Ambedkar Burn Constitution: The Full 1953 Speech Explained
Ambedkar burn constitution claim checked: the 1953 Rajya Sabha speech in full, his 1955 reply, and what he said about the Constitution in 1949.
One half-sentence has done a lot of work for a lot of people. Here is the full sentence, and the speech surrounding it.
The Ambedkar Burn the Constitution argument is based on a single line from the Rajya Sabha from 2 September 1953. That line is verifiable. What people say it means is not what the records show (SC Observer, 2024). So let’s read the speech, then his 1955 response, then what he said in 1949.
The Ambedkar Burn the Constitution argument, steel-manned
The strongest articulation of the argument is this: On 2 September 1953, in the Rajya Sabha, he said he would “be the first person to burn it out” (Rajya Sabha Debates, 2 September 1953, via SC Observer). People who admire Ambedkar read this as being angry. His biographer Dhananjay Keer called it an attack made out of desperation and frustration (SC Observer).
Gail Omvedt also called it a moment of rage (SC Observer). Arvind Elangovan called it a public disavowal (SC Observer). Suraj Yengde also links it to Ambedkar burning the Manusmriti in 1927 (SC Observer). You can read more about that in our post on the abolition of Sanatana Dharma and Ambedkar.
That line is used in two ways. Anurag Bhaskar observes that some use it in support of a call for a new Constitution, and others in support of the argument that Ambedkar had nothing to do with the Constitution we have (SC Observer). Therefore, reading it in full is necessary.
What was the 1953 Rajya Sabha debate about?
At that time, the other house of Parliament was considering the Andhra State Bill that provided for the creation of a linguistic state following the death of Potti Sriramulu (SC Observer; The Wire, 2025). Ambedkar was very much critical of the Bill for its lack of any safeguards for minorities, including Dalits (SC Observer). He suggested that the Governor could be given such powers which, he said, would be contrary to the “aid and advice” of the Council of Ministers (SC Observer).
K. N. Katju, Home Minister, countered this was against the Constitution which Ambedkar had himself drafted (The Wire). Ambedkar said people referred to him as the maker of the Constitution and he said he was “a hack” and did what he was told to do against his wishes (SC Observer).
Finally, he uttered his famous line. People called him the maker of the Constitution, and he said he would be the first to burn it (Rajya Sabha Debates, 2 September 1953, via SC Observer). “But there is an important point to be noted. If you have to continue to carry on, you cannot take the view that you will harm democracy by providing protection to minorities,” (SC Observer). With this he asked the Home Minister to take into consideration his proposals (SC Observer).
Amedkar burns the Constitution: his 1955 reply
On 19 March 1955, the Rajya Sabha was discussing the Constitution (Fourth Amendment) Bill, 1954 (the Wire). A Member recalled his earlier remark. Ambedkar’s explanation used an image. The devil takes possession of a house before the God enters it. What can one do but break the house? (The Wire).
Another Member said, to destroy the devil is to preserve the temple, and he agreed, it cannot be done (the Wire). The Wire adds that during the same speech, he said with pride that the Constitution was “a wonderful document” (The Wire).
The image needs to be interpreted carefully. The devil is the bad people who misuse the provisions, not the provisions itself. That also fits his 1953 argument about majorities.
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What Ambedkar Said about the Constitution in 1949
His speech in the Constituent Assembly of 25 November 1949 is the best reply to this myth. He said the people and parties who run the constitution determine its fate. A good constitution can be made bad by bad people who run it (CAD, Vol. 11, 25 November 1949).
In the same speech, he said the Assembly gave the Constitution an easy amendment procedure and no seal of finality. (CAD, Vol 11, 25 November 1949) He also quoted Jefferson on how each generation is a distinct nation (CAD, Vol 11, 25 November 1949). So the Constitution was to be changed by law, not burned.
He also expressed a “life of contradictions” beginning on January 26, 1950, when he identified equality in politics and inequality in social and economic life (CAD, Vol 11, 25 November 1949). He said those who suffer inequality could blow up the structure of political democracy (CAD, Vol 11, 25 November 1949). This is the basis of his 1953 anger.
Did Ambedkar write the Constitution? What the record says
He was the head of the Drafting Committee which was elected by the Assembly on 29 August 1947 and which sat for 141 days (CAD, Vol 11, 25 November 1949). The Constitutional Adviser’s draft had 243 articles and 13 Schedules (CAD, Vol 11, 25 November 1949). The Drafting Committee’s first draft had 315 articles and 8 Schedules, and the final draft had 395 articles (CAD, Vol 11, 25 November 1949).
Ambedkar did not claim sole credit. He said the credit belonged partly to B. N. Rau, who prepared a rough draft, and partly to the Drafting Committee (CAD, Vol 11, 25 November 1949). He said a much greater share belonged to S. N. Mukherjee, the chief draftsman (CAD, Vol 11, 25 November 1949). Rau’s draft was ready by October 1947 (Bar and Bench).
The President of the Assembly, Rajendra Prasad, praised the zeal of the Drafting Committee, and especially its Chairman (The Wire, on Ambedkar’s role). So, “Ambedkar had nothing to do with it,” and “Ambedkar alone wrote it” are wrong. It was a team and he was the Chairman.
The reason the “ambedkar burn constitution” claim is popular
A half-sentence is easy to recall. Fully recalling the sentence before and after it is hard. The claim works for opposite sides, as Bhaskar notes (SC Observer).
The Wire notes that people who want to review and replace the Constitution, cite the line (The Wire). Reading Ambedkar’s speech in its entirety instead of the screenshot is the habit the Ambedkarite Educational Program trains: Blogging & SEO, Website Building and Google AI. To apply the same habit to another claim about the Constituent Assembly, see Did Ambedkar want reservation for 10 years?
The Ambedkar Burn Constitutional Line is real, and it stems from his anger due to the omission of Minority Safeguards (SC Observer). In 1955 he explained it with the Temple and the Devil, and he eulogized the Constitution in the same speech (The Wire). In 1949 he said it would work or fail depending on the people who ran it (CAD, Vol 11, 25 November 1949). Read the entire speech.
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