1. Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar’s Invaluable Contribution in the Making of the Indian ConstitutionBy
Shri. V. Y. Dhupdale
I/c Head, Department of Law,
Shivaji University, Kolhapur

2. The third thing we must do is not be content with mere political democracy. We must note that our political democracy cannot last unless there lies at the base of it social democracy. What does social democracy mean? It means a way of life which recognizes liberty, equality and fraternity as the principles of life.”  
-Dr. B. R. Ambedkar

3. Introduction Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar
Born on 14 April 1891
Popularly known as Babasaheb
Was an-
Indian jurist, 
Economist, 
Politician and 
Social Reformer
Campaigned against social discrimination against Untouchables (Dalits),
Also supported rights of women and labour.
He was Independent India's first Law Minister and the Principal Architect of the Constitution of India.

4. Life should be great rather than long”. -Dr. B. R. Ambedkar

5. Early life and education
Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar born to Ramji Maloji Sakpal and Bhimabai.
His father served in the Indian army.
He was the 14th child of them.
Being a Mahar caste - considered untouchables - his family suffered from socio-economic discrimination.
However - special privileges rendered to army children - he secured good education.
Young Ambedkar surfaced – problems – while academically training himself but – surpassed all of them.
In 1897 – their family moved to Bombay - enrolled at the Elphinstone High School – to become the first ever untouchable to attain higher education.

6. Contd.. Childhood - caste discrimination.
One summer day when he and his elder brother went to meet their father at a distant village named Gorgaon, Satara, the cart man in which they were travelling threw them out of his cart in anger as he felt that his cart had got polluted.
In another incident when Dr. Ambedkar in his childhood was thirsty and was drinking water from a public water course. The upper caste people saw this, and felt that he has polluted their drinking water and he was beaten brutally by them.

7. Contd…
After Matriculation degree in he admitted himself to Elphinstone College in – created history by becoming the first untouchable to enter university.
He graduated from the same in 1912 with a degree in Economics and Political Science.
He was awarded a Baroda State Scholarship by Raja Sayajirao Gaikwad Maharaja – to get PG education at Columbia University in New York City.

8. Contd… He completed his MA in June 1915, majoring in-
Economics, Sociology, History, Philosophy and Anthropology as other subjects of study.
Two years after he gained a PhD in Economics.
Meanwhile, in enrolled for a bar course at Gray’s Inn London.
However, due to the termination of the scholarship, he had to return to India.

9. Contd..
Dr. Ambedkar started a weekly paper ‘Mooknayak’ (Leader of the Dumb) to Champion the cause of the Depressed Classes in India.
He again went back to London and In 1920 – he got qualified as a barrister from the Glay’s inn at London.
In 1921, the University of London accepted his thesis on ‘Provincial De-Centralization of Imperial Nuance in British India.’

10. Contd…
In March, 1923, he submitted his thesis: ‘The Problem of the Rupee – Its Origin and Its Solution’, for the degree of D.Sc. (Economics).
The University of Columbia awarded Dr. B.R. Ambedkar the honorary degree of LL.D. in the New York city of America on 5th June, 1942.
In India also the University of Osmaniya had gracefully honoured Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, in the Hyderabad city of Andhra Pradesh by awarding the highest degree of D.Litt. on the 12th January, 1953.

11. Degrees of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar
In this way, the great Indian Bharat Ratna Dr. B.R. Ambedkar had obtained –
B.A.,
M.A.,
Ph.D.,
M.Sc.,
D.Sc.,
Bar-at-Law,
LL.D. and
D.Lit Degrees.

13. Contd…
In 1923 he had decided to do his might for the upliftment of the down-trodden.
He formed a “Bahishkrit Hitakarini Sabha” (Outcastes Welfare Association).
He believed in the Oneness of all as the Children of the God and that all human beings are equal.
He later joined the Indian Freedom Movement under Mahatma Gandhi’s leadership and attended the Round Table Conference in 1932.
There he succeeded in securing separate constituencies for the untouchables.
He was thus successful in bringing to the notice of the world the plight of the untouchables.

14. Reading hobby and Literary Work:
Dr. Ambedkar was an immense reader.
Whenever he visited abroad, he collected large number of books.
Once, he had bought more than three thousand books from New York.
He has many books written by him dealing with numerous topics ranging from-
politics to Buddhism,
from castes in India
to important Political figures in India.

15. Dr. B. R. Ambedkar’s Contribution towards making of Indian Constitution:
Dr. Ambedkar became the first Law Minister in free India.
Confusion as to how to plan the future.
Britishers never accepted that India had the right or might to frame a constitution for them.
They therefore appointed the Simon Commission to find a modus operandi to find a solution and
the result was the formation of the Nehru Committee headed by Motilal Nehru and the Nehru Report was the first frame-work in this direction.

16. Dr. Ambedkar taking Oath

17. Drafting Committee
On 29th August, 1947 the Constitutent Assembly appointed the ‘Drafting Committee” consisting of seven member by its resolution.
The task – Committee to draft the Constitution of the independent India.
Initially -by Pandit Nehruji and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel decided to invite Sir Guor Jennings, the then internationally known constitutional expert.
But Mahatma Gandhi advised them not to do so instead he told them to invite Dr. Ambedkar who was an outstanding legal and constitutional expert within India and Dr. Ambedkar was rightly deserved it due to his-
deep and vast study,
tremendous knowledge,
amazing command over English language,
expertness in explaining the subject and ideal patriotism.

18. Members of the Drafting Committe
The members of the Drafting Committee included:
Dr. B. R. Ambedkar – The Chairman, and
N. Goipalswami,
Alladi Krishnaswami Ayyar,
K. M. Munshi,
Saijio Mola Saadulla,
N. Madhava Rao and 
D. P. Khaitan.

19. Some glimpses of important concepts introduced by Dr
Some glimpses of important concepts introduced by Dr. Ambedkar and his team in the Constitution of India:
Abolishment of Untouchability:
20th June 1947 – Dr. Ambedkar – Question fate about the of the untouchables – Sardar Patel brought introduced bill on 29th April, – in Constituent Assembly which was passed – declaring untouchability as punishable offence.
Fundamental Rights: Dr. Ambedkar was a champian of Fundamental Rights.
Parliamentary Democracy: Dr. Ambedkar was in favour of Parliamentary Democracy right from the inception of Govt. of India Act, The preamble echoes this principle.
Concept of Federalism: State – neutral in normal circumstances and Unitary in immergency.
Equality of opportunity: Most imp. Right.
He characterised Art. 32 as the soul of Constitution
and the very heart of it.
Protective Discrimination/Reservation: reservations for
SCs and STs and the OBCs.

20. Contd…
State Socialism: He proposed state ownership of agriculture with a collectivised method of cultivation and a modified form of state socialism in the field of industry.
But due to strong opposition in the Constitution Assembly, he could not incorporate his scheme of state socialism under the fundamental rights as a part of the Constitution.
Directive Principles of State Policy: Positive obligations of State towards its citizens.
National Integration: He proposed a strong Centre at times when maintenance of territorial and administrative discipline is needed.

21. Article 370
When Nehru directed Sheikh Abdullah to  consult Ambedkar (then Law Minister) to prepare the draft of a suitable article to be included in the Constitution, Ambedkar refused to oblige. 
His words on the occasion are worth their weight in gold:
“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 (to have) equal rights in Kashmir. I am (the) Law Minister of India, I cannot betray my country.” 
Article 370 was drafted by Gopalaswami Iyengar, a State Minister. 
Under Article 370 the Indian Parliament cannot increase or reduce the borders of the state.

22. The Final Announcement:

23. Preamble

24. Announcement
Dr Rajendra Prasad, praised the services rendered by Dr Ambedkar in the making of the Constitution and said: “I have carefully watched the day- to-day activities from the presidential seat.
Therefore, I appreciate more than others with how much dedication and vitality this task has been carried out by the Drafting Committee and by its chairman Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar in particular.
We never did a better thing than having Dr Ambedkar on the Drafting Committee and selecting him as its chairman.”

25. Award of LL.D. degree
The Columbia University at its Special convocation on June 5, 1952 conferred the LL.D. degree (Doctor of Laws) (Honoris Causa) on Dr. Ambedkar in recognition of his drafting the Constitution of India.
The citation read: The degree is being conferred in recognition of the work done by him in connection with the drafting of India’s Constitution.
The University hailed him as “one of India’s leading citizens, a great social reformer and valiant upholder of human rights”.

26. Columbia University Then and now
The citation read: The degree is being conferred in recognition of the work done by him in connection with the drafting of India’s Constitution. The University hailed him as “one of India’s leading citizens, a great social reformer and valiant upholder of human rights”.[1]
Columbia University Then and now

27. Quote by Dr. Ambedkar on Constitution of India
Babasaheb Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar’s speech in the Assembly on 25th November, 1949 is remarkable one; he said,
“The constitution, I offered may be good or bad, it will depend on how the men in office use it”.
It means, “However good a Constitution may be, if the executors fail to deliver, it may prove to be a bad one, and if the executors are good enough, however bad the constitution may be, it will definitely prove to be good.”

28. Dr. B. R. Ambedkar’s Other Contributions:
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) was conceptualized by the guidelines from his book "Problem of Rupee; its origin and its solutions''.
Established finance commission of india.
To empower women at that time, he presented Hindu Code Bill –
If it was allowed to be passed, it would have ended Saiti Pratha, Dowry system in 1951 only.

29. Cont…
He successfully led the struggle for reduction of work from 12 hours a day to 8 hours in 1942.
He contributed the idea of setting up of Employment Exchanges in India.
He was responsible for establishing the-
Central Technical Power Board,
the National Power Grid System and
the Central Water Irrigation and Navigation Commission.
He played an important role in the establishment of the
Damodar Valley project,
Hirakud project and
Sone river project.

30. Conclusion:
Dr Ambedkar’s – Constitution - enabled the abolition of untouchability and the outlawing of all forms of discriminations.
Due to all these outstanding contributions Dr Ambedkar can be rightly called the architect of the Indian Constitution.
However, Dr Ambedkar’s dream of the creation of an egalitarian social order still remains unfulfilled despite the extended period of reservation for SCs and STs.
He gave a shape to our country of a complete Sovereign, Democratic and Republic based on adult franchise.
Indian Constitution is undoubtedly of the highest order. Indeed he deserved to be called the “father or the Chief Architect” of the Indian Constitution.