Democratic Backsliding in India: An Ambedkarite Constitutional Analysis

 

Democratic Backsliding in India: An Ambedkarite Constitutional Analysis

-         SR Darapuri, National President, All India Peoples Front

This paper examines the contemporary condition of democratic governance, constitutional rights, secularism, and judicial independence in India through an Ambedkarite–constitutionalist lens. It argues that while India formally retains the institutional architecture of a constitutional democracy, its substantive democratic content has been progressively eroded by the rise of majoritarian nationalism, executive centralization, and the weakening of constitutional morality. Drawing on B.R. Ambedkar’s conception of democracy as a social and moral system rather than merely an electoral mechanism, the paper situates India’s current trajectory within broader debates on democratic backsliding and authoritarian populism. It contends that India is witnessing not the collapse but the hollowing out of constitutional democracy, with grave implications for marginalized communities and the future of the republic.

1. Introduction

India’s Constitution envisaged a transformative democratic project aimed at dismantling entrenched hierarchies of caste, religion, and gender, while guaranteeing political liberty, social justice, and equality. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, the principal architect of the Constitution, consistently warned that constitutional democracy in India would remain fragile unless supported by constitutional morality and social democracy. In recent years, concerns have intensified regarding the erosion of democratic norms, the dilution of constitutional rights, the decline of secularism, and the growing constraints on judicial independence.

This paper seeks to analyze these developments from an Ambedkarite constitutionalist perspective. Rather than treating democracy as synonymous with elections or majoritarian rule, it foregrounds Ambedkar’s insistence on substantive equality, minority rights, and institutional accountability as the core of democratic life. The central argument advanced here is that India today represents a case of democratic backsliding characterized by the persistence of electoral procedures alongside the systematic weakening of constitutional restraints on power.

2. Ambedkar’s Conception of Constitutional Democracy

Ambedkar rejected the minimalist view of democracy as periodic elections. For him, democracy was a form of “associated living” grounded in liberty, equality, and fraternity. He emphasized that political democracy without social democracy would be inherently unstable. Central to this vision was the idea of constitutional morality, defined as respect for constitutional values, limitations on power, and the ethical commitment of institutions and citizens to uphold the spirit of the Constitution.

Ambedkar also viewed the Indian social order—structured by caste and graded inequality—as fundamentally anti-democratic. Consequently, he regarded constitutional safeguards, fundamental rights, and independent institutions as essential correctives against majoritarian domination. His apprehension that Hindu majoritarianism could subvert democracy through the misuse of numerical strength has acquired renewed relevance in contemporary India.

3. Democratic Governance and Executive Centralization

India continues to conduct regular elections with high voter participation, sustaining the formal appearance of democracy. However, democratic governance has increasingly come to be marked by executive dominance and institutional marginalization. Parliament’s deliberative role has been weakened through reduced sittings, limited debate on major legislation, and the growing reliance on ordinances and money bills.

From an Ambedkarite perspective, this concentration of power undermines the constitutional balance envisioned by the framers. Ambedkar consistently argued that unchecked executive authority posed a grave threat to liberty, particularly in societies marked by deep social inequalities. The deployment of investigative and regulatory agencies against political opponents further erodes the conditions for fair political competition, pushing India toward what comparative political theory describes as competitive authoritarianism.

4. Constitutional Rights and the Crisis of Substantive Equality

While the text of fundamental rights remains intact, their practical realization has been increasingly constrained. The frequent use of sedition laws, anti-terror legislation, and preventive detention has curtailed freedoms of speech, association, and personal liberty. Prolonged incarceration without trial has become a defining feature of the contemporary legal landscape.

Ambedkar viewed fundamental rights not as abstract guarantees but as instruments of social emancipation, particularly for historically oppressed communities. The selective enforcement of laws and the differential treatment of minorities, Dalits, Adivasis, and dissenters represent a retreat from the constitutional promise of equality before law. This shift reflects a transition from rights-based constitutionalism to a governance paradigm centered on order, security, and majoritarian sentiment.

5. Secularism and the Rise of Majoritarian Nationalism

Secularism constitutes a basic feature of the Indian Constitution, rooted in the principle of equal respect for all religions. Contemporary political practice, however, has increasingly departed from this constitutional commitment. State neutrality toward religion has been replaced by overt or implicit endorsement of majoritarian cultural nationalism.

Ambedkar regarded the fusion of religion and politics as antithetical to democracy, particularly in a society where religious identity overlapped with social hierarchy. The normalization of communal polarization, selective responses to hate speech, and the differential application of law during episodes of communal violence signify the erosion of secular constitutionalism. In this context, minorities are progressively transformed from equal citizens into conditional subjects of state power.

6. Judicial Independence and Constitutional Adjudication

The judiciary occupies a central position in Ambedkar’s constitutional design as the guardian of fundamental rights and the arbiter of constitutional limits. Although the Indian judiciary formally retains its independence, its contemporary functioning reveals significant constraints. Delays in adjudicating politically sensitive cases, selective prioritization of matters, and increasing deference to the executive on questions of national security and majoritarian policy have weakened judicial oversight.

Rather than overt judicial capture, the present condition may be better described as judicial restraint bordering on abdication. This has profound implications for constitutional democracy, as the absence of timely judicial intervention enables the gradual normalization of unconstitutional practices.

7. Conclusion: Constitutional Democracy at a Crossroads

This paper has argued that India is experiencing a process of democratic hollowing rather than outright authoritarian rupture. Electoral competition persists, but the substantive content of constitutional democracy—rights, secularism, institutional accountability, and judicial independence—has been progressively undermined. From an Ambedkarite perspective, this trajectory reflects the resurgence of social and political forces that the Constitution sought to restrain.

Ambedkar’s warning that democracy in India would be endangered in the absence of constitutional morality resonates with renewed urgency today. The future of the Indian republic depends not merely on the survival of electoral mechanisms, but on the revitalization of constitutional ethics, social democracy, and the struggle against graded inequality. Without this, constitutional democracy risks being reduced to a formal shell, increasingly detached from the emancipatory aspirations that informed its founding.

 

Buddhist Influence on the Social Philosophy of Saint Ravidas: A Critical Study

 

Buddhist Influence on the Social Philosophy of Saint Ravidas (Raidas): A Critical Study

-          SR Darapuri I.P.S.(Retd)

              

This paper examines the social and ethical philosophy of Saint Ravidas (15th–16th century) in the light of Buddhist thought. Although there is no historical evidence to suggest that Ravidas was institutionally or doctrinally a Buddhist, his teachings display strong convergence with Buddhist ethics, particularly in their rejection of caste hierarchy, ritualism, and Brahmanical authority, and in their emphasis on human equality, dignity of labour, and moral conduct. Ravidas’ concept of Begumpura—a sorrowless, casteless, and fear-free society—closely resembles the Buddhist social imagination embodied in the Sangha, Ashokan Dhamma, and modern Navayana Buddhism as articulated by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. The paper argues that Ravidas should be understood as a Bhakti saint who carried forward the ethical legacy of the Śramaṇa–Buddhist tradition within a hostile Brahmanical milieu.

1. Introduction

Saint Ravidas occupies a crucial position in the history of Indian social thought, particularly within Dalit–Bahujan intellectual traditions. While mainstream historiography often situates him narrowly within the Bhakti movement, such an approach tends to depoliticize and de-socialize his radical critique of caste and hierarchy.

This paper seeks to address a significant but underexplored question: Was there a Buddhist influence on the teachings of Saint Ravidas? This is not merely a question of religious affiliation, but one concerning historical continuity of anti-caste, anti-Brahmanical traditions in India.

2. Historical Context: Buddhism after Decline and the Rise of Bhakti

By the time of Ravidas, Buddhism had largely declined as an organized institutional religion in India. However, as scholars have argued, the ethical and social values of Buddhism did not disappear with the decline of monasteries. Instead, they survived in: Popular culture and folklore, Artisan and labouring communities and Śramaṇa-inspired egalitarian traditions.

The Bhakti movement, particularly in its non-Brahmanical strands, became an important vehicle through which these values re-emerged in vernacular, devotional forms.

3. Social Philosophy of Saint Ravidas

Born into a leather-working (Chamar) community, Ravidas was located at the bottom of the Brahmanical social hierarchy. His lived experience of untouchability profoundly shaped his philosophy.

The core elements of Ravidas’ thought include: Rejection of caste and birth-based hierarchy, Assertion of the dignity of labour, Critique of ritual purity and pollution and Primacy of ethical conduct over scriptural authority.

For Ravidas, spirituality was inseparable from social equality and moral behaviour, a position strikingly like that of the Buddha.

4. Begumpura: A Buddhist Social Imagination

Ravidas’ most celebrated contribution is his vision of Begumpura, described as a city where: There is no sorrow or suffering, there is no tax or exploitation, there is no fear or domination and There is no caste or social exclusion.

This vision is not metaphysical or other-worldly. Instead, it represents a this-worldly moral and social ideal, which resonates deeply with Buddhist thought.

4.1 The Buddhist Sangha

The Sangha was founded on principles of equality, collective living, and rejection of caste distinctions.

4.2 Ashokan Dhamma

Ashoka’s Dhamma emphasized compassion, justice, welfare, and moral governance rather than ritual religion.

4.3 Ambedkar’s Navayana

Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s interpretation of Buddhism also envisages a society free from caste oppression and structural inequality.

Begumpura can thus be read as part of a continuous Buddhist social imagination, articulated through the idiom of Bhakti.

5. Anti-Brahmanism and the Buddhist Legacy

Although Ravidas used devotional language, his social critique was fundamentally anti-Brahmanical because he rejected the authority of Brahmins as intermediaries, he denied the religious legitimacy of caste and he opposed ritualism and textual orthodoxy

This mirrors the Buddha’s critique of Brahmanism, which Ambedkar described as a moral revolution against graded inequality.

6. Differences and Limitations

Despite strong parallels, it is important to acknowledge key differences: Ravidas employed theistic and devotional language, Buddhism is explicitly non-theistic and Ravidas did not construct a systematic philosophical doctrine.

Therefore, the influence should be understood as ethical and social rather than doctrinal or theological.

. An Ambedkarite Reinterpretation

Although Dr. Ambedkar did not write directly on Ravidas, his analytical framework allows us to reinterpret Ravidas as: A carrier of the Śramaṇa–Buddhist ethical tradition, A critic of Brahmanical social order and A precursor to modern Dalit emancipation movements.

From this perspective, Ravidas becomes a historical bridge between classical Buddhism and modern anti-caste struggles.

8. Conclusion

This paper concludes that Saint Ravidas was not a Buddhist in the formal or institutional sense, but his teachings were profoundly shaped by the ethical legacy of Buddhism. His rejection of caste, emphasis on human dignity, and vision of Begumpura reflect the enduring influence of Buddhist social philosophy within subaltern traditions.

Saint Ravidas should therefore be understood not merely as a Bhakti saint, but as a social philosopher whose work represents the survival and transformation of Buddhist egalitarian ethics in medieval India.