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Constitution of India Emblem with Dr. B.R. Ambedkar
CONSTITUTION.BRAMBEDKAR.IN

The Constitution, Made Understandable.

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Constituent Assembly of India25 November 1949

The Grammar of Anarchy & The Life of Contradictions

Final address to the Constituent Assembly on the motion to adopt the Constitution of India

Historical Context

Delivered the day before the Constituent Assembly adopted the Constitution on 26 November 1949. Dr. Ambedkar laid out solemn warnings for independent India about the perils facing constitutional democracy.

Plain-Language Summary

Dr. Ambedkar issued three famous warnings for preserving democratic government: abandon unconstitutional methods (the "Grammar of Anarchy"), reject hero-worship (bhakti) in politics, and ensure political democracy evolves into social and economic democracy so that liberty, equality, and fraternity are inseparable.

Source record to consult

Constituent Assembly Debates (Official Report) — Lok Sabha Secretariat (Volume XI, 25 November 1949, pp. 972–981)

Parliament of India Digital Library