The Indian Constitution as an Instrument of Ambedkar’s New Social Order

Abstract

This paper discusses the Indian Constitution as the most important point of the Indian constitution as offered by B.R. Ambedkar as a way of establishing a new social order in a society that was traditionally disorganized with instances of hierarchy, social exclusion and gradated inequality based on caste. Having left the perspectives of limited legalistic interpretations, the paper places the Constitution in a wider context of Ambedkar in his political and moral philosophy, where he insisted that political democracy should be based on social democracy. Heavily relying on the Constituent Assembly Debates and Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar: Writings and Speeches, the paper examines how fundamental rights, reservations, constitutions morality and principle of fraternity were crafted to serve as a tool of substantive equality and not as formal guarantee of law. It also challenges the conflict and constraints of the social change of the constitution, especially the continuity of caste in spite of the constitution. Through the appeal to plausible constitutional scholarship, the paper aims to posit a view that the Constitution was intended to be a dynamic and pedagogical power by Ambedkar that could reform a social relationship although it requires ethical commitment and democratic vigilance. The paper finds a remarkable importance of the constitutional vision of Ambedkar in the modern-day India, and its particular relevance in discussions on constitutional erosion, social justice, and the contribution of institutions and social movements to a democratic life.