1. Home
  2. Constituent Assembly Members
  3. B. R. Ambedkar
Image Credits: Wikipedia
B. R. Ambedkar
1891 - 1956

Early Life:

Ambedkar was born on 14 April 1891 in the Mhow Army Cantonment, Central Provinces (present-day Madhya Pradesh) to a Dalit family. His family’s low caste status resulted in his early life being marked by discrimination, segregation and untouchability.

 

Ambedkar’s academic life was prolific. He obtained a B.A in economics and political science from Elphinstone College, an M.A and doctoral degree from London School of Economics, and another doctoral degree from Columbia University in 1927.

 

Role in India’s Independence Movement:

Ambedkar’s role in the independence struggle was complex. Unlike the dominant political discourse that focused on persuading the British to cede greater power to Indians, and to eventually leave India, Ambedkar’s interventions and advocacy centred more around the protection and furtherance of Dalit rights. As a result, he often clashed with the Indian National Congress.

 

He worked towards putting in place political safeguards for untouchables, the first of which was his presentation to the Southborough Committee that was preparing the Government of India Act 1919. Other instances of this were the Poona Pact 1932 , in which he clashed with M.K. Gandhi, and his setting up of the Scheduled Castes Federation party.

 

He also played a key role in social movements that fought for the rights of untouchables to access public utilities and temples, such as the Mahad Satyagraha.

 

Contribution to Constitution Making:

The Indian Constitution and its drafting process are often seen as synonymous with Ambedkar. He is often referred to as the father of the Indian Constitution, and is probably the most well-known of all Constituent Assembly members.

 

Ambedkar became a key figure in India’s constitution-making process due to the offices he held and his interventions and speeches in the Assembly. He was the Chairman of the Assembly’s most crucial committee – the Drafting Committee and a member of other important Committees.  As Drafting Committee Chairman, he had to defend the Draft Constitution which the Committee prepared, and therefore intervened in nearly every debate.

 

On behalf of the Scheduled Caste Federation party, Ambedkar wrote and submitted States and Minorities  to the Constituent Assembly's Sub-Committee on Fundamental Rights. A mini-Constitution in itself, States and Minorities framed strong constitutional protection for the Scheduled Caste community.

 

Ambedkar’s interventions and speeches, on various aspects of the Constitution, were insightful, well-reasoned and scrupulously researched. This won him the support and respect of other members of the Assembly who allowed him to lead the constitution-making project.

 

Later Contributions:

Ambedkar was appointed as the first Law Minister of independent India in 1947. Ambedkar’s ideas as presented in the Hilton Young Commission served as an inspiration behind the creation of the Reserve Bank of India.

 

In 1956, Ambedkar with 3,65,000 supporters converted to Buddhism, after having devoted several years to studying the religion. Ambedkar’s re-invention of Buddhism in the language of social justice is popularly referred to popularly as Dalit Buddhist movement, Navayana, or Neo-Buddhism.

 

As a Scheduled Caste Federation party candidate, Ambedkar contested in India’s first general elections from Bombay North Central constituency. The elections, dubbed as ‘the biggest experiment in democracy in human history’ by Sukumar Sen (then Election Commissioner) saw Ambedkar finish fourth in the race – an unknown candidate from the Congress party took home the seat. Despite his loss in the Lok Sabha elections in 1952, he was elected to the Rajya Sabha.

 

In the later years of his life, his health worsened, and he passed away on 6 December 1956 in his sleep at his home in Delhi. His birth date is celebrated as ‘Ambedkar Jayanti’ in the form of a public holiday. He was posthumously given the Bharat Ratna in 1991.

 

Key Writings:

Dr Ambedkar wrote several books in his lifetime. He wrote three books on economics - Administration and Finance of the East India Company; The Evolution of Provincial Finance in British India; and The Problem of the Rupee: Its Origin and Its Solution. His book, Annihilation of Caste, is considered one of the most authoritative works on Dalit life and politics till date. His other writings include What Congress and Gandhi have done to the untouchables and Pakistan or partition of India. The Ministry of External Affairs has also published his written works and speeches.

  1. Chairman, Drafting Committee;
  2. Member, Committee on Functions of the Constituent Assembly;
  3. Member, Ad hoc committee on the National Flag;
  4. Member, Sub-Committee on Fundamental Rights;
  5. Member, Sub-Committee on Minorities;
  6. Member, Advisory Committee;
  7. Member, Union Constitution Committee;
  8. Member, Sub Committee on Amendment;
  9. Member, Ad Hoc Committee on the Supreme Court;
  10. Member, Ad-Hoc Committee on Citizenship; and
  11. Member, Sub- Committee on Minority Problems affecting East Punjab and West Bengal.

  1. When Ambedkar introduced the Draft Constitution on 4 November 1948 to the Assembly, he defended the inclusion of administrative provisions in the Draft by invoking ‘constitutional morality’.
  2. On 25th November 1949, a day before the Constitution was adopted, Ambedkar vehemently argued that India must strive to be a social democracy and not merely a political democracy. Social democracy, he noted ‘is a way of life which recognizes liberty, equality and fraternity as the principles of life’.
  3. When defending the inclusion of Directive principles of State Policy in the Draft Constitution, he argued that while the principles did not have force in law, they were binding. He believed that they were like instructions regulating the power of the Legislature and Executive for peace, order and good government. He also felt that periodic elections would enforce these principles as legislators would be accountable to the people of India. 
  4. On the issue of centralisation of power, Ambedkar clarified that the fundamental principle of federalism is the division of Legislative and Executive powers between the Union and the States in the Constitution. He reassured that the States were in no way dependent upon the Union government for their legislative or executive powers and that the Union and States were co-equals. 
  5. Ambedkar stated that in choosing a parliamentary system of governance, the Indian constitution has prioritised responsibility and accountability over stability.

  1. Ambedkar’s World: The Making of Babasaheb and the Dalit Movement by Eleanor Zelliot (Navayana, 2012).
  2. The Radical in Ambedkar: Critical Reflections by Anand Teltumbde (Penguin Allen Lane, 2018)
  3. No Laughing Matter : The Ambedkar Cartoons, 1932–1956 by Unnamati Syama Sundar (Navayana, 2019)
  4. Writings and Speeches of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar (Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India)
  5. Ambedkar-Towards An Enlightened India By Gail Omvedt (Penguin, 2008)
  6. Dr. Ambedkar-Life and Mission by Dhananjay Keer (Popular Prakashan, 1954)
  7. Deconstructing Ambedkar by Anand Teltumbde (Economic and Political Weekly, 2015)