Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar

As Minister of Law in India's first post-independence government, Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar drafted the constitution of India that provided the legal framework for the abolition of many oppressive aspects in Indian society (Beshkin pp). Ambedkar is regarded as the father of the Indian Constitution and the country's leading champion of human rights.

The caste system in India is one of the world's longest surviving forms of social stratification (O'Neill pp). This fifteen hundred year old system follows the basic precept that "all men are created unequal" (O'Neill pp). The ranks in Hindu society come from a legend in which the main groupings, or varnas, emerge from a primordial being:

From the mouth come the Brahmans the priests and teachers.

From the arms come the Kshatriyas the rulers and soldiers.

From the thighs come the Vaisyas merchants and traders.

From the feet come the Sudras -- laborers

(O'Neill...
[ View Full Essay]