Dr. BR Ambedkar was India’s first Law Minister after independence. The letter of his resignation is now missing from official records.

Dr Ambedkar as Law Minister

• Dr. B.R. Ambedkar served as Independent India’s first law minister.
• He was an Indian jurist, economist, politician, and social reforme, who was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna in 1990.
• It is believed that Sardar Patel and Mahatma Gandhi proposed Dr. Ambedkar’s name for the post of Law Minister in the Nehru Cabinet.

Why was he selected for the post?

• Being father of our Constitution: Sardar Patel, then deputy PM, had a high regard for Dr. Ambedkar’s intellectual abilities and his contributions to the drafting of India’s Constitution.
• Political urge for inclusivity: Additionally, Dr. Ambedkar’s role in the Dalit movement and his fight against caste discrimination also made him a significant political figure.
• Representation of the marginalized: His appointment as the Law Minister was seen as a symbol of inclusivity and representation of marginalized communities in the government.

Why did Dr. Ambedkar resign?

• Political differences with Nehru: He resigned as Law Minister, due to differences with the then PM, Jawaharlal Nehru, over the Hindu Code Bill. He specifically wanted to reform Hindu Personal Laws and not every personal laws in India.
• Row over reforming Personal Laws: The bill aimed to reform Hindu personal laws related to marriage, divorce, and inheritance, but Dr. Ambedkar believed that it did not go far enough in granting women’s rights and wanted more radical changes.
• Injustice to women: Ambedkar had proposed a more comprehensive set of reforms that would have given women greater rights in matters such as property ownership and inheritance, but his proposals were met with resistance from Nehru and other members of the government.

Efforts to locate his resignation letter

• The letter was not found in the National Archives of India and the Ministry of Home Affairs.
• The Maharashtra government has also been unable to locate the letter in its archives.
• RTI (Right to Information) requests were also unsuccessful.

Significance of his letter

• The missing letter is a matter of concern as it is an important historical document.
• Ambedkar’s resignation was a significant event in India’s political history and the reasons behind it are still relevant today.
• The letter could shed light on the differences between the visionary Dr. Ambedkar and then mainstream politicians.

Note: Azad Hind was not India’s first provisional government. The credit for establishing that – formally known as the ”Hukumat-i-Moktar-i-Hind” – in Kabul on 1st Dec, 1915, goes to Raja Mahendra Pratap and Maulana Barkatullah.

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