Dr BR Ambedkar, the principal architect of India’s Constitution and the most prominent leader of the country’s Dalit community, is being remembered on his 135th birth anniversary. DW’s special coverage reflects on his life, the unfinished promise of caste abolition, and contemporary struggles for Dalit upliftment during Dalit History Month in April.
From poverty to constitutional architect
Born in Mumbai into a community historically labelled “untouchable,” Ambedkar rose from poverty to study law in the United Kingdom and emerged as independent India’s first law and justice minister. He was a fierce critic of the caste system and led a nationwide movement for Dalit rights. Ambedkar’s leadership was central to drafting the Indian Constitution, adopted in 1950, which outlawed untouchability and enshrined equality and affirmative measures for historically marginalized groups.
The persistence of caste discrimination
Despite constitutional guarantees and affirmative-action policies, caste inequalities remain embedded in Indian society. Dalits—recognized in the Constitution as Scheduled Castes—made up about 16.6% of the population in the 2011 census. Legal protections, welfare programs and quotas in education and employment have expanded access for many, but social exclusion, discrimination and violence persist in both rural and urban settings. Attacks on Dalits and episodes of social ostracism continue to surface, underscoring deep-rooted structural problems.
A personal account: everyday caste
A Dalit researcher at one of India’s premier institutions recounted early, formative experiences of caste discrimination. At about 12 years old, classmates casually called her “untouchable.” Her family faced restrictions on shared public spaces imposed by an upper-caste landlord; even a toddler crawling across an invisible boundary triggered rebuke. She says discrimination did not vanish with education or social mobility—it changed form.
In elite academic and urban spaces, bias often becomes implicit: coded language, social exclusion, and questioning of ability. Meritocratic arguments sometimes mask hostility toward affirmative action, and peers may infer caste from grades or background, producing subtle isolation. While she sees greater assertiveness among younger Dalits and more solidarity in some spaces, she cautions against overstating progress: “The discrimination is still there,” she says.
Legal gaps and the limits of reform
DW spoke to Dr Sumit Baudh, executive director of the Center on Public Law and Jurisprudence at O.P. Jindal Global University and a member of the Dalit community, about how the law has addressed caste since Ambedkar’s time. Baudh points to enduring disappointments Ambedkar himself articulated—such as his 1951 resignation as law minister over stalled reforms and the failure to enact the Hindu Code Bill, which sought comprehensive changes to personal law.
Baundh identifies a key problem in legal and policy language: the invocation of “efficiency.” Though seemingly neutral, “efficiency” is frequently used to question or resist reservations and affirmative action. It abstracts away the unequal social and educational conditions that produce differential outcomes, effectively legitimizing existing hierarchies.
Another major shortfall is the absence of a comprehensive anti-discrimination law in India. Instead of a single, accessible civil framework to address caste-based discrimination, the country relies on a patchwork: criminal statutes, constitutional remedies, and sector-specific rules covering atrocities, sexual harassment and disability. Discrimination often operates in spaces that are neither purely criminal nor easily addressed through constitutional litigation—especially within institutions like schools and workplaces—leaving many harms difficult to name, prove, or redress. Institutional practices reproducing inequality in subtle ways remain hard to tackle under current legal architectures.
Dalit History Month and the broader movement
April’s Dalit History Month gives renewed visibility to anti-caste reformers beyond Ambedkar, including 19th-century activist Jyotirao Phule, who campaigned for the eradication of untouchability and championed education for women and marginalized castes. The month offers opportunities to revisit the aspirations of early reformers and to measure them against contemporary realities.
Looking ahead
Ambedkar’s legacy—his legal vision, moral insistence on equality, and relentless critique of caste—continues to inspire movements for social justice. Yet commentators and activists argue that his mission remains incomplete: structural reforms, clearer legal protections against discrimination, and sustained political will are needed to translate constitutional promise into lived equality.
DW’s special coverage on Ambedkar’s 135th birth anniversary highlights these tensions between legal frameworks and social practice, amplifying lived experiences and expert analysis to mark a figure whose life and ideas remain central to debates about justice and inclusion in India.