Mr. President, Sir, I stand here to congratulate Dr. Ambedkar and his colleagues for having taken great pains in framing India’s new Constitution. We have spent nearly three years and now we are completing our great work. Some Members while congratulating Dr. Ambedkar have called him the present Manu. I am certain that he would not like this appellation. I know he hates Manu who has created four castes, the lowest of which is the untouchable class. I remember that he has publicly burnt Manu Smrithi in the huge meeting of the untouchables at Mohad in 1929. He is the great leader of the Harijans and is greatly extolled by them as their champion and is worshipped as an idol. They are very proud of him. They call him Bhim and make it known to the public that he has framed Bhim Smrithi. I also call it Bhim Smrithi though I belong to the Sprasya Class. Dr. Ambedkar is a great lawyer and a man of great ability and intellect; nobody will doubt that. Untouchability has been removed by law and while framing the Constitution, Dr. Ambedkar was very keen and earnest in safeguarding the interests of the Harijans. All Harijans must be grateful to him. At the same time, we must also be grateful to our country’s Father, Mahatma Gandhi, who gave us independence. He was a great soul who made, great efforts during his life time to remove untouchability. His great wish was to bring the Harijans to the level of touchable. He is not among us to see his great wish fulfilled and bless us, because he fell a victim to a cruel and villainous plot.
