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Indian Political Thought: B.R. Ambedkar

B. R. Ambedkar was great intellectual and social reformer. In his early stage
of career, he realized the plight of untouchables. He dedicated his whole life
for socio economic upliftment (Bakshi, 2009). The political philosophy of
Ambedkar assist in renegotiating the crisis of western political theory in
particular and leading the fights of the people in general. Ambedkar has
arisen as a major political philosopher with the rise of dalit movement in
contemporary times.

He emerged on the Indian socio-political area in early 1920s and remained

in the head of all social, economic, political and religious efforts for
upliftment of the lowest layer of the Indian society called untouchables.
Babasaheb was a great researcher who made exceptional contributions as
an economist, sociologist, legal luminary, educationalist, journalist,
Parliamentarian and as a social reformer and supporter of human rights.
Babasaheb organised, united and enthused the untouchables in India to
effectively use political means towards their goal of social fairness. Dr.
Ambedkar wrote three scholarly books on economics:

1. Administration and Finance of the East India Company

2. The Evolution of Provincial Finance in British India
3. The Problem of the Rupee: Its Origin and Its Solution

The first two signify his contribution to the field of public finance: The first
work evaluating finances of the East India Company during the period, 1792
through 1858 and the second one book analysing the evolution of the Centre
State financial relations in British India during the period, 1833 through
1921. The third book, his magnum opus in economics, denotes a seminal
contribution to the field of monetary economics.

As a member of the Bombay Legislative Assembly (since 1926), Ambedkar

gave real expression to the protests of the rural poor through his mass
movements. His positive struggle against the prevailing land tenure system
called Khoti liberated a vast majority of the rural poor from an extreme form
of economic exploitation. His successful agitation against Mahar Vatan
liberated a large section of the rural poor from virtual serfdom. He presented
a bill in the State Assembly aimed at preventing the malpractices of money-
lenders hurting the poor (Bakshi, 2009). In industrial field, Dr. Ambedkar
founded in 1936, the Independent Labour Party. While the prevailing trade
unions fought for the rights of workers, they were indifferent to the rights of
untouchable workers as human beings. The new political party took up their
cause. Consequently, as the Labour Member of the Viceroy's Executive
Council from 1942 to 1946, Dr. Ambedkar was instrumental in bringing
about several labour reforms including establishment of employment
exchanges, generally laying the foundations of industrial relations in
Independent India. His ministry also included irrigation, power and other
public works. He had immense contribution in shaping the irrigation policy,
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especially the Damodar Valley Project. Dr. Ambedkar's attack on the caste
system was not just aimed at challenging the hegemony of the upper castes
but had broader connotation of economic growth and development. He
contended that the caste system had reduced the mobility of labour and
capital which in turn, obstructed economic growth and development in
India. In his memorandum submitted to the British Government titled
"States and Minorities' in 1947, Dr. Ambedkar laid down a strategy for
India's economic development. The strategy placed "an obligation on the
State to plan the economic life of the people on lines which would lead to
highest point of productivity without closing every avenue to private
enterprise and also provide for the equitable distribution of wealth".

When India got Independence, Dr. Ambedkar became the first Law Minister
of India. Even while drafting the Indian Constitution (as the Chairman,
Drafting Committee) in 1948-49, the economist in Dr. Ambedkar was very
much alive. He strongly suggested democracy as the 'governing principle of
human relationship' but stressed that principles of equality, liberty and
fraternity which are the foundations of democracy should not be interpreted
narrowly in terms of the political rights alone. He emphasised the social and
economic dimensions of democracy and warned that political democracy
cannot thrive when there is no social and economic democracy. He gave an
expression to the objective of economic democracy by corporating the
Directive Principles of State Policy in the Indian Constitution. Being the Law
Minister, Dr. Ambedkar fought vigorously for the passage of the Hindu Code
Bill, most significant reform for women's rights in respect of marriage and
inheritance. He resigned in September 1951 when the Bill did not pass in
the Parliament.

The political philosophy of Ambedkar may aid in renegotiating the

predicament of western political theory in particular and leading the fights
of the masses in general. People can observe Ambedkar's association with
the grand political streams such as liberal, radical or conservative through
his writings. At the same time, he distinguishes himself with these three
dominant political traditions. Ambedkar's philosophy is fundamentally
ethical and religious. According to him, the social precedes the political.
Social morality is main focus to his political philosophy. He is neither a
violent individualist nor a traditional communitarian. His ideas of
democracy internalises the principles of equality, liberty, and fraternity in
their true spirit. Though there are many attempts but one may find difficulty
in locating him in dominant political traditions. Often this may lead to
misinterpretation of the essence of Ambedkar. Ambedkar's political thought
stresses a new language to understand the intricacy of his opinions.
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Ambedkar's Social precedes political conception:

Ambedkar's thought, as reproduced in his writings and speeches, has great

prominence in drawing the history and growth of social thought in India. It
is essential to understand the philosophy of Ambedkar which is the
theoretical foundation for the Dalit movement. The central of political
thinking of Ambedkar is enclosed in two of his statements, the rights are
protected not by law but by social and moral conscience of society, and a
democratic form of government presumes a democratic form of society. He
deliberates democracy as a form of society, or a mode of associated living,
and a social conscience is the only protection of all rights. The origins of
democracy are to be examined in social relationships, in terms of associated
life among the people who form a society. According to him, social
relationships are main factors to democracy. Ambedkar is a social democrat
in spirit and practice. His special contribution to political thought lies in his
connecting liberty, equality and fraternity to the concept of social
democracy, which in line, he relates to democracy as a form of government.
He further explained the limitations of social democracy in everyday
functioning. He categorically stated while addressing the constituent
assembly (November 25, 1949), "Political democracy cannot last unless there
lies at the base of it social democracy' which means, a way of life which
recognizes liberty, equality and fraternity as the principles of life." This
statement indicates that he defined democracy as a form and method of
government whereby radical changes in the economic and social life of
people are brought about without killing."

Majority of speeches and writings of Ambedkar are about social reformism.

He often discussed and challenged the issue of superiority of social over
political issues. Politics have to be essentially connected to social issues.
The foundations of democracy lie in associated living in society. On the issue
of giving primacy to social over political, he diverges with the Congress and
the socialists. This is well reproduced in all his writings in general, and
'Annihilation of caste' and 'What Congress and Gandhi have done to
Untouchables' in particular.

It is well assessed that Ambedkar is greatly impacted by all the major

political traditions of his times. His political thought has emerged from the
three striking traditions of political thought, i.e. liberal, conservative and
radical. The sole feature about him is that he has surpassed all these
traditions. He was influenced by the thoughts of John Dewey, the practical
American and his teacher. The Fabian Edwin R. A. Seligman had
considerable impact on his philosophy. He often quoted Edmund Burke, the
conservative thinker of British, though we can't brand Ambedkar as a
conservative. Ambedkar's notion of liberty comes close to T.H. Green.
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Ambedkar's main focus was on the notion of community. According to him,

society is always composed of classes. It may be an overstatement to
proclaim the theory of class conflict, but the existence of definite classes in
society is a fact. an individual in a society is always a member of a class. A
caste is an enclosed class. Brahmins created caste and it is extended to
other servile classes. Caste is an endogamous unit and also a communal
unit. His political theory was based on a moral community. It was as a
model to be realised. He was highly critical about the Hindu social order. He
debates that Hinduism is not capable to be a community. Buddhism was
projected as the ideal having the value of community grounding on morality.
He considers that Buddhism tried to found society on the basis of 'reason'
and goodness.

His idea of community is very original. He does not approve to either Hindu
ideal community or Marxist conception of community based on participation
in production process. His notion of community is moral and ethical. It is
not automatically available for participation in common affairs. His idea of
community has to be created through hard and torturous process of moral
revolution.

Ambedkar's Concept on democracy:

Ambedkar had a long conversation on democratic form of government in his

literatures. His conception of democracy is different from the parliamentary
democracy of Western Europe. Democracy came with the principles of
liberalism. Parliamentary democracy has all the marks of a popular
government, a government of the people, by the people and for the people.
Ambedkar considered the problems and articulated displeasure against the
parliamentary democracy in nations like Italy, Germany, Russia, Spain and
some other European nations in proposing the parliamentary democracy in
India. Ambedkar explored grounds for the let-down of parliamentary
democracy that parliamentary democracy gives no free hand to repression
and that is why it became a disgraced institution in the countries such as
Italy, Spain and Germany which readily welcomed dictatorships
(Roudrigues, Valerian, 2002). The nations that were opposing dictatorship
and vowed to democracy to find their discontent with democracy. First,
parliamentary democracy began with equality of political rights in the form
of equal suffrage.

Some countries have parliamentary democracy that have not accepted adult
suffrage. It has progressed by growing the notion of equality of political
rights to equality of social and economic opportunity. It has documented
that companies, which are anti-social in purpose, cannot hold the state at
bay. With all this, 'the reason for dissatisfaction is due to the understanding
that it has unsuccessful to assure to the people for the right to liberty,
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property or the chase of pleasure. The causes for this failure may be found
either in incorrect system or wrong organization or in both. He expounded
this point by indicating the fault with both wrong ideologies and bad
organization in following the ideals of democracy.

The idea of freedom of contract is one of the liable factors for parliamentary
democracy in terms of ideology. Parliamentary democracy took no notice of
economic inequalities and did not care to scrutinize the result of freedom of
contract on the parties to the contract, in spite of the fact that they were
unequal in negotiating power. It did not mind if the freedom of contract gave
the strong opportunity to deceive the weak. The result is that parliamentary
democracy in standing out as a protagonist of liberty has continuously
added to economic crimes towards the poor, subjugated and dispossessed
class (Roudrigues, Valerian, 2002). The second mistaken philosophy which
has vitiated parliamentary democracy is the failure to realize that political
democracy cannot thrive where there is no social and economic democracy
(Roudrigues, Valerian, 2002). He exemplified this point by comparing the
failure of parliamentary democracy in the countries of Italy, Germany and
Russia with England and USA. He sensed that there was a greater degree of
economic and social democracy in the latter countries than existed in the
former. Social and economic democracy are major factors of a political
democracy. Parliamentary democracy developed a desire for liberty. It never
made even sleepy acquaintance with equality. It failed to realize the
significance of equality and did not even strike a balance between liberty
and equality.

All political societies are categorized into two classes: The rulers and the
ruled. This is almost stratified that leaders are always drawn from the ruling
class and the class that is ruled never become the ruling class. This
happens because generally people do not see that they govern themselves.
They are gratified to establish a government and leave it to govern them.
This clarifies why parliamentary democracy has never been a government of
the people or by the people and why it has been in reality a government of
the hereditary subject class by a hereditary ruling class. It is this, a vicious
organization of political life which had made parliamentary democracy such
a dismal failure (Roudrigues, Valerian, 2002). It is mistaken to believe that
democracy and self-government automatically became realities of life. In
fact, the existing governing class is inconsistent with democracy and self-
government and made all its efforts to retain its power to govern. Ambedkar
realized that self-government and democracy become unsuccessful when the
constitution based on adult suffrage comes into existence but when the
governing class loses its power to capture the power to govern. In some
countries, the submissive classes may succeed in overthrowing the
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governing class from the seat of authority with just by adult suffrage. In
some other countries, the governing class may be so deeply rooted that the
submissive classes will need other protections besides adult suffrage to
achieve the same end.

Ambedkar blamed the western writers that they were insincere and have not
displayed the accurate view of democracy. They casually touched the
constitutional morality, adult suffrage and frequent elections as the be-all
and end-all of democracy. Ambedkar projected a written constitution for an
effective democracy. The conducts of constitutional morality may be
essential for the maintenance of a constitutional form of government and he
puts more emphasis on the moral society and its customs than the written
legal law in governing its people. He invested on social morality for effective
working of the democratic form of government. He stated that while devising
the constitution, the principle aim of the constitution must be to remove the
governing class from its position and to prevent it from remaining as a
governing class forever.

Ambedkar's political dogmas are still relevant to not only to the politics of
India but also to politics in South Asia in general. Presently, South Asian
countries are facing deep crises, unable to develop political and social
institutions to guarantee stability to their societies primarily because of
oppressive and social political systems from centuries that were their
heritage due to the caste system. The caste system essentially was a system
of domination by a small group, called Brahmins, who developed most
sophisticated forms of cunning into the social control systems of their time
in a way that even for centuries they could maintain their dominance. The
damage that was done in the process of repression that accompanied the
creation and the maintenance of the caste system have become the
difficulties to the development of the intelligence, the creativity and the
capacity of all the people to deal with contemporary problems. Their past
holds them in their slavery. The bonds are so deep-seated into the nervous
systems that generation after generation people are reproduced with
attitudes that prevent them from realizing the capacity for freedom and
capacity for deeper social communion in each other in their social situation.
Deep divisiveness inbuilt into the South Asian culture was created by these
centuries of understated of social control. Methods of control were
formulated as rules of religion and rituals to which the individual life was so
deeply tied up. The idea of the individual freedom is so unknown to this
cultural heritage. The intricate mechanism that catches people emotionally
and psychologically by various kinds of mythical beliefs got so entrenched in
the minds of all due to this past.
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In 1943, Dr. Ambedkar argued that, "A democratic form of Government

presupposes a democratic form of society. The formal framework of
democracy is of no value and would indeed be a misfit if there was no social
democracy". He further highlighted, "The politicals never realized that
democracy was not a form of Government: it was essentially a form of
society". He was highly anxious of the Dalits` fortune in the independent
India. For, he could evidently see that most political structure of his time
were preparing for a democratic form of government, without considering the
varna/caste organisation of the Indian society. That is why, he was adamant
on going thorough social reform movements along radical lines, of which,
most political conflicts were averse to. He also observed that none of the
political organisation was prepared to interfere in the internal affairs of the
society. While referring to the experiences of other societies, he had warned,
"As experience proves, rights are protected not by law but by the social and
moral conscience of society. If social conscience is such that it is prepared to
recognise the rights which law chooses to enact, rights will be safe and
secure. But if the fundamental rights are opposed by the community, no
law, no Parliament, no Judiciary can guarantee them in the real sense of the
word".

B.R. Ambedkar also identified the cause of the retardation of the Indian
creativeness, which is also the source of the obstruction of the attitudes of
people of other South Asian countries. He saw that by way of mental
exercises this bondage cannot be broken. Efforts must be done to break the
social linkages which had tied up the minds of the people over centuries. To
this he gave and for the understanding of this processes he devoted his
time. And his way of understanding was not by reading into the text of the
past but into the lives of the ordinary people of India. In India, people are
living under poverty line. That was the evidence to discover the methods by
which people lives are destroyed by this terrible heritage.

Jawaharlal Nehru in the Discovery of India attempted to talk about the

splendours of India in the past. Ambedkar made efforts to demonstrate how
the brilliance was lost and how the bondage of the Indian minds and the
Indian spirit and as a result the Indian way of life was come to what it is
today. It is this innovation that has the capacity and the liberating effect
that not only the population but the entire country is in need of this to face
the challenges of the modern times.

Even though Ambedkar remained detached from the political program and
activities of the National Congress, yet he cannot be named as portage of the
British domination. He courageously criticized the shortcomings of the
British Government. He indicated that the British Government supported
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the cause of Depressed Classes only out of hidden political motives and gave
excessive weightage to the Hindu traditionalists. Ambedkar acknowledged
and declared that the uplift of the Depressed Classes was ultimate of his life.
He did not show any enthusiasm to earn the reputation of a nationalist
leader. Therefore, he daringly and frankly expressed his outlooks for the
cause of Depressed Classes and squabbled with Congress and even
Mahatma Gandhi. In September 1932, when Mahatma Gandhi announced
his decision to fast unto death, remonstrating against the provision of
separate electorates for the Depressed Classes in the British Prime
Minister's Communal Award, and when practically the whole nation
supported Gandhi's attitude, Ambedkar disparaged Gandhi and entitled his
fast "a political stunt". Gandhi took Ambedkar's views seriously and finally
agreed to reservation of seats for the Depressed Classes in joint electorates,
which was embodied in the Poona Pact.

Ambedkar was a social innovatory. He attempted to generate self-

consciousness and self-respect among the Depressed Classes. He
recommended them to be impressive personality instead of remaining as
innocent person. His aim was to eradicate social differences, based on caste
and Varna, and establishing a social order, based on liberty, equality and
fraternity. At the fag-end of his life, he with his followers encompassed
Buddhism, as he considered Buddhism, to be a humanitarian religion,
based on liberty, equality and fraternity.

Ambedkar operated outside the conventional of Congress politics and also

disapproved the Congress activities. He was supposed by many to be a
separatist and pro-British. But all along the remained a patriot. He stated
that patriotism was not the domination of Congress and that one could be
patriotic without becoming a Congressman. He considered the uplift of the
backward class of the society to be more important than mere political
liberation of the nation. Political freedom was worthless without the
promotion of the backward sections of the society. Mahatma Gandhi also
held analogous views as he thought of the concept of Swaraj in terms of the
meanest of the citizens.

Even though Ambedkar had wrangled with Congress and Gandhi on some
basic issues, on the evening before of independence, he accepted the
invitation of the Congress to join the Union Government and extended his
role in the building of the nation. As the Chairman of the Drafting
Committee of the Constitution, he played the vital role in developing a new
constitution. He took all care to preserve the liberal ideas and ideals of the
National Congress in the Constitution.
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Usually Ambedkar is popular as the father of Indian Constitution. Dr.

K.V.Rao has labelled him as the mother of the Constitution as he gave
constitutional shape to the ideas of Congress rather than his own. He held
the portfolio of Law in Jawaharlal Nehru's first Cabinet. Because of his
differences with the Congress and Prime Minister Nehru, he resigned from
the Union Government.

Ambedkar is considered as the great protagonist of reservation of seats in

legislature and posts in Government. But in his final stage of life, when he
accepted the principles of Buddhism with his followers, he counselled the
Scheduled Castes to stand alone instead of depending on supports.
Ambedkar is an unusual personality in the national life of India. He was an
economist, a jurist, a social revolutionary, a constitution-maker, an able
parliamentarian, an administrator, and above all a constructive statesman
of extraordinary competence.

Ambedkar was knowledgeable in history and the political theories which

have been produced in the process of scuffles for democracy. He was also
intensely aware of the history of minority problems in the world. He
assumed that if a minority problem is not properly resolved, global populace
can be destroyed in conflicts which not only extinguish the minorities but
entirety of society. Ambedkar indicated that though the Caste Hindu
Congressmen accepted a radical stand in politics, in social matters, they
were traditionalists and supported social dissimilarity.

Ambedkar philosophies must be studied by the younger generations who are

finding solutions to the kinds of problems that they have no solution. The
easy solutions many have sought but have not worked. There is a
complexity that needs to be explored in order to be able to explore all the
possibilities of getting over these severe problems. In the writings of
Ambedkar, there are great understandings that are yet to be explored and in
that investigation, the real brilliances of the past of the sub-continent could
remerge. Pseudo respect for Buddhism today was challenged by Ambedkar
who himself became a Buddhist by trying to revive the actual history of
Buddhism in India. The annihilation of Buddhism in India was a result of
the caste struggles in India and in that fight the certainties that the
Brahmins had developed to get triumph and to win back their supremacy.
These issues were also constantly exposed by Ambedkar.

There is no doubt, Baba Saheb Ambedkar is the supreme political leader in

modern South Asian history, with regard to his understanding of the linkage
between social controls exercised by religion and its influence in the
contemporary history. While Mahatma Ghandi viewed the meaning of
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freedom in terms of getting rid of the colonial power and passing the power
to local elites, Ambedkar visualized freedom of Indians from the perspective
of resolving cultural inhabited bondage created by the caste system. He saw
centuries old practices in which social control of the masses has been done
mainly by the use of language, rituals and 'ethical codes' reinforcing the
caste supremacy over the masses. Ambedkar also observed moments of
liberation in Indian history. That was the way he saw Buddhism. He called
Buddha his maharishi. He said that he had not learned principles of
democracy from Western philosophers but from his guru, Gautama Buddha.

It is well analysed that B.R. Ambedkar recognized the cause of the

obstruction of the Indian creativity, which is also the source of the
retardation of the mind-sets of people of other South Asian countries.
Ambedkar was one of the inventers of social justice in India. It was
Ambedkar who provided new dimensions to the concept of justice. People
consider him as the 'Champion of Social justice. He was himself a victim of
social injustice, faced its difficulties and he had not tolerated the injustice,
but bravely fought against them. Ambedkar had a liberal concept of justice.
Like Gandhi, for Ambedkar, justice is the synonym of liberty, equality and
fraternity.' In this sense, the core value of Ambedkar concept of justice is
human equality, equal distribution of the welfare materials and
discrimination less society. Ambedkar asserted that the spirit of social
justice gives a significant place to mutual understanding and admiration.

He accomplished giant goal of his life due to his strength of character which
displayed his individual personality. As a statesman, scholar, crusader of
browbeaten and above all a spiritual guide, Ambedkar has good impression
on the Indian History. His contribution to uplift the browbeaten masses
made him an unusual figure among the dejected classes. He had made
decent image in the heart and mind of the millions of' the suffering people.
They now look at him as remarkable soul whose memory will even guide the
nation on the path of social justice, liberty and equality. Thus,
Ambedkarism is of great significance to Indian society. Presently, people are
motivated by reading his biography to achieve the goal of social justice,
removal of untouchability, in establishing equality and freedom and true
democracy. Democratic socialism is the major work of his political thought
and constitutionalism is the only way to achieve it.

Conclusion

To summarize, B.R. Ambedkar was a demonstrative figure of Indian Politics

in the Gandhian period. Ambedkar has emerged as a chief political
philosopher with the rise of the dalit movement in modern times. There are
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several attempts to understand Ambedkar and his philosophy.

B.R.Ambedkar, the chief draftsman of Indian Constitution, emerged at the
moment in British rule. In whole life Ambedkar worked outside the
mainstream of national politics. He worked for the Depressed Classes' uplift
within the political and constitutional framework of the imperialist period.
He realized that being socially treated as an untouchable, he could not get a
status of equality and dignity within the Congress politics which was
dominated by Caste Hindu politicians.