Indian Constitution the Vision of B

The inception of the Indian Constitution in 1950 was a significant event not only in the political history of India but also in the history of ‘social justice’ and ‘human rights’. At the same time, it has opened up new avenues of human welfare and development in the Indian subcontinent by providing equal rights and privileges to the citizens at large. The Constitution of independent India was meant more than a mere legal manuscript that likely to structure the norms of governing as well as define the functions of various key institutions and political actors for the whole society in general and underprivileged sections in particular. The latter were exploited in multiple ways over the centuries owing to the dominant social order of Hindu society, and perhaps this is why, they had a lot of expectations from the newly adopted legal document. The primary aim of the paper is to examine the fact that to what extent the Indian Constitution comprises the vision of B. R. Ambedkar and more specifically, to explore the ways in which the social and political philosophy of B.R.Ambedkar have influenced the development of constitution-making in India. Introduction India gained the status of free’ and sovereign in August 15, 1947 after a long struggle and countless sacrifices. It adopted Constitution on November 26, 1949 which came in enforcement on January 26, 1950. It is often considered as one of the gigantic constitutions in the world which establishes a democratic state. The inception of the Indian Constitution in 1950 was a significant event not only in the political history of India but also in the history of social justice’ and human rights‘. At the same time, it has opened up new avenues of human welfare and development in the Indian subcontinent by providing equal rights and privileges to the citizens at large. The Constitution of independent India was meant more than a mere legal manuscript that likely to structure the norms of governing, define the functions of various key institutions as well as political actors for the society as a whole and particularly for the underprivileged sections who were exploited in multiple ways over the centuries especially due to the prevailing dominant social order of Hindu society. The process of constitution-making during the 1940s was thus laden with various sets of expectations and requirements. In fact, it was assumed that the new Constitution would be effective enough to terminate the unending patterns of exploitation based on gender, caste and religion, and bring increasingly sought changes in the deeply hierarchical and unequal social structure so one could live with dignity and possess equal civil rights. 1 It was indeed the first moment in the lives of millions of people, particularly the depressed communities when they were likely to receive an equal treatment and entitlement after the adoption of new Constitution. Insists that a nation‘s Constitution is more than a written legal document as it also entails the fundamental norms and principles of a particular society. Despite the fact that the Constitution of Independent India has borrowed several provisions from the varied Government of India Acts prepared by the Bruisers during the colonial period, the Constitution reflects ‘Indianess’.1 But it is not the concern of this paper to traces the various sources which fashioned the constitutional development in India. The central theme of this paper is to examine the fact that to what extent the Indian Constitution comprises the vision of B. R. B.R.Ambedkar The word Indians here denotes the distinctiveness of the Indian context which forced the constitution-makers to evolve some provisions in the constitution to address the particularities of Indian situation. Indian Constitution: The Vision of B. R. Ambedkar. and more specifically, to explore the ways in which the social and political philosophy of Ambedkar have influenced the development of constitution-making in India. 2 Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (1891-1956) has been considered as the Chief Architect of the Indian Constitution. The text prepared by Ambedkar offered a wide range of constitutional safeguards and guarantees to all citizens, for instance, socio-economic rights, civil liberties, freedom of religion, the abolition of untouchability and the prohibition of all forms of discrimination among others. He argued for extensive economic and social rights for the depressed classes. In addition to constitutional rights, he eventually won the Assembly‘s support for introducing a system of reservations of jobs in the civil services, schools and colleges particularly for members of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. These measures are popularly known as the ‘Policy of Inclusion’ that makes endeavours to include the deprived and overlooked classes in the society. However it is very questionable that to what extent these measures have been succeeded in their teleological tasks. In this way, Ambedkar was a valiant fighter for the cause of social justice and social equality, 1 . Ambedkar, B. R. 1956. Prospects of Democracy in India. New Delhi: Critical Quest.P.49 2 . Ambedkar, B. R. 1937. Annihilation of Caste, 2nd ed., Bombay: Education Department. P.65 Historical Research Letter www.iiste.org ISSN 2224-3178 (Paper) ISSN 2225-0964 (Online)