Remembering a great revolutionist, political leader, Buddhist activist, scholar and a historian…He has been referred to as the ‘Father of Indian Constitution’, and fondly and more popularly known by the name of Babasaheb.

Today on his birthday; as we celebrate Ambedkar Jayanti, we remember Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar we journey through his life and his service to the nation.

Born to Ramji Maloji Sakpal and Bhimabai into a poor Mahar family (then considered as the untouchable caste), Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar was often subjected to intense socio-economic discrimination. While his father used his position in the army to lobby for his children to study at the government school, they faced resistance owing to their caste. From not being allowed to sit inside the class to being given little or no attention by his teachers, even being allowed to drink water only from a height if somebody from a higher caste would pour the water such that they wouldn’t touch the water or utensil, to going without water if there wasn’t a school peon… such was the discrimination he faced!

Encouraged by his father to learn and work hard at school, Dr.Ambedkar went on to becoming the first “untouchables” to get a college education in India. Continuing higher studies, he went abroad where he studied law and earned multiple doctorates, and conducted research in the field of law, economics, and political science. Some of papers / thesis he presented included “Ancient Indian Commerce”, “National Dividend of India-A Historic and Analytical Study” and “Castes in India: Their Mechanism, Genesis and development”

As a student of anthropology Ambedkar discovered that the Mahar people are originally ancient Buddhist people of India and were forced outside the village to live like outcasts as they refused to leave Buddhist practices which eventually led them to being called untouchables. He wrote a scholarly book on this topic, entitled, Who were Sudras? How they became Untouchables? Ambedkar studied Buddhism all his life, it was around 1950s,that he turned his attention fully to Buddhism. His study took him to Sri Lanka (then Ceylon), Pune, Burma and other places. In 1955, he founded the Bharatiya Bauddha Mahasabha, or the Buddhist Society of India. His final work, ‘The Buddha and his Dhamma’ was published posthumously.

Coming back to India he practiced law for a few years but he was greatly disturbed by the segregation and discrimination that he faced, and started publishing journals advocating political rights and social freedom for India’s untouchables. To achieve his goals his first organizational attempt was the Bahishkrit Hitakarini Sabh, an organisation to promote education, socio-economic uplifting and for welfare of “outcastes” or depressed classes.

In 1927 Ambedkar launched an active movement against untouchability with public movements and marches to open up and share public drinking water resources; he also struggled for the right of the lower caste to enter Hindu temples. He also led a satyagraha in Mahad to fight for the right of the untouchable community to draw water from the main water tank of the town.

He was appointed to the Bombay Presidency Committee to work with the all-European Simon Commission in 1925, while its report was ignored by most Indians, Ambedkar himself wrote a separate set of recommendations for future constitutional recommendations.

 

Due to his prominence and support amongst the untouchable community, he was invited to attend the Second Round Table Conference in London in 1932. As Gandhi fiercely opposed separate electorate for untouchables, though he accepted separate electorate for all other minority groups such as Muslims and Sikhs, saying he feared that separate electorates for untouchables would divide Hindu society for future generations, Ambedkar agreed under massive coercion from the supporters of Gandhi when Gandhi went on a fast-unto-death in the Yerwada Central Jail – an agreement, which saw Gandhi end his fast, and resulted in a certain number of seats reserved specifically for untouchables (in the agreement, called the “Depressed Class”).

A life dedicated to the upliftment of the deprived section of society, today he is regarded as a God by Dalits in India. Not only was he the founder of the ‘Independent Labour Party’ of India, he also published several books for the upliftment of Dalits, some of them being: The Annihilation of Caste; The Untouchables: A Thesis on the Origins of Untouchability; who are Shudras etc.

While he fought for the lower caste he is also known to have condemned the practice of child marriages as well as the mistreatment of women.

After India got its independence, the new congress-led government invited Ambedkar to be the nation’s first Law Minister. On August 29, 1945 Ambedkar was appointed as Chairman of the Constitution Drafting Committee and was charged to write free India’s new constitution. His work won him great praise from his colleagues and contemporary observers. He was regarded as one of the most highly educated people in India during its struggle for independence. In 1990, Dr. Ambedkar was honoured with Bharat Ratna posthumously, the highest Indian civil award.

A life dedicated for the upliftment of the deprived section of the lower caste, fighting against social discrimination, the system of Chaturvarna — the categorization of Hindu society into four varnas and the Hindu caste system, today this great leader is remember and his birthday is celebrated as a public holiday all over India. Many Dalit organizations carry out huge processions in his memory, and rallies are held on open grounds, cultural activities take place. Dalit Melas and prayers and memorial speeches are organized in all state capitals as Ambedkar Jayanti is observed in both public and private sectors.

Tackling many challenges, Dr.Ambedkar went on to become a great leader, a jurist, Buddhist activist, philosopher, historian, anthropologist, orator, prolific writer, economist, anthropologist  and  revolutionist, and is today not just respected by many Indians but even by people from other countries