POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF Dr. B. R. AMBEDKAR
POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF Dr. B. R. AMBEDKAR
POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF Dr. B. R. AMBEDKAR
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POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF
Dr. B. R. AMBEDKAR
A. M. RAJASEKHARIAH
and
HEMALATA JAYARAJ
The Indian Journal of Political Scitnce, Vol. 52, No. 3, July - Sept., 1991.
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358 THE INDIAN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
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POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF Dr. B. R. AMBEDKAR 359
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360 THE INDIAN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
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POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF Dr. B. R. AMBEDKAR 361
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362 THE INDIAN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
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POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF Dr. B. R. AMBEDKAR 363
Dr. Ambedkar blames man for the present ills of society and
not his karma or past deeds. It is, in turn, the environment and
circumstances under which he lives that influence his life. So the
status of a man is determained not so much by heredity but his
social environment. The social organisation is responsible for the
state of society and status of man. What man has made of man
is obvious from man's own hostility and enemity towards man.
Inquiry, exploitation, tyranny, coercion, hatred etc., are all a
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364 THE INDIAN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
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POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF Dr. B. R. AMBEDKAR 365
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366 THE INDIAN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
Dr. Ambedkar has expressed his views on the nature and form of
governments as part of his political thought. He has expressed
his support to the parliamentary form of government in general
as it is ca negation of hereditary rule' and it is based on the
will of the people, unlike in a monarchy. It is more democratic
than any other form of government. It provides for self-govern-
ment which is obviously a representative government. A self-
government is a prerequisite of a good government and a good
government cannot be a substitute for self-government. He does
not agree with the view that self-goverenment automatically
leads to good government. He was mistaken for this during the
freedom struggle that he was opposed to India's freedom, which
was not true. He insisted that care should be taken before trans-
fer of power and the establishment of Swaraj or self-government
to ensure that it will be a good government. It is not enough if
it is efficient. One of the essentials of a good government is that
the ruling class should be in a position to rise above all class and
caste consideration and steer through all conflicts. He says:
"What is necessary is to have in the governing class the will to
do good or, to use Dicey's language, freedom from internal limita-
tions arising out of selfish caste interests. Efficiency combined
with selfish class interests instead of producing good government
is far more likely to become a mere engine of suppression of the
servile classes."23 So he fought not only for self-government
but also for good government both during and after the freedom
struggle. There was no questian of his being opposed to India's
freedom at all. In his Presidential Address to the All-India
Depressed Class Congress in August 1930, he exhorted his people:
"I am afraid that the British chose our unfortunate conditions,
not with the object of removing them but only because such a
course serves well as an excuse for retarding the political pro-
gress of India... Nobody can remove your grievances as well as
you can, and you cannot remove them unless you get political
power in your hands. No share of this political power can come
to you as long as the British Government remains as it is. It is
only in a Swaraj Constitution that you stand any chance of
getting the political power into your hands without which you
cannot bring salvation to your people."24 This exhortation was
patriotic and nationalistic first and last. But he thought in the
Indian conditions self-government may not lead to a good
government through the parliamentary form of government with
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POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF Dr. B. R. AMBEDKAR 367
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368 THE INDIAN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
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POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF Dr. B. R. AMBEDKAR 369
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370 THE INDIAN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
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POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF Dr. B. R. AMBEDKAR 371
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372 THE INDIAN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
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POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF Dr. B. R. AMBEDKAR 373
Conclusion :
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374 THE INDIAN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
NOTES
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POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF Dr. B. R. AMBEDKAR 375
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