The word and the witness

Kartar Chand Sulekh watched Ambedkar give his final speech as chairman of the Constitution drafting committee. He says rationalism and self-respect should be India's guiding lights

- PRATUL SHARMA

On January 26, 1950, we are going to enter into a life of contradictions. In politics, we will have equality, and in social and economic life, we will have inequality. In politics, we will be recognising the principle of 'one man, one vote' and 'one vote, one value'. In our social and economic life, we shall, by reason of our social and economic structure, continue to deny the principle of 'one man, one value'. How long shall we continue to live this life of contradictions?

From Ambedkar's final speech in the Constituent Assembly.

Kartar Chand Sulekh, 22, was in the visitors' gallery of the Constituent Assembly on November 25, 1949, when B.R. Ambedkar gave his final speech as chairman of the Constitution drafting committee. "It was an electrifying moment, and the memories are still fresh in my mind. After he finished his speech, there was a sense of happiness as a new nation was being born," recalled Sulekh, at age 95.

Sulekh had come to Delhi from Jalandhar with Seth Kishan Das, president of the Scheduled Castes Federation, to meet Ambedkar. It was then that he learnt that Ambedkar was going to speak. "We got the passes from his home, and attended the session. There was pin-drop silence as he spoke for nearly an hour and a half, stopping only once to take a sip of water. When his speech ended, prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru was the first to shake hands with him, showing great warmth. Other members also congratulated and embraced him. The rigorous debates of drafting the Constitution were left behind as everyone was hopeful of the future. Thumping of desks continued for several minutes," said Sulekh, who now lives in Chandigarh.