Articles
Dr Ambedkar : India’s Constitution and After
Dt:14/2/23
Dr Ambedkar : India’s Constitution and After
Dr T.H.Chowdary*
Introduction:
Dr Ambedkar continues to be a compelling presence in the political arena of Bharat. His epic exertions against untouchability and for human rights are the equals of Nelson Mandela of South Africa and Martin Luther King Jr of the USA. His work in the Constituent Assembly ( 1946-1949), the provisional Parliament ( Aug 1947 to March 1952) and in the Rajya Sabha ( 1952-1956) has been monumental/ His dream for a socialist, democratic, welfare Bharat, especially uplifting the Dalits could not be built into part-III ( enforceable fundamental rights) of the Constitution. As Chairman of the Drafting Committee piloting the passage of the final draft of the Constitution he had to work within the bounds set by the Congress Party, especially its towering leaders, Nehru, Patel and Dr. Rajendra Prasad.
ii. That independent India needed a Constitution framed by Indians was realized during our freedom movement. Motilal Nehru drew up one in 1928. K.M.Munshi wrote one in greater detail at Gandhiji’s behest in 1934.
iii. Clement Atlee, Prime Minster of war - exhausted and debilitated Greta Britain in march 1946 decided and made the announcement to quit India by not later than August 1948 . He sent the Cabinet Mission ( March-May) 1946 to work out modalities of transferring power to Indians. After extensive consultations with leaders all shades of opinions, The Cabinet Mission “sold” the scheme for a nominally united three-tier federal India with British India’s provinces as “Units”,
composing three Groups and the Groups forming Federal India with jurisdiction only over three subjects: defense, foreign affairs and communications. Two Groups (N.W -3 and N.E- 2) would be Muslim majority (Pakistans) and one in the middle ( 6 provinces) Hindu majority. The 565 Indian Princes’ States could join either the Hindu Group or the Muslim Groups or be independent ! To implement this Cabinet Mission Plan, which was accepted by Congress and Muslim League, the Constituent Assembly was constituted and convoked in 1946 by the Vice-Roy and Governor General, Lord Wavell.
iv. Sir B N Rau, ICS was assigned as adviser to the Constituent Assembly. He studied the Constitutions of more than a score of countries, especially of the USA, Australia, Ireland, South Africa and Canada. He drew up a draft Constitution for independent India. That included 250 articles of the Government of India Act 1935 which formed part of the final 395 Articles ( 26 Nov 1949) Constitution of India.
v. The Constitution of independent India is thus the product of labours of several persons and from several sources. Dr. Ambedkar as Chairman of the Drafting Committee had made a “whole” of several “parts”, all into a magnificent text, with provision for amendments ( Art-368) to reflect the needs of a dynamically changing aspirations of multi-splendoured Bharatiyas. The only permanent thing in the world is change. Whether that change is for better or worse depends upon the dominant intellectual class.
vi. Dr Ambedkar wrote, “ in every country, the intellectual class is the most influential class, if not the governing class. The intellectual class is a class which can foresee, it is the class which can advice and give lead. In no country that the mass of the people live the life of intelligent thought an action. It is largely imitative and follows the intellectual class. There is no exaggeration in saying that the entire destiny of a country depends up on its intellectual class. If the intellectual class is honest, independent and disinterested it can be trusted to take the initiative and give a proper lead when a crisis arises. It is true that intellect by itself is no virtue. It is only a means and the use of means depends upon the ends which an intellectual person pursues . An intellectual man can be a good man but he can easily be a rogue . Similarly an intellectual class may be a band of high- souled persons ready to help, ready to emancipate erring humanity or it may easily be a gang of crocks or a body of advocates of a narrow-clique from which it draws its support.” ( Dr Baba Sahib Ambedkar : Writings and Speeches, Vol. I, page 71)
vii. Do we now have such intellectual class which truly and honestly cherishes Bharat’s millennial civilization and culture and continuously strives to faithfully nourish Bharateeyata and Bharata Rashtra , inspiring and instructing Bharateeyas to build a prosperous egalitarian, powerful, intellectual and ethical Bharat to be a Jagadguru to the troubled humanity.
viii. In the next article/ paper I am addressing Dr Ambedkar’s exit from Hinduism and conversion to Buddhism of his conception which is being described now as Navayana Buddhism ( the third variant, the other two being Mahayana and Hinayana) by some and as Ambedkarism by some others.
viii. Finally as myself I hold Dr Ambedkar as a great intellectual, scholar, nationalist and reformer.
1. The World’s Longest Constitution:
The drafting and final adoption of the Constitution for India was a huge exercise participated in by a galaxy of legal and political luminaries - K.M.Munshi, Dr B.R. Ambedkar, N. Gopalaswami Iyangar, Alladi Krishnaswami Iyer; Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, among others. The Constituent Assembly ( Consembly for short) convoked on Nov 1946 before India’s partition and independence on 15-08-1947 in contested implementation of Britain’s Cabinet Mission Plan ( March- May 1946) for a three tiered ( Provinces, Groups of Provinces and a Center) free but feeble India. Nehru’s announcement of 10-07-1946 that “Congress would enter the Consembly completely unfettered by agreements of Cabinet Mission Plan of 16 May 1946 and free to meet all situations as they arise” was construed by the Muslim League as Congress’s rejection of the Cabinet Plan and so, it also rejected the Plan; insisted on partition of India to create Islamic state of Pakistan, launched Direct Action of communal riots) on 16 Aug 1946 and boycotted the Consembly.
2. Dr Ambedkar’ Entry into Consembly:
In 1946 following the Cabinet Mission (March, 1946 to June 1946) persons were elected to the Constituent Assembly, the electorate was the MLAs in the Provinces. Dr Ambedkar could not get elected from any of the Congress- ruled provinces. Sri Jogendranath Mondal, a very popular Scheduled Caste leader of East Bengal resigned his membership of the Consembly and made way for Dr Ambedkar. When India was partitioned, East Bengal became East Pakistan . Dr Ambedkar ceased to be a member of the Consembly. At Gandhiji’s suggestion Sardar Patel and Rajendra Prasad, much against Nehru’s opposition, wrote on 1st July 1947 to Premier Sri B G Kher of Bombay province to send Dr Ambedkar before 14 July to the Constituent Assembly in the vacancy caused by resignation of Sri M R Jayakar.
3. Consembly without Muslim League Members:
3. The Consembly continued its deliberations unmindful of Muslim League’s boycott. Dr Ambedkar was taken into the Drafting Committee ( one of several committees) on 29 Aug 1947 which elected him as its Chairman on 30 Aug 1947. The Constitution as it was finally adopted on 26 Nov 1949 was the work of several Committees and sub-committees. Dr Ambedkar carried out the laborious and intellectual task of seeing that the reports of various committees were mutually consistent. The Draft Constitution was introduced in the Consembly for discussion by Dr Ambedkar on 4th Nov 1948. Dr. Ambedkar piloted the final draft through the three readings after which it was adopted on 26 Nov 1949. 7635 amendments were proposed by different Members. Of them, 2473 were actually moved, and debated; a few were accepted with some modifications. Chairman of the Drafting Committee Dr Ambedkar put the 395 Articles, (250 of which were from the Government of India Act 1935) of the world’s longest Constitution as a consistent whole. Eloquent tributes were paid to him.
4. Dr. Ambedkar becomes India’s Statesman:
4.1 When elected to the Constituent Assembly Dr Ambedkar’s object was to safe -guard the interests of the SCs. But when he was made a member of the Drafting Committee and the Drafting Committee elected him as its Chairman, 30nSept 1947 there began a shift in his position from a radical defender and promoter of the interests of Schedule Castes; he had to think about the whole of India and take note of the views of the overwhelming number of members of the Consembly and so, he put all his heart and soul in making as best a constitution as the Congress and other members desired. As days passed there was shift in the thinking about his role in constitution- making and his opinion about the Constitution .
4.2 While taking the final draft of Constitution through the three readings, he defended every clause as it was in the draft presented for adoption. He rebutted every criticism about every article from all quarters. People are therefore going to the extent of saying that it is Dr Ambedkar’s Constitution.
5 Ambedkar Constitution ?
Many are, of late, calling our Constitution which by now, December 2022 has been amended 103 times, as “Ambedkar Constitution”. The irony is that Dr. Ambedkar repudiated and denounced it strongly and eloquently (Page -52, “Makers of Constitution” ). Dr Ambedkar joined the Nehru cabinet as Law Minister on 15 Aug 1947 and resigned from the Nehru cabinet in Sept/ Oct 1951, levelling grave charges against Nehru. In the debate on Andhra State Bill on 2nd Sept 1953 he even said he was merely a hack doing what was required of him to produce the Constitution as it was adopted on 26 -11-1949. He even said, he would burn it! Extracts from the speeches of Dr. Ambedkar , Chairman of the Drafting Committee and Dr Rajendra Prasad, President of the Consembly on 26 Nov 1949 at the adoption of the final version of the Constitution are given in this paper as Annex – I & II. It is obvious that not many Members of Parliament have imbibed the real spirit of our constitution or the ideals that inspired Mahatma Gandhi , Dr Ambedkar, Sardar Patel and even Jawaharlal Nehru. The caliber and character of the MPs we elected and the parties which put them up are indeed unbecoming of the lofty objectives of our Constitution and of India to be rid of casteism, linguism, communalism , illiteracy and poverty.
6. Dr Ambedkar entered the Consembly to protect SC interests:
Dr Ambedkar according to his own statement entered the Consembly in 1946 as a Shedule Caste Federation (SCF) candidate from Bengal to safe -guard the interests of the Shedule Castes has been included in the Drafting Committee ; in Aug 29, 1947; it elected him to the Chairmanship of the Drafting Committee on 30 Aug 1947 . In that position he had to conduct himself as a statesman, not only to protect the interests of SCs, but of the country and its people as a whole. He rose to the occasion and laboured hard for all the duration of the Consembly till the Constitution was adopted on Nov 26, 1949, accepting some amendments, rejecting others and bringing about harmony between all the articles of the Constitution.
7. Ambedkar’s Memorandum:
7.1 In March 1947 ( much before he was made a Member and Chairman of the Drafting Committee) Dr Ambedkar circulated among the Consembly Members a printed memorandum with the title “States and Minorities” wherein he advocated among others, separate electorate and reservation for SCs. Dr Ambedkar held that unless the SCs were economically and socially uplifted rapidly by affirmative action, the objective of social equality of all would not be realized. Since he could not get his drastic propositions in this memorandum like, natioanlisation of agricultural land, all industries only in the government sector and that government should provide employment for all and look after their welfare…. ….in addition to specific measures for economic upliftment of SCs , he incorporated all these objectives into Part-IV; that is Directive Principles of State Policy. They can be implemented only if successive governments make legislation to effectualise them as for eg: government’s duty to provide compulsory free education for all children from ages 6 to 14 (Article- 40 ) . Panchayati Raj (Article - 40) which were legislated only later.
7.2 Dr K.M. Munshi Summarized Ambedkar’s Memorandum (pre-1947) as :
a . All basic industries were to be owned by the State , to be run by it or by public corporations
b. Subsisting rights in basic and key industries and insurance were to be acquired by the State after payment of compensation in the form of debentures .
c. Agriculture was to be a State industry; land was to be acquired by the State, was to be divided into collective farms of standard size to be cultivated collectively. The State was to finance the cultivation; a part of the produce was to be taken by the State as land revenue; another was to be paid to the debenture holders ;a third to be invested in capital goods
d. The representatives of the minorities in the Cabinet were to be elected by members of each community in the legislatures by single transferable vote; the representatives of the majority community were to be elected by the whole house i.e including the minorities among whom were included as a separate group) by single transferable vote.
e. The SCs were to have the right to representation based on population in certain cases and in others, with weightage (as for Muslims during British rule)
f. At least one representative of the Schedule Caste should be on every Public Service Commission and every committee constituted for making appointments ( P 161 & 162) . ( The Constitution of India , Role of K M Munshi by Sesh Rao Chavan)
7.3 Munshi ji observed, with the scheme ( in Dr Ambedkar’s Memo) was accepted , “ a State would be a totalitarian apparatus run for the benefit of Shedule Castes in which the majority would be politically reduced to the status of second class citizens”. (P 161)
7.4 In Dr Ambedkar’s memorandum, “States and Minorities” the provision of Fundamental Rights was very different from the other drafts that were considered and adopted. His strictly time- bound 10- year program of socialistic reconstruction of society and economic development would , he thought, make reservations for SCs/ STs unnecessary after the initial period ( of 10 years). ( Page-178, “Seshrao the Makers of Indian Constitution”).
8. Dr Ambedkar on Governors:
8.1 Dr Ambedkar did not like the idea of making governors as simple rubber stamp. In fact, some parties like the “statement parties”, that is communists are agitating for the abolition of the governors post alleging that they are agents of the ruling party at the Center and so not approving the names of persons suggested for nomination to the Legislative Councils in some States , and not giving ascent to bills passed by the legislature and so on.
8.2 While speaking in Parliament on 2 Sept 1953 on Andhra State Bill ( 1953) he said this, “…we have inherited on account of our hatred to the British certain ideas about democracy which it seems to me are not universally accepted. We inherited the idea that the governor must have no power at all, that he must only be a rubber stamp. If a minister however scoundrel, he may be, however corrupt, he may be if puts up a proposal before the governor he has to ditto it . That is the kind of conception about democracy which we have developed in this country”. An MP Sri M S Ranawat interjected: “ But you defended it”. Then Dr Ambedkar responded , “ we, lawyers defend many things ….…we happened to develop a theory of democracy simply because of our opposition to the British ……” (P. 173, The Makers of India’s Constitution : Myth and Reality. Seshrao Chavan: Bhavan’s publication)
9. Dr Ambedkar against Panchayati Raj:
Dr Ambedkar was against Panchayats and Panchayati Raj so dear to Gandhiji and his bhaktas in the Congress. Here is what Dr Ambedkar said about village Panchayats.
9.1 On 6th October 1932, in the Bombay Legislative Assembly Dr. Ambedkar declaimed that “India has not succeeded in producing nationalism…the chief reason is the existence of the village (Panchayat) system…..under the ancient village Panchayat India instead of being a country of united people became a loose conglomeration….with no common tie, except common allegiance to a king”. (LIV, P 54 Seshrao the Makers of Indian Constitution )
9.2 Because of his severe dislike of Panchayats and Panchayati Raj. Dr Ambedkar, on the insistence of the Gandhiite MPs of the Congress put the Panchayat Raj in the Directive Principles ( Art-40). It was during Rajiv Gandhi’s Prime Ministership an act was passed for the village Panchayats to be statutorily constituted, elections-held and certain powers and funds given to them. It is common knowledge that the Panchayats now are no different from the legislatures that is, they have become party- controlled and every ill that afflicts the legislators and the elections, apply to the Panchayat system also.
9.3 Gandhi bhaktas in the Consembly wanted that Panchayati Raj and village self-government should find prominent place in the Constitution. Dr Ambedkar opposed this very vehemently. Dealing with the suggestions for village governments, Ambedkar said: “ the village was a sink of localism , a den of ignorance, narrow-mindedness and communalism …..the village republics had been the ruination of India. …he was glad that the draft Constitution had discarded the village and adopted the individual as its unit.”
9.4 He was however prevailed upon to include it in the Directive Principles ( Article - 40 ). It was only during Rajiv Gandhiji’s Prime Ministership (1984-’89) that this Directive Principle about Panchayati Raj was given its statutory existence. We now have 3,50,000 Panchayats wherein reservations are made for SCs, women and even BCs.
10. Dr. Ambedkar & Article 370: When Shaikh Abdullah met Dr B R Ambedkar, he gave him a patient hearing. After Abdullah had finished, Ambedkar told him: "You want India to defend Kashmir, feed its people, undertake its all round development and give Kashmiris equal rights all over the country; but you do not want the rest of India and Indians equal rights in Kashmir. I am the Law Minister of India. I cannot betray my country." With these words, he refused to draft the article Abdullah desired. Nehru never dared to talk to Ambedkar on this subject. This showed that Ambedkar was a better nationalist than Nehru and his approach in regard to Kashmir was more realistic.(Source: Nationalist Extraordinary, By Balraj Madhok)
11. Dr Ambedkar on Re-writing the Constitution: In his long speech introducing the final draft of the Constitution for adoption Dr Ambedkar pointedly referred to the Communist Party which was condemning the Constitution as presented by him . He said, “ the condemnation of the Constitution largely comes from two quarters , the communist party and the socialist party. Why do they condemn the Constitution? Is it because it is really a bad Constitution? I venture to say “no”. The communist party wants a Constitution based upon the principle of the Dictatorship of the Proletariat. They condemn the Constitution because it is based upon parliamentary democracy…..” . He further said, “what I do say is that the principles embodied in the Constitution are the views of the present generation , or , if you think this to be over statement , I say the are the views of the Constituent Assembly. …” He further said, “Jefferson the great American statesmen who played so great a part in the making of the American Constitution, has expressed some very weighty views which makers of the Constitution can never afford to ignore. In one place, he has said : “ we may consider each generation as a distinct nation , with a right , by the will of the majority , to bind themselves , but none to bind the successive generation more than the inhabitants of another country”…… “The earth belongs not to the dead but to the living…” ( Pages 97 & 98 : The Makers of Indian Constitution: Myth and Reality by Seshrao Chawan, published by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan with foreword from Js H R Khanna and Preface by Dr L M Sanghvi both distinguished and eminent jurists ) .
On another occasion Dr Ambedkar observed in the Constituent Assembly : “The workability of a constitution is not a matter of theory. It is a matter of sentiment. A constitution like clothes must suit as well as please . If the Constitution does not please, then however perfect it may be it will not work . To have a constitution which runs counter to the strong sentiments of a determined section (of people) is to court disaster if not to invite rebellion”. (Source: Page 365 ; Pakistan or the Partition of India of B R Ambedkar)
12. Nationalist Muslims in the Consembly :
The “nationalist” Muslims in the Congress Party acted under the guidance of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, urged reservations with weightage for Muslims, as before Independence . At a later stage, two leading “nationalist” Muslims, Abdul Quaiyum Ansari and Maulana Hafiz -ur-Rahman wanted a provision inserted in the Constitution to the effect that Muslim Qazis should be appointed to administer shariat laws and a Muslim minister placed in-charge of waqfs. (P. 160 , The Constitution of India, Role of Dr K M Munshi, Bhavans book by Sesh Rao Chavan)
13. Ambedkar disowns the Constitution ascribed to him:
13.1 After he resigned from the cabinet ( Sept 27/ Oct 10, 1947) because of differences with Jawaharlal Nehru in Oct 1951, his views about the Congress party as well as the Constitution changed radically. He went to the extent of saying that “he was a hack and he did what he was asked to do much against his will and also that he will be the first person to burn the Constitution. He does not want it . It does not suit anybody” he said.
13.2 While speaking in the Parliament on 2 Sept 1953 on Andhra State Bill of 1953 Dr Ambedkar said: “ people always keep on saying to me , oh! You are the maker of the Constitution. His answer is I was a hack. What I was asked to do , I did much against my will”.
Sri P .Sundaraiah ( Communist leader in Rajya Sabha) asked, “ why did you serve your masters then like that? ……
13.3 In the Same speech Dr Ambedkar further said, “ Sir, my friends tell me that I have made the constitution. But I am quite prepared to say that “I shall be the first person to burn it out. I do not want it. It does not suit anybody. ……”
13.4 On another occasion while speaking on the amendment to Article -31, on 19 March 1955 Dr. Anup Singh (Punjab), MP interrupted Dr Ambedkar and said, “ last time when you spoke you said, that you burn the constitution . Dr Ambedkar replied : “ do you want a reply to that ? I would give it to you right now “. …… In a hurry I did not explain the reason ….. Now I shall give the reason. The reason is this: “We built a temple for a God to come in and reside , but before the God could be installed , if the devil has taken the possession of it, what else could we do except destroy the temple” .
14. Dr Ambedkar’s happiness at “separation of India from Pakistan”:
14.1 Dr Ambedkar was happy at the partition of India. He expressed his happiness in the following words: “ I was glad that India was separated from Pakistan. I was the philosopher so to say, of Pakistan . I advocated Pakistan because I felt that it was only by partition that Hindus would not only be independent but free. If India and Pakistan had remained united in one state, Hindus would be not independent would have been in the mercy of Muslims. A merely independent India would not have been a free India from the point of view of the Hindus. It would have been a government of one country by two nations and of these two, the Muslims without question would have been ruling race notwithstanding Hindu Mahasabha and Jana Sangh. When partition took place I felt that God was willing to lift his curse and let India be one great and prosperous nation. But I fear that the curse may fall again. For I find that those who are advocating linguistic states have at heart an idea of making the regional language as their official language. This will be the death knell to the idea of united India. With regional language as official language the ideal to make India one united country and to make Indians , “Indians First Indians Last”, will vanish. ( Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar’s Writings and Speeches, Vol- 1, Page- 146)
15. Dr Ambedkar on Nehru’s blunders:
15.1 In the last week of Oct 1951, in a meeting in Jalandhar he declared that “ there was no place for the SCs in the heart of the Congress party”. And added that “ Nehru suffered from Muslim mania” (P-458 Dhananjay Keer)
15.2 While campaigning in the bye-election to a SC reserved seat in the Lok Sabha in April 1954 Dr Ambedkar launched a frontal bitter attack on Nehru (this was in addition to the five failures accusation he leveled against Nehru in Oct 1951 when he resigned from the cabinet). He said Nehru’s foreign policy had made India a friendless country. Nehru has bungled the Kashmir issue and had sheltered men who were dishonest and that India was encircled by a kind of United States of Islam on one side; on the other side, there were Russia and China in a combination for the conquest of Asia to bring communism”. ( P-453 Dhananjay Keer: Dr Ambedkar : Life and Mission )
15.3 No wonder that Sonia -directed Manmohan Singh government (2004-14) launched and implemented “ Muslim First” ( not SC or ST) special development programs in Sachar Committee identified over 80 significantly Muslim populous districts of Bharat. Nehru’s Congress has been in alliance with the Indian Union Muslim League in Kerala for the last few decades.
16. Dr Ambedkar: Hyderabad as Second Capital of India :
“India had always two capitals. During the Mughals they were Delhi and Srinagar, Delhi in winter and Srinagar in summer. The British too had two capitals - Calcutta and Shimla and later, Delhi and Shimla . Neither the Mughals nor the British cared for the people. We now have popular government. The convenience of the people is an important factor. Delhi is most inconvenient to the people of South India. ……. Delhi is a vulnerable place . It is within bombing distances of the neighboring countries…… ..it can not be assumed that India will not have to face war sometimes or the other and if the war comes in force government of India will have to leave Delhi and find another place for the location……….. I find Hyderabad be an ideal place. Hyderabad , Secunderabad and Bollarum should be constituted into a Chief Commissioners Province ( now Union Territory) and made a second capital of India. Hyderabad fulfills all the requirements of a capital for India. It is equal distance to all states. ….. From the defense point of view it would give safety to the Central government …..it would give satisfaction to the South Indian people that their government is sometimes with them. Delhi may be capital during winter month and Hyderabad during rest of the year. Hyderabad has all the amenities which Delhi has and it is a far better city than Delhi. It has all the grandeur which Delhi has . Buildings are growing up and they are really beautiful ……far superior to those in Delhi. It would be to the satisfaction of the whole of South India, to Maharashtra and to the Andhras. ( xlvii – viii The Makers of Indian Constitution – Myth and Reality by Sesh Rao Chavan, publication of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan)
17 . Dr Ambedkar’s failure “ to be a Member of the Lok Sabha:
17.1 He was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Bombay state in 1952. Dr Ambedkar contested for a seat in the Lok Sabha from Bombay in the General Elections in Jan 1952 as a candidate from Shedule Caste Federation. Sri SA Dange of the communist party of India canvassed against him advising the electorate not to vote for Ambedkar but cast their votes to his opponent. Ambedkar was defeated by Sri Rajbhoj , the Congress’ SC candidate. In April 1954 while campaigning in Bhandara as a candidate in the bye-election to the Lok Sabha he accused Nehru of “sheltering men who were dishonest” ( P 453 , Dhananjay Keer). In this second attempt to get elected to the Lok Sabha, Dr Ambedkar was defeated by the combined efforts of Communists and Congress. He continued to be a member of Rajya Sabha till his death, 6 Dec 1956 .
17.2 Dr Ambedkar was ever opposed to Communists in India as well as in the Soviet Union . In the late 1930s, Dr Ambedkar stated that he would not join any labour movement led by communists. He declared , “ that he was a confirmed enemy of the communists who exploited the labourers for political ends”. (p 296 Dhanajay Keer) Avoiding communists and Trade Unions controlled by them, Dr Ambedkar founded the Independent Labour Party in Aug 1936. It tried to wean away textile labourers of Bombay from the communist controlled Girni Kamgar Union. In the 1937 General elections, the ILP won 15 of the 17 seats reserved for SCs in Bombay Province.
17.3 Dr Ambedkar was member of Consembly from Dec 1946 and Consembly cum Parliament of independent India from 15 Aug 1947 to 19 March 52 when he became the Rajya Sabha member when it was constituted. Since then till his death on 6 Dec 1956 he remained a member of the Rajya Sabha.
18. Dr Ambedkar for Separate Electorate for Muslims ! :
It will shock many people to know that Dr Ambedkar, after quitting the Nehru cabinet in Sept / Oct 1951, while campaigning in the 1952 General Elections to the Lok Sabha made a speech before the Muslims of Bom ay impressing on their minds the importance of separate electorates. This speech was lamented by many of his sympathizers who said that it was unbecoming of the Father of the Constitution ( page 330, Dhananjaya Keer Dr Ambedkar: Life and Mission, Popular Prakashan - 1995 Reprint)
19. The Climax – “ Buddhism” :
Jawaharlal Nehru did not give importance to Dr Ambedkar and did not recognize his merits and confined him to the Law Ministry. Nehru did not include him in any Cabinet Committee during the entire period 15 Aug 1947 to 10Oct 1951 during which he was Minister for Law ! He felt he had no opportunity to show his talents as an economist and a determined social reformer. Nehru could not get the Parliament to enact the Hindu Code Bill as drafted by Dr Ambedkar in the period Aug 1947-’52. And in the next Parliament in 1952 -57 when the Hindu Code Bill was being presented in parts, Nehru did not allow Dr Ambedkar’s attempt to reform, the Muslim Personal Law especially in regard to marriage, inheritance adoption etc. This was another reason why Dr Ambedkar bitterly criticized Nehru later. The climax was Dr Ambedkar’s call to the SCs to leave the Hindu fold and convert not to Islam or Christianity but only to an indigenous dharma, namely, Buddhism (of his enunciation later).
20. Dr Ambedkar’s “Dalit Bandhu” Scheme:
20.1 One of the persisting passions of Dr B.R. Ambedkar was upliftment of Dalits termed Schedule Castes in the Constitution and in other legislation. On Sept 6, 1954 while speaking in the Rajya Sabha on the report of the Commission for Schedule Castes and Scheduled Tribes, pleaded for re- imposition of salt tax and creation of Gandhi Trust Fund for the uplift of the untouchables with the revenue from the re-imposed salt tax. He said that the fund could be utilised for re-settling the SCs on waste lands . The abolition of salt tax was done in memory of Mr Gandhi ( two tall leaders Md Ali Jinnah and Dr Ambedkar never used the honourific “Mahatma” while referring to Gandhiji. Both always referred to him as “Mr.Gandhi” only ). He pleaded for imposing a ceiling on land holdings, acquire the excess land above the ceiling and distribute it among the S.Cs. The Gandhi Trust Fund could be used to buy farm lands for distribution to SCs, he said. (P. 202, Ambedkar : and Economist Extraordinaire : by Narendra Jadhav: 2015 Konark Publishers)
20.2 Sri K Chandrasekhara Rao’s ( Chief Minister of Telangana) Dalit Bandhu is intended to help the Dalits quit poverty . There was legislation imposing ceiling on agricultural land holding as well as urban land . The excess over the ceiling could have been procured by government and allotted to Dalits . It is not too late. If the governments are sincere to lift up the Dalits economically and therefore socially, they should create property for them. What better property can they have than agricultural and urban land?
20.3 Most agricultural land owned by non-SC, non-ST persons is cultivated by landless labourers on lease (kaulu). The input subsidy that government is giving is to the title- holder that is, the absentee landlord and not to the tenant farmer . This must be corrected.
20.4 Politicians of all hues chant the name of Dr Ambedkar in and out of season. The real and sincere tribute to him should be by helping the Dalits to have property . The agricultural land of the absentee landlords and the excess over the celling in urban lands must be acquired by government, paid for by interest- bearing bonds and allotted to Dalits, thus making them property owners of land; then they can quit poverty. This will be the real Dalit Bandhu program which must be taken up in earnestness by all sincere politicians.
21. Dr Ambedkar on Gandhiji:
After the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, Dr Ambedkar wrote a letter dated 8 Feb 1948 to Sharada alias Lakshmi Kabir who later became his wife ( first wife Ramabai died in 27 May 1935) in which he said, “ …I owe nothing to Mr. Gandhi and he has not contributed to my spiritual, moral and social make up. "Mr. Gandhi had become a positive danger to his country. He had choked all the thoughts. He was holding together the Congress which is a combination of all the bad and self-seeking elements in society who agreed on no social or moral principle governing the life of society except the one of praising and flattering Mr Gandhi. Such a body is unfit to govern the country". And the Bible says that something good comes out of evil, so also I think that good will come out of the death of Mr. Gandhi. He will release people from bondage to superman, It will make them think for themselves and it will compel them to stand on their own merits. And to that, he added: “My real enemy has gone, thank goodness, the eclipse is over” (Source: A Reporter At Large ( page 238/239) by M V Kamat)
22. Dr Ambedkar and Swatantra Veer Savarkar:
22.1 Swatantra Veer Savarkar is denounced by Communists, secularists and Muslims as a Hindu fundamentalist who has identified India with Hindutva. Few people seem to know that Dr Ambedkar and Savarkar were mutually respectful ; Dr Ambedkar used very harsh words about Gandhiji and Nehru but was always appreciative of Sri Savarkar as one person who genuinely and wholeheartedly and furiously worked for reforms in Hindu society especially elimination of untouchability and elevation of the Dalits to social equality with the rest of the Hindus. On the occasion of the Silver Jubilee ( 1941) celebrations of Dr Ambedkar Veer Savarkar paid the following tribute to Dr Ambedkar. Sri Dhananjay Keer reproduced this ( P- 346 ) in his book, Dr Ambedkar: Life and Mission.
22.2 The most important tribute full of appreciation and estimation came from Savarkar. A political and social revolutionary was estimating the work of another revolutionary ! Offering his hearty felicitations to Ambedkar on his Golden Jubilee Savarkar observed: “ Ambedkar’s personality, erudition and capacity to lead and organise would have by themselves marked him out as an outstanding asset to our nation. But in addition to that inestimable services he had rendered to our Mother land in trying to stamp out untouchability and the results he has achieved instilling a manly spirit of self-confidence in millions of the Depressed Classes constitute an abiding , patriotic as well as humanitarian achievement. The very fact of the birth of such a towering personality among the so called untouchable castes could not but liberate their souls from self-depression and animate them to challenge the supererogatory claim of the so called “touchable”.
22.3 When Sri Savarkar was implicated in the crime of Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination, Dr Ambedkar was Minister for Law in Nehru’s Cabinet. He was convinced that Nehru was trying to fix up Savarkar in the conspiracy to assassinate Mahatma Gandhi. Sri Bhopatkar was defending Savarkar in the case that was foisted against him. One day while in the guest house of the Hindu Maha Sabha in Delhi Bhopatkar received a telephone call . Caller did not announce his name. He asked Bhopatkar to come to a particular place and at such and such a time and meet him.
22.4 Bhopatkar out of curiosity went to that place specified as a Rendezvous. He was surprised to see Dr Ambedkar in a non-governmental car. That Ambedkar told Mr. Bhopatkar that he had gone through case. It was all cooked up one and it could be easily defended by Sri Bhopatkar for which purpose he gave the arguments to be presented. Such is the regard and esteem that Dr Ambedkar had for Swatantra Veer Savarkar . Both were neglected and relegated by the Nehruvian scribes. But truth has got the property of never dying . Now the nation is paying its due tributes to both the Swatantra Veer Savarkar and Dr Ambedkar.
22.5 The Nehruvian clan never had any respect to Dr Ambedkar and Savarker. Nehru and Indira received the award Bharat Ratna during their Prime MInistership in 1955 and 1971 respectively. Dr Ambedkar was awarded Bharat Ratna posthumously in 1990 when the Nehru clan was in power. Savarkar is not yet given .
23. Dr Ambedkar on Birth-day Celebrations and Statues :
23.1 Mahatma Gandhi was against a holiday being declared on his birth day 2 Oct. He wanted it to be a “Day of All Work and No Holiday”. To declare my birthday a holiday should be classified as a cognizable offence. The only use of my birthday that I have approved of is intensive spinning or some such national service. That day must be all work and no play , he wrote.
23.2 On the occasion of his Golden Jubilee in 1941 Dr Ambedkar had said , “ you have been celebrating my birthday for 15 years . I have never attended them. I have always been opposed to them .....let there be no more celebrations.”
23.3 Dr Ambedkar was against hero worship and told his admirers that there should be no statues for him . “ There is nothing wrong in being grateful to great men who have rendered lifelong services to the country . But there are limits to gratefulness. The Irish patriot Daniel O’ Connel said, “no man can be grateful at the cost of his honour , no woman can be grateful at the cost of her chastity. And no nation can be grateful at the cost of its liberty. …. “Bhakti or hero -worship is a sure road to degradation and to eventual dictatorship” said Dr Ambedkar.
23.4 On the erection of his statue in Mumbai in 1947, Mahatma Gandhi said: “I must desist emphatically from any proposal to spend any money on preparing statue of me …….” Wise use of the lakhs of rupees will consist in its being spent on some public utility . That would be the best statue.
23.5 Another tribute of Bhaktas and S.C’s vote- mongers is to name universities, development and welfare schemes and buildings and roads and residential colonies after Dr. Ambedkar. Earlier such homage had been mainly to Gandhi Nehru, Indira, and Rajiv.
23.6 In light of these pronouncements of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr Ambedkar, it is astounding that bhaktas have put and are putting thousands of Mahatma’s statues earlier and now, of Dr Ambedkar. Societies and political parties are competing in putting up statues of Dr Ambedkar and observing his birthday . It is noteworthy that by now there are more statues of Dr Ambedkar in the country than those of Mahatma Gandhi.
24. Dr Ambedkar on Agriculture and Population Growth: ( Also see Annex#3 )
24.1 As early as in Nov 1938 Dr Ambedkar moved a Bill in the Bombay Legislative Assembly for birth control. In an 800 words speech in explained why birth control must be imposed by law to tackle poverty and especially ill-health of the poor ( P 112 -14 Ambedkar: An Economist Extra-ordinary , Narendra Jadhav)
24.2 As long ago as in 1951-52 in the manifesto of the Shedule Caste Federation, Dr Ambedkar referred to population control and reorganization of our agriculture. Here are his ideas (Source: The book, Ambedkar: An Economist Extraordinaire by Narendra Jadav, Konark Publishes Pvt Ltd., New Delhi, Seattle 2015)
· “The problem of poverty is thus a double edged problem . From one point of view, it is a problem of more production both in agriculture and industry. From another point of view it is a problem of controlling the excessive growth of population; both sides are equally important. SCF proposes to fight battle against poverty on both fronts.
· “For the purpose of reducing population, it would advocate an intensive propaganda in favour of birth control among the people. It will advocate the opening of birth control clinics in different parts of the country. It regards the growing rate in the increase of population in the country so grave and an evil that it would not hesitate to advocate more drasting methods of controlling it. ( 8,420 words)
END
Annex: 1
While speaking in the Constituent Assembly at the time of the final adoption (Nov 1949) of the Constitution of India, the great statesman Dr. B.R.Ambedkar made the following observations:
“Here I could have ended. But my mind is so full of the future of our country that I feel I ought to take this occasion to give expression to some of my reflections thereon. On 26th January 1950, India will be an Independent country. (Cheers) What would happen to her Independence? Will she maintain her Independence or will she lose it again? This is the first thought that comes to my mind. It is not that India was never an Independent country. The point is that she once lost the Independence she had. Will she lose it a second time? It is this thought which makes me most anxious for the future. What perturbs me greatly is the fact that not only India has once before lost her Independence, but she lost it by the infidelity and treachery of some of her own people. In the invasion of Sind by Mahommed-Bin-Kasim, the military commanders of King Dahar accepted bribes from the agents of Mohammed-Bin-Kasim and refused to fight on the side of their King. It was Jaichand who invited Mahommed Ghori to invade India and fight against Prithvi Raj and promised him the help of himself and the Solanki Kings. When Shivaji was fighting for the liberation of Hindus, the other Maratha noblemen and the Rajput Kings were fighting the battle on the side of Mogul Emperors. When the British were trying to destroy the Sikh Rulers, Gulab Singh, their principal commander, sat silent and did not help to save the Sikh Kingdom. In 1857, when a large part of India had declared a war of Independence against the British, the Sikhs stood and watched the event as silent spectators.
Will history repeat itself? It is this thought which fills me with anxiety. This anxiety is deepened by the realization of the fact that in addition to our old enemies in the form of castes and creeds we are going to have many political parties with diverse and opposing political creeds. Will Indians place creed above country? I do not know. But this much is certain that if the parties place creed above country, our Independence will be put in jeopardy a second time and probably be lost forever…….”
(Source: The Makers of Indian Constitution – Myth and Reality by Sri Seshrao Chavan)
Annex: 2
Dr Rajendra Prasad :
“ Whatever the Constitution may or may not provide, the welfare of the country will depend upon the way in which the country is administered. That will depend upon the men who administer it. It is a trite saying that a country can have only the Government it deserves. Our Constitution has provisions in it, which appear to some to be objectionable from one point or another. We must admit that he defects are inherent in the situation in the country and the people at large. If the people who are elected are capable and men of character and integrity, they would be able to make the best even of a defective Constitution. If they are lacking in these, the Constitution cannot help the country. After all, a Constitution like a machine is a lifeless thing. It acquires life because of the men who control it and operate it, and India needs today nothing more than a set of honest men who will have the interest of the country before them. There is a fissiparous tendency arising out of various elements in our life. We have communal differences, caste differences, language differences, provincial differences and so forth. It requires men of strong character, men of vision, men who will not sacrifice the interests of the country at large for the sake of smaller groups and areas and who will rise over the prejudices which are born of these differences. We can only hope that the country will throw up such men in abundance. In India today I feel that the work that confronts us is even more difficult than the work, which we had when we were engaged in the struggle. We did not have then any conflicting claims to reconcile, no loaves and fishes to distribute, no powers to share. We have all these now, and the temptations are really great. We would pray to God that we should have the wisdom and the strength to rise above them, and to serve the country, which we have succeeded in liberating”.
-Dr Rajendra Prasad - Speech at the final adoption of the Constitution
Annex # 3
Agriculture in SCF Manifesto in 1952 General Elections
“While the rapid industrialization of the country is very essential, in the opinion of the Federation agriculture is bound to remain the foundation of India‘s economy. Any scheme of increased production which does not take into account the reconstruction of Indian agriculture is doomed to disappointment.
The Federation holds that for increased production in agriculture, the following plan must be adopted
Ø “Agriculture must be mechanized. Agriculture in India can never become prosperous so long as the method of cultivation remains primitive.
Ø “To make mechanised farming possible, cultivation on smallholdings must be replaced by large farms (ii) to increase the yield, there must be provision for adequate manuring and for the supply of healthy seeds.
· “It is not possible for the average agriculturist to adopt this plan and work up on it. He has no means to bear the cost involved in the plan. The SCF believes that the plan would be put into effect by the State. The first time, the plan should be the responsibility of the state. The state should supply all the mechanization equipment to the farmer and at a rent to be recovered along with the land revenue (the land revenue has been abolished so the recovery could be when the state buys the produce by the Food Corporation of India).
· “With numerous small holdings, the problem of creating large scale farms becomes very difficult. But the problem must be solved either by introducing co-operative farms or collective farms (neither is feasible in India. May be farming should be corporatized as Tamilnadu is now envisaging)
· “Although India is an agricultural country, there is a vast number of people who are just landless labourers, who are eking out miserable living and who are exploited, by titular “farmers” (non-farming landowners) and majority of whom are untouchables and other backward classes. There is no need while this body of landless labourers should be left to their fate resulting in their misery and in the poverty of the country. This is all the more regrettable because the situation is not beyond remedy.
· “In this connection, the following figures relating to available land in India are very instructive
|
|
Million acres
|
|
Total geographical area |
811 |
|
Total area under agriculture |
577 |
|
Total area under forest |
84 |
|
Cultivable waste |
93 |
|
Uncultivable waste |
93 |
|
Current fallow |
62 |
|
Net land under agriculture |
244
|
From these figures it is quite clear that there are 93 mln acres of land which are cultivable waste which can be brought under cultivation. Surely it cannot be beyond modern science to reclaim this vast amount of cultivable waste land and make it available for cultivation .The SCF will take up this question .
· “The prosperity of agriculturist must depend upon the maintenance of forest belts spread over the country. Without forest belts, proper degree of rainfalls will not be assured and agriculture in India will continue to be gamble in rain as it has always been in the past. The Federation would urge for more and more afforestation of the uncultivable waste land .
· “Agriculture in the narrow sense of the term can never be a profitable pursuit. It must be supplemented by subsidiary industries which are called cottage industries. But no cottage industry worth the name will be possible without an adequate supply of electricity. Generation of electricity is, in the opinion of the SCF, the foundation of economic prosperity of India ( V I Lenin said that communism is equal to electricity plus Soviets) and the SCF will strive for the realization of the river valley projects, the purpose of which is to produce irrigation , to produce electricity and to stop floods.
· “Just as land has been neglected, so also landless labourers have been neglected. The SCF will reserve land out of uncultivated and reclaimed land for the benefit of landless labourers and will also introduce for them the principle of minimum wages.
· “The SCF believes that corruption in administration is wholly the creation of the Congress ( and regional parties) . The Congress’s simply does not believe in punishing the corrupt . Charges have been made by members of the Congress itself against Congress ministers, of corruption and graft not in one state but in many states. The Congress High Command …….instead of making inquiries into these charges and punishing the guilty ministers, the High Command has suppressed those who have made such charges openly, protecting the corrupt and the dishonest. (Regional parties have became family enterprises, proprietary and hereditary – THC)