MELBOURNE, 6 June, 2025: MELBOURNE, 6 June, 2025: Author Anurag Bhaskar, today introduced his 2024 book ‘The Foresighted Ambedkar – Ideas that shaped Indian Constitution and Discourse’, Penguin Random House India, published on August 6, 2024 (hardcover, ISBN: 9780670097401). Anurag was briefing about the book to selected academics, students, and those interested in the topic of cast and inequality at the Department of Management and Marketing in the University of Melbourne.
Ambedkar’s role in creating checks and balances to prevent majoritarian dominance, protecting individuals and minorities from the majority was also revealed. Anurag also said the claim Dr. Ambedkar wanted to “burn” the Constitution, by contextualizing his 1953 speech as an expression of frustration over linguistic state formation, not a rejection of the Constitution itself.
Early Life and Context: The book begins with Ambedkar’s early life, detailing his experiences as a Dalit, his education in India and abroad (Columbia University and the London School of Economics), and the caste-based discrimination he faced. These experiences shaped his constitutional philosophy.
Key Moments: The book covers significant events in Ambedkar’s career, such as:
His role in colonial constitutional negotiations (e.g., the Simon Commission and Round Table Conferences) and the Constituent Assembly (1946–1950), where he chaired the Drafting Committee.
-
Positive Reviews: Readers and scholars praise the book for its meticulous research and accessibility. Amazon reviews highlight its inspirational quality, with one calling it a “litmus test for progressive thinking” and another noting its appeal beyond academics to anyone interested in equality. It’s described as a “seminal work of intellectual and constitutional history.”
-
Critical Perspectives: A review in Frontline by Suryapratim Roy notes Bhaskar’s attempt to portray Ambedkar as “foresighted” and “impactful,” connecting his ideas to modern concepts like the capability approach. However, it critiques Ambedkar’s support for preventive detention as less foresighted, given its later misuse, and suggests Bhaskar’s reverence sometimes overlooks Ambedkar’s complexities and failures.
The book is credited with broadening the understanding of Ambedkar’s contributions beyond the 1946–1950 period, situating him in a longer arc of constitutional evolution. It has been endorsed by figures like former Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, who wrote the foreword and acknowledged Bhaskar’s role in installing an Ambedkar statue at the Supreme Court of India.
