Chaturvarna – the Hindu categorization
of human society into four varnas – and the Indian Caste System.
Ambedkar’s Philosophy
Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, like other great national leaders of his generation, was influenced
by the western liberal ideas. During his stay in America, England and Germany for higher
studies in Political Economy and Law, he was exposed to the western liberal thoughts on
constitution and constitutionalism. His advocacy for parliamentary democracy, federal
constitution, supremacy of the constitution as a fundamental document, fundamental rights
with necessary restrictions, safeguards for minorities and provisions relating to amendment of
the constitution, emanating from his exposure to the western liberal ideas as well as his own
ideas as a distinguished social and political thinker and a jurist, had been manifested in the
framing of India’s Constitution. He is a leader whose thoughts continue to be relevant even
today. His ideas on equality, brotherhood, democracy, independence, international economics
and politics are valid even in present times, and his work continues to be effective and
inspiring to many. Subodh Jamgade answer's to “Why do people celebrate Ambedkar
Jayanti?” shows the impact of Dr.Ambedkar on the lives of millions of impoverished in India.
One of the major contributions of Dr.Ambedkar is upliftment of dalits. Many present day
critics point out that he did contribute only for dalit upliftment and did not participate in
freedom struggle. In reality Dalits are also part of India. They were used to be treated worst
than slaves and upliftment of such depressed classes is a service to humanity and nation as
well. Recent surveys of The India Human Development Survey (IHDS), conducted by the
National Council for Applied Economic Research (NCAER) and the University of Maryland,
also reported that 30 per cent of rural and 20 per cent of urban households said they practised
untouchability. A third of rural respondents and a fifth of urban respondents admitted to
practising untouchability. The practice was most common among Brahmins followed by
Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and then non-Brahmin forward castes. .
Dr. Ambedkar had a charismatic personality. He was pragmatic par excellence, who never
allowed him to be swayed by abstract ideas and ideals. He strongly believed that political
independence cannot assure either social solidarity or national integration in the absence of
social justice. Being a democratic socialist, he propagated that fundamental rights have little
meaning to people in the absence of social democracy. Dr. Ambedkar was one of the very
few Indian Statesmen-politicians who actively participated in the discussions on
Constitutional matters from the Monsford Reforms (1919) to the Cabinet Mission (1946)
proposals. He was the first and foremost leader of the depressed classes, and the struggle of
the depressed classes for Human Rights. Dr. Ambedkar played a key role in viewing the
structure of the government and the forms of the Constitution during the chairmanship of the
Drafting Committee of the Constitutient Assembly.
B.R. Ambedkar and Drafting of the Constitution
Due to his seminal role in the framing of the Indian Constitution, Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar is
popularly known all over India as the chief architect of the Indian Constitution. His efforts to
eradicate social evils were remarkable and that is why he is called the “messiah” of the Dalits
and downtrodden in India. Dr Ambedkar was appointed the Chairman of the Constitution
Drafting Committee and he was also the member of the following committees of the
Constituent Assembly viz. Committee on functions, Adhoc Committee on National Flag,
Advisory Committee, Fundamental Rights Sub-Committee, Minorities Sub-Committees,
Union Constitution Committee and Adhoc Committee on the Supreme Court.
On 29th August, 1947 passing one resolution the Constituent Assembly appointed a ‘Drafting
Committee” with the seven members including Dr. Ambedkar for preparing a draft of the
Constitution of the independent India. It is said when drafting of the Constitution of India was
embarked upon, Pandit Nehru and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel thought of inviting and
consulting Sir Guor Jennings, as internationally known constitutional expert of those times.
When approached for advice in the matter Gandhiji is reported to have told them why they
should be looking for foreign experts when they had the right within India an outstanding
legal and constitutional expert in Dr. Ambedkar who ought to be entrusted with the role
which they badly need as he so richly and rightly deserved. The Law Minister Dr. Ambedkar
was appointed the Chairman of the Drafting Committee.
Dr. Ambedkar was honoured step by step. At the first step he was honoured as the member of
the Constituent Assembly. At the second step he was honoured as the first ‘Law Minister’ of
the independent India and at the third step he was honoured as the Chairman of the ‘Drafting
Committee’.
“Thought provoking and provocative, his life is highly, instructive to everyone who yearns
for human dignity and equality in human relation in society.”
These words of one of his biographers describe essence of what he stood for and what he
achieved.
Observing his role in the Constituent Assembly, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the President of the
Constituent Assembly said:
“Sitting in the Chair and watching the proceedings from day to day, I have realised as
nobody else could have, with what zeal and devotion the members of the Drafting Committee
and especially its Chairman, Dr. Ambedkar, in spite of his indifferent health, have worked.
We could never make a decision which was or could be ever so right as when we put him on
the Drafting Committee and made him its Chairman. He has not only justified his selection
but has added lustre to the work which he has done...” The journey of Dr. Ambedkar of
coming as a protestant to the Chairman of the Drafting Committee tells his contribution as a
true nationalist. He, at that time not only thought for the dalits but also for each and every
common man of this country.
Ambedkar the true rebel and rationalist played a major role in the creation of new India. He
has shown to the Indians that the goal under the fabric of Constitution is nothing but to
establish social, economical and political democracy for the betterment of all Indians. The
text prepared by Ambedkar provided constitutional guarantees and protections for a wide
range of civil liberties for individual citizens, including freedom of religion, the abolition of
untouchability and outlawing all forms of discrimination. Ambedkar argued for extensive
economic and social rights for women, and also won the Constituent Assembly’s support for
introducing a system of reservations of jobs for members of the SC and ST. Ambedkar kept
the clauses of the Constitution flexible so that amendments could be made as and when the
situation demanded. He provided an inspiring Preamble to the Constitution ensuring justice,
social, economic and political, liberty, equality and fraternity.
Contribution to the Constitution of India
The Indian social reform movement began with the introduction of new society. The leaders
of these new societies were influenced by ideas of liberty, equality, a belief in the
parliamentary system and the conviction that all men had equal rights before god and the law.
Dr. Ambedkar was one of these leaders and he was main supporter of these values and
advocated for inclusion of these ideas in the Constitution itself. The Constitution of India is
outcome of thought process of Ambedkar. He is considered as father of the Indian
Constitution. Dr Ambedkar was not only a learned scholar and an eminent jurist but also a
revolutionary who fought against social evils like untouchability and caste restrictions etc.
Throughout his life, he battled social discrimination while upholding the rights of the Dalits
and other socially backward classes. He was not only a great national leader but also a
distinguished scholar of international repute. He not only led various social movements for
the upliftment of the depressed sections of the Indian society but also contributed to the
understanding of the socio-economic and political problems of India through his scholarly
works on caste, religion, culture, constitutional law and economic development. The draft
Constitution was the result of the collective efforts of a galaxy of great leaders and legal
scholars in the Constituent Assembly such as Jawaharlal Nehru, Rajendra Prasad, B.R.
Ambedkar, Sardar Patel, B.N. Rao, Alladi Krishnaswamy Ayyar etc. He developed a
comprehensive workable Constitution into which he incorporated his valuable views. He
gave free India its legal framework, and the people, the basis of their freedom. It isuniversally
accepted that Ambedkar has made an immense contribution to the philosophy of our
Constitution and to the constitutional jurisprudence. He was the chief architect of the
Constitution to define the will, goal and the vision of India. He is regarded as the father of the
Constitution and the Constitution is his brainchild. Therefore, whatever principles have been
incorporated in the Constitution, Ambedkar is regarded as a source of it. He was firm
supporter of following values:
I. Abolition of all forms of discrimination of caste and creed, freedom of religion and
abolition of 'untouchability'.
II. Equal rights under law to Indian women and full social and economic freedom to them,
too.
III. Various job quotas guarantees for scheduled castes and tribes and minorities in India, to
ensure fair play and removal of social inequalities for remote and underprivileged
communities.
And these values have been inculcated in the Constitution in the form of Fundamental Rights
and Directive Principles.
Dr. Ambedkar was a champion of fundamental rights, and Part III of the Indian Constitution
guarantees the fundamental rights to the citizens against the state. Dr. Ambedkar as a
Chairman of the Drafting Committee of the Constituent Assembly moved that a new Article
15 A (which, as amended, corresponds to Art 22 of our Constitution) be adopted. He
advocated that personal liberty is not to be abrogated except due process of law. Article 15(4)
empowers the state to make special provisions for the advancement of any socially and
educationally backward classes of citizens or for the schedule castes and schedule tribes. In
the case of Valsamma Paul versus Cochin University (AIR 1996 SC 1010), the apex court
has observed that the object of reservation is to remove the handicaps, disadvantages,
sufferings and restrictions to which the members of the Dalits or tribes or OBCs were
subjected to and was sought to bring them in mainstream of nation. Article 16 guarantees to
all citizens, equality of opportunity, in matters relating to employment or appointment to
public employment. Clause 4 secures reservation for backward class if they do not adequately
represent in the services under the state. Article 17 of the Constitution prohibits
untouchability in all its form. The prohibition of untouchability is the greatest contribution by
Dr. Ambedkar for the people of downtrodden class.

In order to prohibit discrimination among people, the Fundamental Right to Freedom of

Religion has been secured by the Constituent Assembly in the Constitution. The supreme
Court in the case of S R Bommai versus Union of India (AIR 1994 SC 1918) has affirmed
that secularism is a basic feature of the Constitution. In order to preserve the language, script
and culture of minorities, they have been given fundamental rights to establish their own
educational institutions under Art 30. Right to Constitutional Remedies under Article 32 was
termed by Dr. Ambedkar as the “heart and soul of the Constitution of India”.

Article 243 D reserves seats for Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes in every panchayat for
their proportionate reservation at grass root level. Similarly, to secure their representation in
the house of the people, provisions for reservation has been made under under Article 330.
Article 338 and 338 A provides for establishment of National Commission for Schedule
Castes and National Commission for Schedule Tribes respectively. Nonetheless, it is an
undeniable fact that Dr Ambedkar’s dream of the creation of an egalitarian social order still
remains unfulfilled despite the extended period of reservation for SCs and STs.
The Government of India has directed many a times to all states and Union territories to
implement the law in letter and spirit to curb incidents of atrocities against Scheduled Castes,
saying it is the need of the hour. Presiding over a meeting of principal secretaries of
states/UTs of social justice departments on June 3, 2016, Union Minister Thawar Chand
Gehlot expressed concern over the practice of manual scavenging and asked states to ensure
the inhuman practice is eradicated. The Government has initiated many welfare schemes and
programmes like Scholarships for SCs, OBCs and denotified tribes, for ensurance of speedy
and transparent delivery of benefits to these categories, the Direct Bank Transfer (DBT)
mode has been launched, launching of National Scholarship Portal, Integrated Programme
for Older Persons (IPO), for overcoming the menace of drug and alcohol abuse, Centre is
implementing a scheme through Regional Resources and Training Centres (RRTCs) and non-
governmental organisations to create awareness and rehabilitate the addicts etc.

Suggestions

It is universally accepted that Ambedkar has made an immense contribution to the philosophy
of our Constitution and to the constitutional jurisprudence. Much legislation has been passed
for all round development of the weaker section of the society. Among many, Scheduled
Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (POA) was passed to
protect the weakest and vulnerable segments of our society. It has been proved to be a
pioneer in many ways as provisions has been made for the appointment of special courts to
deal with cases relating to atrocities on SC and ST, the punishment for a public servant who
wilfully neglects his duties under the Act has been mentioned.The Act allows the forfeiture of
property of perpetuators of offences defined under the Act and provides for the externment of
person likely to commit offences defined under POA from schedules areas. But inspite of
these pragmatic provisions, there are many loopholes in this Act. On practical aspect this
statute has been proved as impotent and ineffectual because Police instead of filing cases
under POA, filed cases under the normal provisions of the IPC, which facilities easy bail of
the accused persons and hostile role of investigators also facilitates the low conviction rate of
persons accused of committing atrocities.
There is also lack of awareness among the SCs and STs about their rights. There must be
generation of awareness among masses by the government about the features of the social
welfare legislations. The people from rural background must be informed through mass
media communications regarding the programmes or policies framed by the government for
the upliftment of weaker section of the society.
Due to poor implementation of the Act, untouchability, a practice declared illegal under
Article 17 of the constitution continues to remain a reality for several SC/ST households. The
State Governments is required to undertake a comprehensive review of the effectiveness of
the machinery in tackling the issues of Scheduled Castes/ Scheduled Tribes and to take
appropriate measures aimed at increasing the responsiveness of the law enforcement/ law and
order machinery. The data regarding crimes against SCs/STs available with Government of
India indicate that these measures need to be strengthened, so that Scheduled Castes/
Scheduled Tribes feel secure, can enjoy their human rights and live their lives with dignity
and respect that every citizen of India deserves. Despite several steps being taken by the State
Governments, the picture is still very grim and needs to be improved. Complaints are still
being received regarding non-registration of FIRs and unsympathetic/ insensitive attitude of
some police personnel towards crimes against Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes.

In addition to the efforts by the government, we, the people of India should let our mentality
grow and to remove all types of discrimination among human beings on the basis of caste,
creed, sex, race, color etc. The Indians should adopt uniform civil code stated under Article
44 of the Constitution in its true sense, that there must be uniform personal laws to be
applicable on all. There must be encouragement to inter-caste marriage irrespective of
religion or caste. Only then we can fulfill the dream of Dr. Ambedkar of caste free and
enlightened India.

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