’ Babasaheb Dr. B.R. Ambedkar (14th April 1891 - 6th December 1956) BLANK No one can hope to make any effective mark upon his time and bring the aid that is worth bringing to great principles and struggling causes if he is not strong in his love and his hatred. I hate injustice, tyranny, pompousness and humbug, and my hatred embraces all those who are guilty of them. I want to tell my critics that I regard my feelings of hatred as a real force. They are only the reflex of the love I bear for the causes I believe in. —Dr. B. R. Ambedkar in his Preface to ‘Ranade, Gandhi and Jinnah DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR WRITINGS AND SPEECHES VOL. 5 Compiled by Vasant Moon Editorial Sub-committee Dr. P. T. Borale Dr. B. D. Phadke Shri S. S. Rege Shri Daya Pawar Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar : Writings and Speeches Vol. 5 First Edition by Education Department, Govt. of Maharashtra : 14 April, 1989 Re-printed by Dr. Ambedkar Foundation : January, 2014 ISBN (Set) : 978-93-5109-064-9 Courtesy : Monogram used on the Cover page is taken from Babasaheb Dr. Ambedkar’s Letterhead. © Secretary Education Department Government of Maharashtra Price : One Set of 1 to 17 Volumes (20 Books) : Rs. 3000/- Publisher: Dr. Ambedkar Foundation Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Govt. of India 15, Janpath, New Delhi - 110 001 Phone : 011-23357625, 23320571, 23320589 Fax : 011-23320582 Website : www.ambedkarfoundation.nic.in The Education Department Government of Maharashtra, Bombay-400032 for Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Source Material Publication Committee Printer M/s. Tan Prints India Pvt. Ltd., N. H. 10, Village-Rohad, Distt. Jhajjar, Haryana Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment & Chairperson, Dr. Ambedkar Foundation Kumari Selja MESSAGE Babasaheb Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, the Chief Architect of Indian Constitution was a scholar par excellence, a philosopher, a visionary, an emancipator and a true nationalist. He led a number of social movements to secure human rights to the oppressed and depressed sections of the society. He stands as a symbol of struggle for social justice. The Government of Maharashtra has done a highly commendable work of publication of volumes of unpublished works of Dr. Ambedkar, which have brought out his ideology and philosophy before the Nation and the world. In pursuance of the recommendations of the Centenary Celebrations Committee of Dr. Ambedkar, constituted under the chairmanship of the then Prime Minister of India, the Dr. Ambedkar Foundation (DAF) was set up for implementation of different schemes, projects and activities for furthering the ideology and message of Dr. Ambedkar among the masses in India as well as abroad. The DAF took up the work of translation and publication of the Collected Works of Babasaheb Dr. B.R. Ambedkar published by the Government of Maharashtra in English and Marathi into Hindi and other regional languages. I am extremely thankful to the Government of Maharashtra’s consent for bringing out the works of Dr. Ambedkar in English also by the Dr. Ambedkar Foundation. Dr. Ambedkar’s writings are as relevant today as were at the time when these were penned. He firmly believed that our political democracy must stand on the base of social democracy which means a way of life which recognizes liberty, equality and fraternity as the principles of life. He emphasized on measuring the progress of a community by the degree of progress which women have achieved. According to him if we want to maintain democracy not merely in form, but also in fact, we must hold fast to constitutional methods of achieving our social and economic objectives. He advocated that in our political, social and economic life, we must have the principle of one man, one vote, one value. There is a great deal that we can learn from Dr. Ambedkar’s ideology and philosophy which would be beneficial to our Nation building endeavor. I am glad that the DAF is taking steps to spread Dr. Ambedkar’s ideology and philosophy to an even wider readership. I would be grateful for any suggestions on publication of works of Babasaheb Dr. Ambedkar. (Kumari Selja) Collected Works of Babasaheb Dr. Ambedkar (CWBA) Editorial Board Kumari Selja Minister for Social Justice & Empowerment, Govt. of India and Chairperson, Dr. Ambedkar Foundation Shri Manikrao Hodlya Gavit Minister of State for Social Justice & Empowerment, Govt. of India Shri P. Balram Naik Minister of State for Social Justice & Empowerment, Govt. of India Shri Sudhir Bhargav Secretary Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Govt. of India Shri Sanjeev Kumar Joint Secretary Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Govt. of India and Member Secretary, Dr. Ambedkar Foundation Shri Viney Kumar Paul Director Dr. Ambedkar Foundation Shri Kumar Anupam Manager (Co-ordination) - CWBA Shri Jagdish Prasad ‘Bharti’ Manager (Marketing) - CWBA Shri Sudhir Hilsayan Editor, Dr. Ambedkar Foundation FOREWORD This is the fifth volume of the writings of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, a jurist and constitutionalist par excellence of the modern India. The present volume brings together the unpublished writings of Dr. Ambedkar on Untouchables and Untouchability. India has rightly been called a sociological museum in which are exhibited cheek by jowl items that are contemporaneous with items that are noncontemporaneous. Dr. Ambedkar has pointed out the irrelevance of the caste system and its essential iniquity arising out of the emphasis on status by birth. It was Sir Henry Maine who in his “Ancient Law” has pointed out that the movement of progressive societies is from status to contract. The Constitution of India enshrines fundamental rights and provides for the machinery for their enforcement against the State, thereby preserving the dignity of the individual as the primary object of socio-economic progress. The writings of Dr. Ambedkar, therefore, have contemporary relevance in the context of the new social order which the Indian Constitution envisages. The Indian Constitution is a mid-20th century phenomenon and it has drawn heavily on the experience of other nations in working democratic institutions. Judging by the experience, it must be said that the Constitution has worked well. The State today is committed to the establishment of the just social order and in all walks of life there is evidence of new activities with a view to improving the lot of the common man. The evolution from status to contract, from immobility to mobility, from the tendency to look to the past as the ideal to the belief in bright future sustained by socialist ideals of equality and fraternity—these are some of the conspicuous features of the socio-economic scenes of the free India in the making of which the philosophy and the ideals of Dr. Ambedkar have played a critical part. (vi) FOREWORD It is a matter of some satisfaction that there is evidence of withering away of the caste in urban areas but even then, there is no reason for complacency and our efforts must continue to eradicate the evils of caste. I must, however, admit that vestiges of untouchability are still surviving in rural areas. It is the village which is still the unit of our administration and it is there that our future work lies. The unpublished writings of Dr. Ambedkar now brought together in this 5th volume will provide inspiration for sustained work of social education to those who attach primacy and importance to social problems over political issues. Whereas politics is a matter of democratic pressures and aspirations, social education brings about a silent revolution in values and attitudes in furtherance of the human understanding. I am sure, the present volume will fulfil the needs of such social workers and intellectuals in Maharashtra as well as those outside. (SHARAD PAWAR) 14th April 1989 Chief Minister of Maharashtra PREFACE ‘A good book’ says Milton, “is a precious life-blood of a master spirit embalmed and treasured up on purpose to a life beyond life.” Publication of unpublished writings of Dr. B. R, Ambedkar is a humble tribute of the State Government to the constitutionalist and jurist who has been hailed as Dr. Johnson of India by critics and observers overseas. The unpublished writings of Dr. Ambedkar brought together in this volume constitute significant material and wealth of data for social research and investigation of those phenomena of social life which were produced by the contact of Indian people with the Western civilization, its heritage of liberal values, its critical spirit of enquiry, its genius for scientific analysis and quest for progress. Dr. Ambedkar combined in his personality all that is best in the critical western tradition and deep understanding of the philosophy of the East. He was a constructive critic of the Hindu society committed to its reformation and shared the philosophy of social reforms with such kindred spirits as Justice Ranade, Mahatma Phule and Gokhale. In a sense, therefore, Ambedkar was a representative of the spirit of rennaisance in Maharashtra. Untouchability has been the scourge of Hindu society and its existence militated against the basic humanistic philosophy of tolerance which typified and marked the Ancient India. The reform of Hindu Law in the Hindu Succession Act of 1956 was a great triumph of legislation over custom. India had always been the laboratory of legislative experiments for the British rulers. (viii) PREFACE The success of legislation in many areas of social life of the last century is an encouraging sign which shows law is a powerful instrument of education. The Constitution of India is an experiment in social engineering and gives legal recognition to some of the basic jural postulates of civilization. The writings of Dr. Ambedkar now being published in this volume provide material for thought and constitute a preface to a programme of socio-economic measures to realise the ideals of equality and freedom.