When Dr Ambedkar Wanted to Burn the Constitution of India

 How many of lower castes are at the decision making and implanting the policies position? Numbers would be negligible but lower castes have one hope that constitution would save them. Their hopes arise from the fact that constitution of India was written by a lower caste person – Dr. Ambedkar – so it would help them to escape oppression. In the end, many lower castes start worshipping it without giving any heed to understanding that it’s the implementer that matters more in the present context of India. So, no matter how good is the constitution, until the time it is not implemented properly, it is of no use for lower castes. Lower castes need to understand that Constitution of India is in the hands of so called upper castes those have no interest in protecting lower castes.

When Dr. Ambedkar Wanted to Burn the Constitution of India

Enough of the name of the constitution of India, this-that…we need to know that Dr. Ambedkar also wanted to burn the same constitution which he shaped! I can’t even imagine how tough it would have been for Dr. Ambedkar to say things like this. The constitution might have been like a baby for Dr. Ambedkar which he nurtured for long. I can’t even imagine how much painful it might have been for Dr. Ambedkar to reach to such conclusion. He must have been in so much pain after seeing how Hindu Code Bill was rejected and how Brahmins have overtaken it. While drafting the constitution of India, Dr. Ambedkar was the prime movers of the provisions related to the welfare of women. On the question of civil rights, Dr. Ambedkar made provisions in articles 14-16 in the Indian Constitution, which provide equal status to Woman and also banned the of sale and purchase of woman prevailing Hindu India.

Another thing, this should not be read alone but along with when Dr. Ambedkar said the constitution is good till the people who implement are good.

“However, good a constitution may be, it is sure to turn out to be bad because those who are called to work it happen to be a bad lot. However, bad a constitution may be, it may turn out to be good if those who are called to work it happen to be a good lot.” – Dr. Ambedkar

Here is what Dr. Ambedkar said on 19th March 1955 in the Rajya Sabha to the question of Dr. Anup Singh when discussion on the Fourth Amendment Bill was going on.

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Anup Singh: Last time when you spoke, you said that you would burn the Constitution.

Dr. B. R. Ambedkar: Do you want a reply to that? I would give it to you right here. My friend says that the last time when I spoke, I said that I wanted to burn the Constitution. Well, in a hurry I did not explain the reason. Now that my friend has given me the opportunity, I think 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 had taken possession of it, what else could we do except destroy the temple? We did not intend that it should be occupied by the Asuras. We intended it to be occupied By the Devas. That is the reason why I said I would rather like to burn it.

My friends tell me that I 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. But whatever that may be, if our people want to carry on, they must remember that there are majorities and there are minorities; and they simply cannot ignore the minorities by saying: ‘Oh, no, to recognize you is to harm democracy. – Dr. B. R. Ambedkar

(Keer, Dhananjay. Dr. Ambedkar: Life and Mission. Bombay: Popular Prakashan, 1971, Ch. XXIV, pp. 449-450.)

Finally, I would end and leave you to decide with another quote from Dr. Ambedkar

“I feel that the constitution is workable, it is flexible and it is strong enough to hold the country together both in peacetime and in wartime. Indeed, if I may say so, if things go wrong under the new Constitution, the reason will not be that we had a bad Constitution. What we will have to say is that Man was vile.”