Ambedkar Jayanti LIVE updates: Bhimrao Ambedkar is remembered as “The Father of the Constitution of India” and the man who fought for the oppressed in the country.
Ambedkar Jayanti is celebrated on April 14 to mark the birth anniversary of Dalit icon Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, who is remembered as “The Father of the Constitution of India” and the man who fought for the oppressed. The nation commemorates his 127th birthday today.
Popularly known as Babasaheb, Ambedkar was an Indian jurist, economist, politician and social reformer who inspired the Dalit Buddhist Movement. He campaigned against social discrimination against untouchables and also supported the rights of women and labourers.
Keeping in view the recent vandalisation of Ambedkar statues in several places — the latest incident ocurred on Friday in Greater Noida — and also the violence which claimed the lives of nine people during protests by Dalit groups on April 2, the Uttar Pradesh government has beefed up the security as a preventive measure.
BR Ambedkar championed for the rights of the poor, downtrodden and lower caste people.
Highlights
PM Narendra Modi, Congress President Rahul Gandhi, former PM Manmohan Singh, LK Advani and others pay tribute to BR Ambedkar on his 127th birth anniversary at Parliament, on Saturday. (Express photo by Neeraj Priyadarshi)
PM Narendra Modi and Congress President Rahul Gandhi pay tribute to BR Ambedkar on his 127th birth anniversary at Parliament, on Saturday. (Express photo by Neeraj Priyadarshi)
Ambedkar was posthumously conferred with Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award in 1990. He passed away on December 6, 1956 in New Delhi where he was accorded a Buddhist cremation.
Ambedkar considered converting to Sikhism. But after meeting with Sikh leaders, he concluded that he might get “second-rate” Sikh status, as described by scholar Stephen P Cohen. Instead, he studied Buddhism all his life. Around 1950, he devoted his attention to Buddhism and travelled to Sri Lanka to attend a meeting of the World Fellowship of Buddhists.
After meetings with the Sri Lankan Buddhist monk Hammalawa Saddhatissa, Ambedkar organised a formal public ceremony for himself and his supporters in Nagpur on October 14, 1956. Accepting the Three Refuges and Five Precepts from a Buddhist monk, in the traditional manner, Ambedkar completed his own conversion, along with his second wife Savita.
Ambedkar opposed Article 370 of the Constitution of India, which granted a special status to Jammu and Kashmir, and which was included against his wishes. He resigned in 1951 when the Parliament delayed the draft which sought to enact gender equality in the inheritance law.
Babasaheb viewed the Shudras as Aryans and rejected the Aryan invasion theory which depicts scenarios around the theory of an origin from outside South Asia of Indo-Aryan peoples.
On December 25, 1927, Ambedkar publicly condemned the Manusmriti for justifying caste discrimination and untouchability and led thousands of Dalits and burnt copies of the text.
After India attained independence in 1947, Ambedkar accepted Congress’ proposal to serve as the country’s first Law Minister and was appointed chairman of the Constitution Drafting Committee on August 29, 1947. On November 26 1949, the Constitution was adopted by the Constituent Assembly.
Ambedkar started many periodicals like Mook Nayak, Bahishkrit Bharat, and Equality Janta for the defence of Dalit rights.
Ambedkar went on to work as a legal professional. In 1926, he successfully defended three non-Brahmin leaders who had accused the Brahmin community of ruining India and were then subsequently sued for libel.
While practising law in the Bombay High Court, he tried to promote education to untouchables and uplift them. His first organised attempt was his establishment of the central institution Bahishkrit Hitakarini Sabha, intended to promote education and socio-economic improvement, as well as the welfare of “outcastes”, at the time referred to as depressed classes.
Ambedkar pursued a degree in economics and political science from Elphinstone College, University of Mumbai, and then completed his Masters in Economics (Major) at the Columbia University and Doctor of Science in Economics from London School of Economics with the help of a scholarship.
B R Ambedkar ancestors had long worked for the army of the British East India Company, and his father served in the British Indian Army at the Mhow cantonment. Although they attended school, it is reported that Ambedkar and other untouchable children were segregated and given little attention or help by teachers. They were not allowed to sit inside the class.
When they needed to drink water, someone from a higher caste had to pour that water from a height as they were not allowed to touch either the water or the vessel that contained it. This task was usually performed for the young Ambedkar by the school peon and if the peon was not available then he had to go without water; he described the situation later in his writings as “No peon, No Water”
However, despite facing all hardships, Ambedkar, in 1897 became the only untouchable enrolled at Elphinstone High School. In 1906, when he was about 15, he got married to nine-year-old Ramabai.
“Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar is a yug purush (man of the era) who lives in the hearts and minds of crores of Indians. His life is characterised by unmatched determination and a firm commitment towards social justice. He made a mark as a bright lawyer, scholar, writer and intellectual who always spoke his mind,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said in praise of Ambedkar.
Welcome to our LIVE blog. India commemorates 127th birthday of BR Ambedkar today. Follow to get latest updates. (With inputs from agencies)