B.R. Ambedkar

Also called: Babasaheb Ambedkar, Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar · Topic: Framing the Indian Constitution · NCERT: Class 10, Ch 2 "Nationalism in India"; Class 10, Ch 5 "Print Culture and the Modern World"; Class 12, Ch 3 "Mahatma Gandhi and the Nationalist Movement"; Class 12, Ch 4 "Framing the Constitution"

Meaning

B.R. Ambedkar (1891–1956) was a lawyer, economist and leader of the Depressed Classes (Dalits). He fought for Dalit rights under British rule. After Independence he became India's law minister and chaired the Drafting Committee that wrote the Draft Constitution. He matters because he steered that Draft through the Constituent Assembly. Many of the Constitution's ideas on rights and equality were shaped under his guidance.

Explanation

Background: a critic of the Congress

• Ambedkar was trained as a lawyer and economist.
• Under British rule he was a political opponent of the Congress. He attacked it for failing the Depressed Classes (the castes treated as "untouchable", today called Dalits).
• In 1930 he organised Dalits into the Depressed Classes Association.
• At the Second Round Table Conference (1931):
• He clashed with Mahatma Gandhi by demanding separate electorates for Dalits. Under separate electorates, only Dalit voters would elect Dalit members.

• Gandhi feared this would split Hindu society for good.

• When the British accepted the demand:

• Gandhi began a fast unto death in protest.

• The result was the Poona Pact (September 1932). Dalits got reserved seats in the provincial and central legislatures, but these seats were filled by votes from the general electorate (all voters together).

• He also used print to attack caste. In Maharashtra he wrote powerfully against caste inequality, as Jyotiba Phule had done before him.

From opponent to law minister

• After Independence, Ambedkar joined the Union Cabinet as law minister.
• He did this on Gandhi's advice, even though he had long opposed the Congress.
• Why this matters:
• The Congress picked a skilled critic, not just a loyal member.
• This showed that writing the Constitution was treated as a national task, not a party task.

Chairman of the Drafting Committee

• The Assembly set up the Drafting Committee on 29 August 1947 [2].
• Ambedkar was made its Chairman.
• What the committee did:
• It prepared the Draft Constitution.

• Ambedkar then guided the Draft through the Assembly. He explained and defended each part during the debates. This took three years.

• His team:

• K.M. Munshi, a lawyer from Gujarat.

• Alladi Krishnaswamy Aiyar, a lawyer from Madras.

• Help from two civil servants:

• B.N. Rau, the Constitutional Advisor, wrote background papers on the political systems of other countries.
• S.N. Mukherjee, the Chief Draughtsman, turned complicated proposals into clear legal language.

Result

• Ambedkar was one of only six members, out of about 300, who played especially important roles in the Assembly.
• The final Constitution came out of long argument. Ambedkar's job was to turn that argument into one working legal document.

Time, place and evidence

• Life: 1891–1956. His work was centred in Maharashtra, and later in the Constituent Assembly in Delhi.
• Main phases:
• Dalit politics and the Round Table Conferences (c. 1930–32)

• Constitution-making (1946–1950)

• Key people around him:

• Gandhi, his rival at the Second Round Table Conference, who later advised that he join the Cabinet.
• Nehru, who moved the Objectives Resolution.
• Patel, who drafted reports behind the scenes.
• Rajendra Prasad, President of the Assembly.

• Munshi, Alladi, B.N. Rau and S.N. Mukherjee, his fellow drafters and advisers.

• How we know:

• The Constituent Assembly Debates (CAD) are the printed record of the Assembly's debates, in eleven bulky volumes.
• The proceedings of 29 August 1947 record the setting up of the Drafting Committee [2].
• NCERT Class 12, Ch 4 "Framing the Constitution" is the main textbook account.

Don't confuse with

• B.N. Rau: he was the Constitutional Advisor, a civil servant who wrote background papers. He was not a member of the Assembly who chaired the Drafting Committee. Ambedkar was the Chairman.
• Rajendra Prasad: he was President of the Constituent Assembly and ran its debates. Ambedkar chaired only the Drafting Committee.
• Jawaharlal Nehru: he moved the Objectives Resolution and the flag resolution. Ambedkar guided the Draft Constitution through the Assembly.
• Separate electorates vs reserved seats: Ambedkar asked for separate electorates, where only Dalits vote for Dalit candidates. The Poona Pact (1932) gave reserved seats instead, where all voters together elect the Dalit candidates.

Prelims Hooks

• The Drafting Committee was set up on 29 August 1947, with B.R. Ambedkar as Chairman [2].
• Ambedkar joined the Union Cabinet as law minister on Gandhi's advice, though he had opposed the Congress before Independence.
• Lawyers working with Ambedkar: K.M. Munshi (Gujarat) and Alladi Krishnaswamy Aiyar (Madras).
• Trap: B.N. Rau = Constitutional Advisor; S.N. Mukherjee = Chief Draughtsman; Ambedkar = Chairman, Drafting Committee; Rajendra Prasad = President of the Assembly.
• Ambedkar demanded separate electorates for Dalits at the Second Round Table Conference. This led to Gandhi's fast and the Poona Pact (September 1932).
• Guiding the Draft through the Assembly took three years. The Constituent Assembly Debates fill eleven volumes.

Mains Points

• Choosing ability over loyalty: Ambedkar had attacked the Congress for failing the Depressed Classes. Yet he was made law minister and Drafting Committee chairman.
• This shows the framers saw the Constitution as a national project.

• It also brought a strong Dalit voice into the heart of the drafting.

• From separate electorates to constitutional rights: In 1931–32 Ambedkar sought protection for Dalits through separate electorates. After Independence he worked through a common Constitution instead.

• This is a useful example of continuity and change. His aim, dignity and equality for the Depressed Classes, stayed the same. His method moved from separate political representation to rights for all citizens.

• Leadership plus expertise: Ambedkar led the work, but he relied on lawyers (Munshi, Alladi) and civil servants (B.N. Rau, S.N. Mukherjee).

• Because he defended the Draft clause by clause in open debate, the Constitution became a negotiated settlement. It was not a text imposed by a small elite.

Related concepts

• Rajendra Prasad
• Drafting Committee of the Constituent Assembly
• K.M. Munshi
• Alladi Krishnaswamy Aiyar
• B.N. Rau
• S.N. Mukherjee
• Women in the Constituent Assembly
• Rajkumari Amrit Kaur
• Vijayalakshmi Pandit
• Sucheta Kripalani

Read more

• The dominant voices