< Previous | Contents | Next >
4. An Un-Gandhian Constitution
According to the critics, the Indian Constitution is un-Gandhian because it does not contain the philosophy and ideals of Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the Indian Nation. They opined that the Constitution should have been raised and built upon village panchayats and district panchayats. In this context, the same member of the Constituent Assembly, K. Hanumanthaiya, said: "That is exactly the kind of Constitution Mahatma Gandhi did not want and did not envisage”.24 T. Prakasam, another member of the Constituent Assembly, attributed this lapse to Ambedkar’s non-participation in the Gandhian movement and the antagonism towards the Gandhian ideas.25