Abstract

Dr. B.R. Ambedkar is considered to be the chief architect of our ‘grundnorm’ i.e. the Constitution. He played a significant role in laying the foundation of democracy in India. He considered that democracy was not new to the Indian system but various ancient governing bodies adhered to democratic principles. His notion of democracy was not a westernised one, rather his reflections on the theory of democracy were firmly located in the Indian context. Equality and fraternity were considered to be at the heart of democracy. For him, democracy was a form of associated living. Democracy is not only limited to a government by the representative of the people but it has many more facets to it. It encompasses within its sphere social, economic as well as political democracy. Social democracy aims at removing the caste barriers created in our society. Caste system not only fractures national unity but also makes democracy impossible. Democracy is to be achieved not only in fact but in form also. The present paper aims to study the idea of democracy as propounded by Dr. Ambedkar. It aims to cover the various facets of democracy and to analyse whether we have secured the same notion of democracy to our people as envisaged by him.

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