On 15th August, 1947 Indian became a free country. As expected Jawaharlal Nehru took oath as Prime Minister. Dr. Ambedkar was sworn in as the Law Minister.
The first thing that Independent India needed was a constitution to function under.
On 29th August, 1947 a committee was appointed to prepare the draft of the constitution. The Constitution Committee was to be presided over by Dr. Rajendra Prasad. To his utter bewilderment Dr. Ambedkar found his name being proposed to chair the Draft Committee by Jawahar Lal Nehru. He said that Dr. Ambedkar was the authority on constitutions and laws of so many countries. No other person was more qualified to do the job, Nehru asserted. There were six other members in the committee.
Dr. Ambedkar accepted the challenge.
Soon he realised that other members were not very enthusiastic in extending their cooperation in drafting the constitution. Most of them thought perhaps that they were better qualified persons. But Dr. Ambedkar was not to be daunted. The same country that tormented his life with its horrendous social laws, systems and customs had thrust the responsibility of making laws which would govern the lives of all Indians including those who had meted out injustices to him. It was incredible.
He got down to the business of drafting the constitution with zeal, dedication and deep commitment. He worked day and night. In an incredibly short period of six moths Dr. Ambedkar surprised everyone by completing the draft single handedly to earn the credit of being the ‘Constitution Maker of India.’
The constitution had 8 Schedules and 315 Clauses. The draft was presented to the Assembly House. Dedicating the Constitution of India to the people of India Dr. Ambedkar delivered an erudite speech that become a treasure of our archives.
He said, “Why did I come into the Assembly Council? To serve the interests of the scheduled castes, I had no higher aspiration. But I had never imagined I will be entrusted with such a great responsibility. When the Assembly Council nominated me for the Draft Committee I was a bit surprised. When I was elected Chairman of the Committee I was simply incredulous. The Assembly Council and Draft Committee got the job done by putting such huge confidence in me. The committee members gave me the opportunity to serve the country for which I express my gratitude to them.
However good a constitution may be but if the members who implement it are no good then the constitution will prove bad. If we want to establish democracy in India we must induct social and economic ideals through constitutional means without taking recourse to violence. The life based on free equality and the brotherhood is democracy. There is total absence of equality in India. We have got some parity in politics. But social and economic life is ruled by inequality.
If today we tell ourselves that we are one nation then it will be self delusion. How can a nation be a nation where there are thousands of castes and sub castes? We must overcome these hurdles to create a strong nation.”
On 26th November, 1948 the Draft Constitution presented by Dr. Ambedkar was passed and it became ‘The Constitution of India’, the paramount legal instrument our nation was to function under.
On the occasion, as the president of the Draft Constitution Committee, Dr. Rajendra Prasad paid tributes to Dr. Ambedkar in the following words—‘Sitting on the Presidents’ chair I have seen the working of the committee. So, I can imagine and know better the way Draft Committee worked, especially Dr. Ambedkar, with dedication, devotion and enthusiasm. We could have done nothing better than including Dr. Ambedkar in the Draft Committee and electing him its Chairman.’
By instituting a copy of the constitution on 11th January 1950, the ‘Backward Classes Federation’ paid tributes to Dr. Ambedkar, upon his draft becoming ‘The Constitution of India’.
The Constitution of India, so astutely drafted by Dr. Ambedkar won appreciation all over the world of the constitutional and legal luminaries. On 5th June, 1952 Columbia University conferred on Dr. Ambedkar the degree of ‘Doctor of Law.’
