Explain Dr. B R Ambedkar's notions of civil liberty. What do you infer about Ambedkar's attitude from these notions? Discuss.

As per Dr. Ambedkar, there are two categories of liberty viz. Civil Liberty and Political Liberty.  Civil liberty includes Liberty of movement, Liberty of speech (including writing) and Liberty of action. Political liberty consists in right to share in the framing of laws and in the making and unmaking of governments. It is not mere non-intervention by the state in the private life of the individuals, but it is restructuring the whole society in such way which could be conducive for the welfare of the individuals. By observing this notions I infer that Ambedkar notions of civil liberty are based on equal rights and human dignity.  According to him, equality means “moral-equality” and it is essentially an ethical value which recognizes equality of opportunity for each and everyone. It is true that men are not equal in physical strength, talents, industry and in tests and attitude. However the principle of equality denies the undue right to the strong to exploit the weak. It envisages equal opportunities to all without making any unjust distinction between man and man, on the ground of caste, class, creed or sex.

Topics: GS-IV: Ethics and Human Interface