A post claiming that Dr. B.R. Ambedkar had no role to play in framing the Indian Constitution is being shared on social media. The post questions that ‘The Indian Constitution was drafted by B.N. Rau, written by Prem Bihari Rizada, and presided over by Dr. Rajendra Prasad. How did Ambedkar become the architect of the Indian constitution?’ Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Dr. B.R Ambedkar has no role to play in drafting the constitution for him to be called the architect of the Indian constitution.
Fact: Dr. B.R. Ambedkar was the chairman of the drafting committee of the constituent assembly. B.N. Rau was the constitutional advisor of the constituent assembly and Prem Bihari Narain Raizada was the calligrapher of the original constitution of India. Hence, the claim made is Misleading.
Dr. B.R. Ambedkar was the chairman of the assembly’s most crucial drafting committee of the Constituent Assembly. He is commonly referred to as the “Architect of the Indian Constitution” due to his significant reasons (here and here). As a member of the advisory committee of fundamental rights and excluded areas, and also the sub-committee on minorities, his strong advocacy for the inclusion of provisions aimed at promoting social justice, ending discrimination, and ensuring the rights of marginalized communities left a long-lasting impact on the Constitution. He also played a crucial role as a member of the sub-committee member of fundamental rights which is called a mini-constitution in itself and ensures basic rights to citizens of the country.
The eminent parliamentarians’ monograph series published by the Parliament of India, mentions that Babasaheb exerted his influence to evolve a parliamentary form of constitution for Republican India and why Ambedkar is called the chief architect of the Indian constitution in T.T. Krishnamachari’s words.
B.N. Rau served as the Constitutional Advisor to the Constituent Assembly and was crucial in providing legal and technical advice during the constitution-making process. While he was not a formal member of the Drafting Committee, his expertise and guidance were instrumental in shaping the Indian Constitution. Granville Austin, an American historian of the Indian constitution, mentioned in his book The Indian Constitution: Cornerstone of a Nation that B.N. Rau, constitutional advisor must be placed among those important in framing the constitution though he was not an assembly member.
Ambedkar, in his speech, appreciated B.N Rau for his contribution to drafting the constitution with detailed knowledge of the constitutions of other countries and his own experience.
The calligraphy work for the original handwritten copies of the Indian Constitution was done by renowned calligrapher Prem Behari Narain Raizada.
To sum up, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar was the chairman of the drafting committee and member of other sub-committees of the constituent assembly whereas B.N. Rau was the constitutional advisor of the constituent assembly.
