Does the Constitution recognise first-class and second-class citizens?
No. The document Ambedkar chaired the drafting of does the opposite, deliberately and in its opening articles. There is one class of citizen and one only. The idea that some Indians are first-class by birth and others come after is precisely the arrangement the Constitution was written to abolish, and it names the abolition rather than leaving it to be inferred.
What the text actually says
- Article 14 guarantees every person equality before the law and the equal protection of the laws.
- Article 15 forbids the state to discriminate against any citizen on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth.
- Article 16 guarantees equality of opportunity in public employment.
- Article 17 abolishes untouchability outright and makes its practice a punishable offence — one of the few articles that bind private persons and not only the state.
The order of the words matters. Equality is stated first, as the premise, and the special provisions for disadvantaged groups come after it as a means to make the premise real for people history had placed below the line — not as a favour to some citizens over others. Anyone who claims a superior rank of citizenship by birth, faith or caste is claiming something the founding law was specifically drafted to deny them.