The Constituent Assembly took two years, eleven months and seven days to complete its historic task of drafting the Constitution of independent India. The Constituent Assembly consisted of 299 members. All the prominent leaders of the freedom movement were members of the Assembly. Some of the major ones were Dr Rajendra Prasad, Jawaharlal Nehru, K.M. Munshi and Sardar Patel.

Groups of people, who may speak a certain language, follow a particular religion, live in specific region, etc. may be discriminated on the basis of their customs or languages and may be seen as inferior. Another difference is visible through their economic backgrounds, which further adds to their inequality. People who are poor do not have the resources or money to meet their basic needs of food, clothing and shelter. They experience discrimination in offices, hospitals, schools, etc.

The first step towards bringing equality is ending the system of inequality and privileges. For example, in schools, equality can be promoted by providing a uniform culture, i.e., equal opportunities for all the children regardless of differences based on race, gender, disability, language and social origin. In a school, all the children should be given equal access to all the facilities that are available in the school premises

Mahars were the poor people who owned no land. They lived in the outskirts of villages and were not allowed to enter into villages. Mahars were the largest untouchable caste in Maharashtra, comprising 9 per cent of that area's population. Ambedkar, the first individual from a traditionally untouchable caste to receive a university education, encouraged Mahars to leave Hinduism in protest of their caste status.

Dalits are not permitted to drink water from public wells, attend temple prayers, wear shoes in front of an upper caste or drink from the same cups in tea stalls. They have to face various sorts of discrimination and atrocities from the upper castes.

Dalits status has often been associated with occupation. Their occupation is regarded as impure. They involve in activities like butchering, removal of rubbish and waste. They are also involved in cleaning streets, latrines and sewers. Engaging in these activities was considered to be polluting the individual and as a result, they are segregated and banned from full participation in the Hindu society.

Directive Principles of State Policies are very important because they give directions to the governments at the centre as well as state to attain the welfare of the people. Their aim is to secure economic and social justice for the people. They also aim to promote international peace and security.

Our Constitution prohibits begar and other forms of forced labour. It also prohibits selling and buying of human beings. According to law human trafficking (buying & selling) is a criminal offence. No one has the right to force another individual to work for him without adequate wages or compensation.

Constitution is set of rules for the government, often in the form of a written document that establishes principles of an autonomous political entity. It defines the fundamental political principles and establishes the structure, procedures, powers and duties of a government.

Dalits were formerly known as untouchables people outside the four Varnas of the caste system and considered to be below of all and polluting. Dalits include people as leather-workers, scavengers, tanners, flayers, cobblers, agricultural labourers, municipal cleaners and drum beaters. They are also known as broken people.

Every effort has been made to remove inequality and discrimination from society but we failed. All kinds of evil practices should be removed. We have to strive for removal of inequality and discrimination.
What we need to do:
(i) People have to make efforts.
(ii) Positive actions have to be taken.
(iii) Government also has to make an effort and make rules and implement them.

People of different religions and faiths have the freedom to practise and follow their religion without any fear of discrimination. This is seen as an important element of our unity; we all live together and respect one other. Therefore, we can easily say that India is a secular country.

The drafters of our Constitution were aware of the discrimination which had been practised in our society and how people had struggled against this. They also said that respect for diversity was a significant element in ensuring equality. They felt that people must have the freedom to their religion, languages, etc and to express themselves freely. They said that the government must treat all religions equally so that all people of India were considered equal.

Mahar caste suffered the following kinds of privation:
(i) Mahars were very poor, they owned no land.
(ii) Children born to them also had to do the work their parents did.
(iii) Mahar caste had to be settled outside of the villages. They were not allowed into the village.

Dalit is a term that people belonging to so-called lower castes use to address themselves. They prefer this word to 'untouchable'. Dalit means those who have been broken.
This word according to Dalits shows how social prejudices and discrimination have 'broken' the Dalit people. The government refers to this group of people as Scheduled Castes (SCs).

Some people may experience both kinds of discrimination. They are poor and they belong to groups whose culture is not valued. Tribals, some religious groups and even particular regions, are discriminated against for one or more of these reasons.

Economic discrimination can be seen when people who are poor do not have the resources or the money to meet their basic needs of food, clothing and shelter. They experience discrimination in offices, hospitals, schools, etc where they are treated badly because they are poor.

We can be prejudiced about many things:
(i) People's religious beliefs
(ii) The colour of their skin
(iii) The region they came from
(iv) The accent they speak in
(v) The clothes they wear
Our prejudices about others are so strong that we do not want to form friendship with them. At times. we may even act in ways that hurt them.

The Constitution says the following with regard to equality:
Goods in the Constitution to ensure that all the people of India were considered equal. Everyone has equal rights and opportunities and to promote among them all. Government jobs are open to all people.
It is important for all people to be equal so that no person is discriminated against any other. \Vhen the society becomes casteless, there is no place for inequality.

A person with special needs might be subjected to discrimination by not being included in social gatherings, not getting a job in spite of being qualified or by being disregarded as incompetent in every sphere.

Despite the children offering money, the cartmen refused them because they were Mahars, the untouchable caste of the Bombay Presidency.

A person who is discriminated against might feel the following things:
(I) inferior to upper classes.
(ii) dignity will be hurt.
(iii] insulted by others.
(iv) they might revolt against society.

Differences between discrimination and stereotypes are as follow:

Gids do not possess these qualities at birth. They learn such behaviour afterwards, in the house or school.
I think, the girls who are not soft and gentle and who are naughty, have not acquired the qualities imposed on their gender because of which they are after scolded and considered as bad girls.

List of some prejudices that I have noticed around me are:
(i) Prejudice against caste, creed
(ii) Prejudice against colour, eating habits and living style.
(iii) Prejudice against gender
They affect how people treat each other in the following ways:
(i) They comment on other people.
(ii) They abuse other people.
(iii) They use dirty languages.
(iv) They laugh at other people.