Ambedkar’s Preamble

On 26 January 1950, the Constitution of India was adopted formally and came into effect. Its preamble set out in brief the enlightened values it enshrined and hoped to engender. In a radical shift from mainstream constitutional history, this book establishes Dr B.R. Ambedkar's irrefutable authorship of the preamble by uncovering the intellectual origins of its six most central concepts: justice, liberty, equality, fraternity, dignity, and nation.

Although Dr Ambedkar is universally regarded as the chief architect of the Constitution, the specifics of his role as chairman of the Drafting Committee are not widely discussed. Totally neglected is his almost single-handed authorship of the Constitution's Preamble, which is frequently and mistakenly attributed to B.N. Rau rather than to Ambedkar.

This book establishes how and why the Preamble to the Constitution of India is essentially an Ambedkarite preamble. It is clear that its central concepts have their provenance in Ambedkar's writings and speeches. Through six eponymous chapters, this book unfolds the story of the six constitutional concepts. In doing so, it spotlights fundamental facts about modern Indian history, as well as Ambedkar's revolutionary political thought, hitherto ignored in conventional accounts.

The Constitution of India

PREAMBLE

WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens: JUSTICE, social, economic and political;
LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship; EQUALITY of status and of opportunity; and to promote among them all
FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation;
IN OUR CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY this 26th day of November 1949, do HEREBY ADOPT, ENACT AND GIVE TO OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION.

‘Ambedkar’s Preamble is a constitutional history that recounts the deep study and deliberations made to conceptualize the great constitutional values of the Preamble. The book captures the immense vision and contribution of Dr Ambedkar to the legal and social framework of our republic. Aakash Singh Rathore deserves special commendation for having chosen a subject hitherto uncharted by others.’
Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, former Chief Justice of India

‘An insightful analysis of the origins and implications of the central ideas of the Preamble to the Indian Constitution. There have been many good books on the Constitution, but none that focused on the Preamble and used it to prise open its distinctive conceptual framework. This is a very valuable book on Ambedkar’s seminal contribution.’
Bhikhu Parekh, member of the House of Lords and fellow of the British Academy

‘Ambedkar’s Preamble is such a significant book. It not only establishes how Ambedkar steered the drafting of the main body of the Indian Constitution but also how he formulated its soul—the Preamble. The book solves several mysteries about who is responsible for the core philosophy of the living Constitution of India. Everyone—students, activists, lawyers and judges—needs this book on their shelves.’
Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd, activist and author of the bestselling Why I Am Not a Hindu

‘Aakash Singh Rathore decodes the “secret” history of the drafting and adoption of the Preamble to the Indian Constitution. He urges that we all make Ambedkar’s handiwork “our own too” by adopting it as an agenda of the struggle for justice in our troubled times. The “unity of the nation” may only be achieved by preserving the fraternal dignity of all individuals. His moral reading of the Preamble, to which constitutional law is a massive footnote, is imperative because it contains both the points of departure as well as that of arrival.’
Upendra Baxi, acclaimed constitutional expert and author

‘Poet Altaf Hussain Hali had said, Admiyat seekhte hain is se sab chhote bade, nau-e-insaan me baqa-e-admiyat is se hai. An earlier generation captured our human values in the Preamble. The new generations must remember and practise these values, out of which our nation has sprung. As we celebrate seventy years of the republic, I urge everyone to read this captivating book.’
Syeda Hameed, women’s rights activist and former member of the Planning Commission

Ambedkar’s Preamble
A Secret History of the Constitution of India

Contents

Preface: Anatomy of a Secret

Introduction: A Tale of Four Preambles

1. Justice: The Story of B.R. Ambedkar

2. Liberty: Swaraj is Whose Birthright?

3. Equality: The Constitution as Revolution

4. Fraternity: Affection for Everyone, Hatred for None

5. Dignity: Not Bread but Honour

6. Nation: The Future of a Delusion

Epilogue: The Greatest Wonder

Appendices
Notes
Bibliography
Index

25 Feb 2020, Book Signing, Oxford Bookstore, New Delhi

Interview with News18
23 April 2020

Deccan Herald

14 August 2020

"As India gears up to celebrate 74th Independence day, in today's edition of DH Sparks, we focus on a pertinent question - 'Have we lived up to the ideals of the freedom struggle?'"

An excerpt in The Quint
on Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar’s death anniversary, 6 December 2019

"It is Dr Ambedkar’s preamble not only because of the processes by which it came to be, but also because of its conceptual content—it is Dr Ambedkar’s preamble both procedurally and substantively. Unlike for B.N. Rau, or even for Nehru, each and every one of its central concepts—justice, liberty, equality, fraternity, dignity and nation—has a decisive and inimitable provenance in Dr Ambedkar’s writings and speeches."