New Delhi – On this Constitution Day, as India honors the document that defines its democratic soul, a remarkable story from Dr. B.R. Ambedkar's legacy comes to light through the words of author Mangesh Dahiwale. In his new book, Becoming the People: Ambedkar, Constitutionalism and the Future of India, Dahiwale reveals Ambedkar's ambitious plan for an unfinished masterpiece: Constitution and Constitutionalism: Constitution of India – An Exposition of its Principles.

Drafted right after the Constitution's completion, this book was meant to be a systematic, philosophical, and comparative study of the basic principles underlying the Indian Constitution. Dahiwale describes it as a work that would explain not only what the Constitution says but why it says it, and how those principles relate to global constitutional traditions. Though Ambedkar could not complete it, what remains: a detailed book plan and a short but profound introduction, preserved in Writings & Speeches, Volume 13-offers invaluable insight into his vision.

Dahiwale emphasizes that these fragments are striking in their clarity. They show Ambedkar wanted the Constitution studied not as a mere collection of Articles but as a coherent moral and political philosophy---a democratic architecture grounded in liberty, equality, fraternity, and the rule of law.

As Dahiwale notes, Ambedkar insisted that Articles are secondary; principles are primary. His proposed book would first articulate the principles of democracy, federalism, and separation of powers, before turning to the organs of the State, the relations between the Union and the States, and finally the rights of citizens. Only after grasping these principles, Ambedkar believed, could anyone truly understand the meaning, purpose, and structure of the Indian constitutional order.

Ambedkar's Detailed Book Plan: A Roadmap to Constitutional Principles

Dahiwale shares the exact outline of Ambedkar's proposed book, as preserved in his writings:

CONSTITUTION AND CONSTITUTIONALISM THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA AN EXPOSITION OF ITS PRINCIPLES

Introduction: The Beginnings and the Growth of the Constitution.

PART I – Principles Underlying the Constitutional System

1. The Principle of Democracy

2. The Principle of Federalism

3. The Principle of Separation of Powers

PART II – The Organs of the State 4. The Legislature 5. The Executive 6. The Judiciary

PART III – The Union and the States 7. Legislative Relations 8. Administrative Relations 9. Financial Relations 10. Emergency Relations

PART IV – The State and the Citizen 11. The Rule of Law 12. Right to Personal Freedom 13. Right to Freedom of Speech 14. Right of Public Meeting 15. Right of Association 16. Right of Free Movement 17. Right to Hold Property

These headings, Dahiwale explains, reveal the intellectual map of a book that would have been the most authoritative Ambedkarite exposition of the Constitution. They also highlight Ambedkar's method: Begin with principles; explain structures in their light; interpret rights within the moral foundations of the Constitution; and compare India’s Constitution with those of other nations.

Ambedkar's Introduction: Tracing the Evolution of Constitutional Thought

In the surviving introduction, which Dahiwale describes as reinforcing Ambedkar's approach, Ambedkar explains why he intentionally did not reproduce the Articles of the Constitution in full. Instead, he sought to cluster constitutional provisions under conceptual categories that reflect the scope of constitutional law across democratic polities. He begins by tracing the historical evolution of the word “Constitution”—from Roman imperial edicts, to ecclesiastical regulations, to medieval administrative enactments, and finally to its modern meaning as the fundamental law that limits and organises state power.

Dahiwale points out that Ambedkar argues constitutional law is fundamentally public law, governing the rights the State claims against citizens and the rights citizens claim against the State. In a federal polity, its scope includes relations between the Union and its constituent units—legislative, administrative, and financial. Ambedkar desired to expose these principles with precision, clarity, and objectivity, contrasting India’s Constitution with those of other countries.

Dahiwale's Tribute: Walking the Path Ambedkar Laid Out

Dahiwale's Becoming the People is presented as a humble attempt to walk the path Ambedkar laid out. It does not seek to replicate his unwritten chapters, for no one can replace the author of the Constitution himself. Instead, it seeks to follow his method, honour his plan, and continue his project of explaining the Constitution through its underlying principles. Each chapter in this volume engages with Ambedkar’s definitions, his lectures, his Constituent Assembly interventions, his writings on democracy, caste, and equality, and the philosophical insights that shaped his constitutional imagination.

To write this book, Dahiwale says, is to participate, however modestly, in the unfinished labour of the Republic. Ambedkar often reminded us that Constitutions are not self-executing; they must be lived, protected, interpreted, and continuously renewed by the people themselves. This work is offered in that spirit: as a tribute to Babasaheb Ambedkar’s intellectual legacy, as an instrument for strengthening democratic understanding, and as an act of constitutional devotion, for the Constitution of India is not merely a legal document, but India’s moral charter.

Dahiwale adds that if someday Ambedkar’s full manuscript is discovered, it will be the greatest gift to the constitutional world. Until then, we return again and again to the fragments he left behind, and to the Republic he entrusted to us. The book grows out of a simple but profound conviction: the Constitution must be understood not only through its Articles, but through the principles that animate it. This was precisely the method Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar envisioned in the unfinished book he proposed to write.

In the acknowledgments, Dahiwale stresses that this book is the result of a collective journey rather than an individual effort. It has grown out of years of dialogue, study, teaching, and shared commitment within a community that believes deeply in the emancipatory power of the Constitution and the enduring relevance of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar’s thought.

He expresses gratitude to the wider Ambedkarite movement, whose unwavering dedication to justice, equality, and human dignity has shaped not only the spirit of this book but also the course of his own intellectual life. Their courage to confront oppression, their insistence on rational inquiry, and their commitment to democratic ethics remain an unending source of strength.

The Author's Path: From Engineering to Ambedkarite Advocacy

Dahiwale shares his own background as an electronics engineer from the University of Mumbai, trained in a discipline that cultivates clarity, precision, and analytical thinking- qualities that would later shape his engagement with constitutional thought. He twice qualified for the Civil Services Examination and served in the Department of Commerce, Government of India, before choosing a different path. In 2004, driven by a deep moral commitment to social justice and democratic transformation, he voluntarily left government service to dedicate his life fully to the Ambedkarite movement.

Over the past two decades, he has written widely on the intertwined themes of constitutionalism, democracy, social justice, Buddhism, and the intellectual legacy of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar. His work spans essays, public lectures, study circles, workshops, and community dialogues, seeking to make Ambedkarite thought accessible to diverse audiences-students, activists, researchers, and citizens.

An extensive traveller, he has delivered lectures across India and in several countries around the world, engaging in discussions on Ambedkar’s philosophy, Navayāna Buddhism, and the challenges facing modern democracies. His work reflects both scholarship and lived experience: a sustained effort to understand how constitutional principles can guide societies struggling with inequality, injustice, and social fragmentation. In all his endeavours, he remains committed to Babasaheb Ambedkar’s vision of a just, democratic, and humane India, an India where citizenship is lived with dignity, equality is practiced in daily life, and constitutional morality becomes a shared social ethic.