Review of ‘The Foresighted Ambedkar: Ideas That Shaped Indian Constitutional Discourse’, Penguin Random House India, Hardbound, Pages: 400, INR 799
WHEN WE THINK OF Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar, we understand that his legacy is one that evolves through their sustained relevance in the challenges that we contemporarily confront. The book ‘The Foresighted Ambedkar: Ideas That Shaped Indian Constitutional Discourse’, written by Anurag Bhaskar further establishes the evolutionary personality of Ambedkar’s many contributions, particularly how those contributions have been interpreted, at times perhave even exploitatively by some.
Most often while assessing Dr Ambedkar’s contribution in the formation of Indian Constitution, we tend to confine ourselves merely to his immediate presence in constituent assembly. But this myopic approach to understand Dr Ambedkar’s contribution suppresses his long and enduring struggle that was of a more encompassing character
Bhaskar’s book plays a decisive role in debunking myths surrounding Dr Ambedkar including his alleged desire to burn the Constitution and his proposal for reservations in employment and education to be discontinued after ten years. Bhaskar also prominently disagrees with writers like Arundhati Roy and Shashi Tharoor who have widely claimed that Dr Ambedkar did not pursue the cause of Schedule Tribes (‘ST’) and provides a detailed description of Dr Ambedkar's contributions towards Adivasi and forest dweller communities.
In the recent times, while attempts are being undertaken to really redefine constitutional jurisprudence in India, the formidable repute of Dr Ambedkar is being debated heavily, both inside the Parliament and outside. In this context, Bhaskar’s book becomes an urgent read for everyone.
