Pillars of Democracy
by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar
Rapid Learn 2-Minute Revision
Perfect for last-minute revision
This extract is from Dr. B. R. Ambedkar's famous concluding speech to the Constituent Assembly. He argues that to maintain democracy 'not merely in form, but also in fact', Indians must do three things. First, hold fast to constitutional methods and abandon unconstitutional ones, the 'Grammar of Anarchy'. Second, avoid hero-worship: quoting John Stuart Mill and Daniel O'Connell, he warns that laying our liberties at the feet of a great man leads, in politics, to degradation and dictatorship. Third, embrace fraternity, a real sense of common brotherhood among all Indians. He points to the 'life of contradictions' between political equality and social-economic inequality, warns that caste is anti-national, and concludes that without fraternity, equality and liberty will be 'no deeper than coats of paint'.
Detailed Summary
Detailed Summary Video
Video coming soon
'Pillars of Democracy' is drawn from Dr. B. R. Ambedkar's landmark speech to the Constituent Assembly on the eve of India adopting its Constitution. He identifies the essential conditions, the 'pillars', needed to keep Indian democracy alive in substance and not merely in form.
Hold fast to constitutional methods
Ambedkar's first requirement is that we hold fast to constitutional methods of achieving our social and economic objectives. When no constitutional path was open, there was justification for unconstitutional methods; but once constitutional means are available, methods like civil disobedience, non-cooperation and satyagraha are unjustifiable.
He calls these unconstitutional methods 'nothing but the Grammar of Anarchy', and says the sooner they are abandoned, the better for the country.
Beware of hero-worship
His second caution, echoing John Stuart Mill, is not 'to lay our liberties at the feet of even a great man, or to trust him with powers which enable him to subvert our institutions.' Gratitude to great men is fine, but it has limits, as Daniel O'Connell said, no nation can be grateful at the cost of its liberty.
Ambedkar warns that in India, Bhakti or hero-worship plays a uniquely large role in politics. While Bhakti in religion may lead to the soul's salvation, in politics it is 'a sure road to degradation and to eventual dictatorship.'
A life of contradictions
From 26 January 1950, he says, India will enter a 'life of contradictions': political equality ('one man one vote, one vote one value') alongside social and economic inequality. This contradiction must be removed quickly, or those who suffer inequality will 'blow up the structure of political democracy' so laboriously built.
The need for fraternity
The third pillar is fraternity, a sense of common brotherhood that gives unity and solidarity to social life. Citing James Bryce's story of the American Church hesitating to use the word 'nation', Ambedkar shows how hard national unity is to achieve, and argues it is even harder in caste-ridden India.
He calls castes 'anti-national' because they cause separation and breed jealousy and antipathy. Only by overcoming them can Indians truly become a nation, for fraternity can exist only when there is a nation. He ends with the powerful warning that without fraternity, equality and liberty will be 'no deeper than coats of paint'.