International Research Journal of Social Sciences___________________________________ _ _ _ ISSN 2319 – 3565 Vol. 4 ( 1 1 ), 20 - 23 , November (2015) I nt. Res. J. Social Sci. International Science Congress Association 20 The Role of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar in Modern India - A study D. Sahadevudu 1 , G. Ramesh Babu 2 , Y. Ramachandra Reddy 3 and C.Venkateswarulu 4 1 History, Govt. College (M), Ananthapuramu - 515001. Andhrapradesh State, INDIA 2 Department of History, S.K.University, Ananthapur - 515001 Andhrapradesh State, INDIA 3 Department of History, S.K.University, Ananthapur - 515001 Andhrapradesh State, INDIA 4 Departm ent of History , M.S.Degree College Gooty - 515401.Andhrapradesh State, INDIA Available online at: www.isca.in Received 15 th October 201 5 , revised 25 th October 201 5 , accepted 9 th November 2015 Abstract Dr. Ambedkar was a freedom fighter of the truest kind, not merely dreaming of setting India force from British rule, but of transforming India into a country where freedom holds meaning for everyone. He dedicated his life for uplifting of the Dalits. Ambedkar wished social reformers to create public opinion to fight the gross inequalities in the society. It is very sad that the media in the past as well as the present has projected Ambedkar mainly as a bitter critic of the Hindu religion and a great social rebel. They have ignored Dr. Ambedkar’s multi - faceted personality. Here is our little effort to focus his role in Modern India. Key words: Emancipation, inequalities, humanist, Dalits, Reformer. Introduction Some people are born brilliant, some have brilliantness thrust upon them and some achieve brilliantness. To the last division, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar belongs. Dr. Ambedkar was a great patriot, social thinker, political reformer, philosophical writer with progressive ideas. He stood for all political, social and cultural activities which increased the cause of human progress and happiness. He was the soul for the constitution of India. He crusaded for the betterment of the oppressed and depressed classes . And in this struggle, he stood rare crusading spirit, carving out in this process plays significant role for himself among the leading architects of modern India. Objectives of the Study : i. To know the impact of the pioneering work of Dr. B. R. Ambedk ar in the field of human dignity, against caste discrimination in India. ii. To highlight his role as one of the founders of Modern India. iii. To analyze and assess his Legacy and Contribution to India. Methodology The present study on ‘The Role of Dr. B . R. Ambedkar in Modern India’ is based on historical method. This research is based on a good deal of primary and secondary sources that are available. Dr. B. R. Ambedkar’s writings, What Congress and Gandhi have done to untouchables (1945), Federation versus Freedom (1939), The problem of Rupee: Its origin and its solution (1925), Annihilation of Caste (1936), Castes in India: Their Genesis, Mechanism and Development (1918), Who were the Shudras (1946), The Untouchables: Who were they and why they becam e Untouchables (1948) and diverse collection of secondary sources for the study were also consulted. Dr. Ambedkar as a social reformer Dr. Ambedkar believed in peaceful methods of social change. He was supported to constitutional lines in the evolution ary process of social transformation. He thought the factors like law and order which are indispensable for social life. It also strives to sustain institutions that will make better ‘social order’. He was opposed to the violent methods in social change fo r it obstacle the tranquillity and creates chaos. He had no faith in anarchy methods. A welfare state of all cannot be developed on the grounds of terror, force and brutal methods. According to him violent methods to a peaceful society is not only improper but also unscientific and immoral 1 . He was a true Renaissance man, a person who excelled in many different areas of inquiry. Though he was hated by orthodox Hindus and labelled as a destroyer of Hinduism, historians now realize the crucial role Dr. Ambed kar played in recognizing Hindu society. Far from being a traitor, he played an important role in revitalizing Hinduism, reviving it by challenging everything that was unjust and unfair within it. In fact, he brought about a renaissance of Hinduism by prov oking the Hindus to rethink some of the basic tenets of their religion. He had a great faith in social reformers to create public opinion for against of the gross inequalities in the society. He urged them to found organizations to deal with urgent case s of discrimination. The organizations should deal the powerful section of society to give a chance to the oppressed and depressed classes to work in different sectors. The Hindu society should give a space to depressed sections by employing them in their various sectors suited to the capacities of applicants 2 . International Research Journal of Social Sciences__ ______________ ________________________ ____________ ISSN 2319 – 3565 Vol. 4 ( 1 1 ), 20 - 23 , November (201 5 ) Int. Res. J. Social Sci. International Science Congress Association 21 According to Dr. Ambedkar, social change and social justice are indeed critical to the egalitarianism that any democracy must aspire it. As a social democrat Dr. Ambedkar stressed on a much broader notion of stable reconstruction of country with inclusive growth and cultural integration in the Nation without caste discrimination. As the major architect of the Indian constitution, Dr. Ambedkar constructed the safeguards for establishing a more equitable society to millions of oppressed and depressed classes. In this process, Dr. Ambedkar emerges not only as a Valliant upholder of the Indian democratic republic, but also captures the uniquely dis tinctive place in the Indian Pantheon as a rare intellectual mass leader who awakened the social conscience of Modern India. He was strongly believed that political institutions were responsible for reforming the existing social institutions by using legi slative force to yield the results. Political institutions will survive only when they actively work for social reformation 3 . Dr. Ambedkar was a freedom fighter of the truest kind, not merely dreaming of setting India force from British rule, but of trans forming India into a country where freedom holds meaning for everyone. While Mahatma Gandhi led fellow Indians in a struggle against discrimination in South Africa, Dr. Ambedkar led a battle, too, against prejudice within his own country. By securing equal ity for his community, he was creating a more equal world for us all. Dr. Ambedkar as an emancipator of the Dalits Dr. Ambedkar dedicated his life for the uplifting of Dalits. He was opposed to the theory of caste based superiority and social discrimina tion. He made a path for legal rights to enact the laws in connection with progress of dalits which could positively change their lives 4 . Dr.Ambedkar always led by example. He showed his followers, through the way he lived his own life, that education and hard work alone held the key to their liberation. The untouchables had been a demoralized, helpless group of people, but Ambedkar taught them to stop waiting for help to come from the outside and to rely upon themselves instead. The idea was a revolutiona ry one for a people who had always been told that their lot in life was preordained and that they had no control over it. Dr. Ambedkar said, “You can change your lot, but do not flock to temples hoping for justice to come to you in heaven. There is justi ce to be found on earth if you can fight for it. This idea gave them a new courage and a sense of self respect that they had never known before. The Ambedkar statue was an icon for depressed and oppressed classes civil rights. His posture, constitution in his hand and showing a new path for millions of down trodden people to modern society were symbols in the new era 5 . To conclude, Dr. Ambedkar has always resembles in lives of 160 million strong Dalit communities throughout the country. Dr. Ambedkar views were consistently been inspiring the oppressed, depressed and the downtrodden classes to challenge the dominant strands of political articulations in the country. According to Raja Sekhar Vundru who calls Dr. Ambedkar as the other father said: “Dr. Ambedka r gave millions of untouchables an identity of their own … (He) is now regarded as a great Indian, a person relevant for all times to come. This is not because his followers are unwavering in their devotion, or that they happen to be numerically higher tha n supporters of any other person (dead or living) in India, and certainly not because he probably has been represented in the highest number of statues erected for any man in history. It is because his following has transcended generations. His relevance p olitical, social, ideological, religious, economic will persist as long as the clamour and struggle for justice and equal rights exists” 6 . Dr. Ambedkar as a Scholar He starved through university life, saving every penny for his family back home and to buy books. It was no easy at any point to fight his way forward without a family fortune behind him and yet he did. He turned his hardships into an opportunity to become stronger and to fight harder. He was unafraid of opposition, of thinking differently f rom the crowd and of speaking his mind. Dr. Ambedkar, in his brief life time, managed to acquire several University degrees at the finest schools in the world, to edit newspapers, to write books, to become the principal of a law college, to lead mass move ments, to address public conferences and to work on committees involved with the making of the Indian nation. It was as though he sensed very early on that he had a lot to achieve and that time would always be running out for him. He was an intellectual gi ant and perhaps if the plight of the untouchables had not pushed him into politics, he could have been a scholar. Books were not only his weakness. He had a penchant for fountain pens of all kinds. He enjoyed well - tailored clothes and loved dogs. As on a dult, he took up both painting and playing the violin because to believed that every man should love music and art. His hobbies, be it reading or music, spoke of his softer side. But in his political career, not many people saw this side of Ambedkar. He wa s often described as British bulldog and Sarojini Naidu once called him Mussolini. There is perhaps no one who had escaped his sharp tongue and unforgiving sarcasm, especially if those rebukes were deserved. He was truthful to the point of being harsh. Dr . Ambedkar as a Nation builder He was out spoken about his ideas of nation building. He possessed great foresight and his warnings about the future of International Research Journal of Social Sciences__ ______________ ________________________ ____________ ISSN 2319 – 3565 Vol. 4 ( 1 1 ), 20 - 23 , November (201 5 ) Int. Res. J. Social Sci. International Science Congress Association 22 India ring so true today. In a speech before the constituent assembly he cautioned his fellow legislator s against the use of non - constitutional methods of protest, such as civil disobedience and Satyagraha, because they were essentially an anarchic in nature. He rallied against the Indian tendency to engage in hero worship. He was afraid that the people of I ndia would lay their liberation at the feet of someone they worshipped or entrust them with extraordinary limitless powers. He also underlined the importance of creating not just a political democracy, but also a social and economic one. His PhD thesis was inspired to set up for the Finance Commission of India and his works helped a lot in framing guidelines for the RBI Act 1934.He was one of the founders of Employment Exchanges in our country. He played a vital role in establishment of the National Power G rid System, Central Water Irrigation, Navigation Commission, Damodar valley project, Hirakud project and Sone river project. Dr.Ambedkar as a major contributor to Indian constitution Dr. Ambedkar had imprinted his mark of talent and vision in drafting In dian Constitution. His statesman qualities can easily visible each and every article of Indian Constitution. Ambedkar preferred the parliamentary system In England than the Presidential System in America. Dr. Ambedkar described the role of President as “He is the head of the state but not the executive. He represents to nation but does not rule the nation. He is the symbol of the nation. His place in the administration is that of a ceremonial device on a seal by which the nation’s decisions are made known … The president of the Indian union will be generally bound by the advice of the Ministers. He can do nothing contrary to their advice nor can he d o anything without their advice ” 7 . He strongly supported for federal system. He said “The Draft constitution is, Federal Constitution is a much as it establishes what may be called Dual polity. This Dual polity under the proposed constitution will consist of the union at the centre and the states at the periphery each endowed with Sovereign powers to be exercised in the field assigned to them respectively by the constitution……. The draft constitution can be both unitary as well as federal according to the requirements of time and circumstances. In normal times, it is framed to work as a federal system. But in time s of war it is so designed as to make it work as though it was a unitary system ” 7 . Dr. Ambedkar supported the minorities’ rights that “It is wrong for the majority do deny the existence of minorities. It is equally wrong for the minorities to perpetuate t hemselves. A solution must be found which will serve a double purpose. It must recognize the existence of the minorities to start with. It must also be such that it will enable majorities and minorities to merge somebody into one. The solution proposed by the constituent assembly is to be welcomed because it is a solution which serves this twofold purpose” . Dr. Ambedkar clarified about the criticisms of The Directive Principles of state of policy as “whoever captures power will not be free to do what he lik es with it. In the exercise of it, he will have to respect these instruments of instructions which are called Directive Principles. He cannot ignore them. He may not have to answer for their breach in a court of Law. But he will certainly have to answer fo r them before the electorate at election time ” 7 . Dr. Ambedkar stated about Article 32 that “It I was asked to name any particular article in this as the most important an article without which the constitution would be a nullity I would not refer to any o ther article except this one. It is the very soul of t he constitution and heart of it ” . Dr. Ambedkar said about independent Election Commission that “the greatest safeguard for purity of elections, for fairness in elections, was to take away the matter from the hands of the executive authority and to hand it ove r to some independent authority ” . He remarked about the constitution as “It is workable, it is flexible and it is strong enough to hold the country together both in peace time and in war time. In deed, if I may 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 is vile” 8 . Conclusion Dr. Ambedkar’s was a short life and yet a most remarkable one. He rose up fr om dust, from being treated worse than an animal to becoming the father of the Indian Constitution. Dr. Ambedkar was truly a multi - faceted personality. A veritable emancipator of Dalits, a great National leader and patriot, a great author, a great educatio nalist, a great political philosopher, a great religious guide and above all a great humanist without any parallel among his contemporary. All these facets of Ambedkar’s personality had strong humanist underpinnings. It is only regrettable that the press i n the past as well as the contemporary has projected Ambedkar mainly as a great social rebel and a bitter critic of the Hindu religion. Critics of Dr. Ambedkar have ignored his basic humanistic instincts and strong humanitarian convictions behind his every act or speech throughout his life. Thus we conclude Dr. Ambedkar was one of the foremost makers of Modern India. References 1. Buddhism and Communism, Ambedkar’s speech at the closing session of the Fourth Conference of the World Fellowship of Buddhists in the State Gallery Hall in Kathmandu (Nepal) on November, (1956) 2. B.R. Ambedkar, What Congress and Gandhi have done to the Untouchables, 135 - 136 (2008) International Research Journal of Social Sciences__ ______________ ________________________ ____________ ISSN 2319 – 3565 Vol. 4 ( 1 1 ), 20 - 23 , November (201 5 ) Int. Res. J. Social Sci. International Science Congress Association 23 3. B. R. Ambedkar, Annihilation of Caste, an undelivered speech written in 1936 by B. R. Ambedkar , http://ccnmtl.columbia.edu/projects/mmt/ambedkar/web/in dex.html (2015) 4. Jaoul Nicolas, Learning the use of Symbolic means: Dalits, Ambedkar statues and the state in U.P., Contributions to Indian Sociology , 40(2), 175 - 207 5. S. Anand (Ed.), Annihilation of Cast e: The annotated critical edition – B.R. Ambedkar – Introduced with the essay ‘The Doctor and the Saint’ by Arundhati Roy, Navayana Publishers, New Delhi, 44 (2014) 6. Rajasekhar Vundru, ‘The other Father’, Outlook (Weekly), Independence Day Special, 20 Augus t, 2012 , (2012) 7. Jadhav Narendra, Ambedkar: Awakening India’s social conscience, Konark Publishers, New Delhi, 453,454,463 (2014) 8. Badal Sarkar , Dr. B. R. Ambedkar’s theory of State Socialism International Research Journal of Social Sciences, 2 , ( 2013)