Question

What did Dr Ambedkar mean when he said that “In politics we will have equality, and in social and economic life we will have inequality”?

Answer 1

According to Dr Ambedkar, political democracy had to be accompanied by economic and social democracy. Giving the right to vote would not automatically lead to the removal of other inequalities such as between rich and poor, or between upper and lower castes. He believed that India needed to work towards eradicating all forms of inequality in the economic and social spheres. Only then would the equality granted by the Constitution in the sphere of politics (i.e., one vote for every adult Indian citizen) be of any value. Otherwise, India would just be a land of contradictions—following the principle of “one man, one vote and one value” in its political life, and denying the principle of “one man, one value” in its economic and social lives.