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Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Dr BR Ambedkar's (April 14, 1891 – Dec 06, 1956)124th Birth Anniversary Tuesday April 14,2015

 
Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, popularly known as Babasaheb, was Independent India's First Law Minister and the principal architect of the Constitution of India

Ambedkar was born in the town and military cantonment of  Mhow in the Central Province(now Madhya Pradesh)as the 14th and last child of Ramji Maloji Sakpal, a ranked army officer at the post of Subedar and Bhimabai Murbadkar Sankpal

Ambedkar was born into a poor low Mahar (Dalit) caste, who were treated as Untouchables and subjected to socio-economic discrimination

His family was of Marathi background from the town of Ambavade(Mandangad Taluk)in Ratnagiri District of  modern day Maharashtra

In 1897, Ambedkar's family moved to Mumbai where Ambedkar became the only untouchable enrolled at Elphinstone High School

In 1907, he passed his matriculation examination and in the following year he entered Elphinstone College, which was affiliated to the University of Bombay, becoming the first from his untouchable community to do so

By 1912, he obtained his degree in economics and political science from Bombay University, and prepared to take up employment with the Baroda state government.
His wife, by then 15 years old(marriage was arranged in 1906 t o 9-year old girl Ramabai) had just moved his young family and started work, when he had to quickly return to Mumbai to see his ailing father, who died on Feb 02,1913

In 1913, he moved to the United States. He had been awarded a Baroda State Scholarship of £11.50 (Sterling) per month for three years under a scheme established by the Gaekwad of Baroda that was designed to provide opportunities for postgraduate education atColumbia University in New York,USA

As Ambedkar was educated by the Princely State of Baroda, he was bound to serve it. He was appointed as Military Secretary to the Gaikwad but had to quit within a short time. He described the incident in his autobiography,Waiting For a Visa

In 1918 he became Professor of Political Economy in the Sydenham College of Commerce & Economics in Mumbai. Even though he was successful with the students, other professors objected to his sharing the same drinking-water jug that they all used

Ambedkar had been invited to testify before the Southforough Committee, which was preparing the Govt of India Act 1919. At this hearing, Ambedkar argued for creating separate electorates and reservations  for untouchables and other religious communities

 In 1920, he began the publication of the weekly Mooknayak (Leader of the Silent) in Mumbai with the help of Shahji II (1874–1922), Maharaja of Kolhapur 

While practicing law in the Bombay High Court, he tried to uplift the untouchables in order to educate them. His first organised attempt to achieve this was the Bahishkrit Hitakarini Sabha, which was intended to promote education and socio-economic improvement, as well as the welfare of "outcastes", at the time referred to as depressed classes

For the protection of Dalit rights Ambedkar started many periodicals like Mook Nayak, Bahishkrit Bharat, and Equality Janta

By 1927 Ambedkar decided to launch active movements against untouchability. He began with public movements and marches to open up and share public drinking water resources. He also began a struggle for the right to enter Hindu temples. He led a satyahraha in Mahad  in to fight for the right of the untouchable community to draw water from the main water tank of the town 

In 1930, Ambedkar launched Kalaram Temple movement. This was a non-violent movement for which he was preparing for three months. About 15000 volunteers assembled at Kalaram Temple satygraha making one of the greatest processions of Nashik
 The procession was headed by a military band, a batch of scouts, women and men walked in discipline, order and determination to see the god for the first time. When they reached to gate, the gates were closed by Brahmin authorities. This movement was for human dignity and self-respect 

In 1935, Ambedkar was appointed principal of the Govt Law College,Mumbai , a position he held for two years. Settling in Mumbai, Ambedkar oversaw the construction of a house, and stocked his personal library with more than 50,000 books

In 1935 Ambedkar's first wife Ramabai had died  following long illness

In 1936, Ambedkar founded the Independent Labour Party, which contested in the 1937 Bombay election to theCentral Legislative Assembly for the 13 reserved and 4 general seats and won 11 and 3 seats respectively

In 1936 Ambedkar published his book Annihilation of Caste  which strongly criticised Hindu orthodox religious leaders, the caste system in general and included "a rebuke of Gandhi" on the subject

In  April 1948 Ambedkar married Dr. Sharada Kabir, a Saraswat Brahmin and adopted the name Savita Ambedkar and took care of him for the rest of his life

In 1952 Ambedkar contested from Bombay North as an independent in the first Indian General Election but lost to the Congress candidates Narayan Kajrolkar, who had been his assistant once.
Ambedkar became a member of Rajya Sabha, probably as an appointed member in March 1952 and would remain as member till death
Ambedkar tried to enter Lok Sabha again in 1954 when he contested the by-election from Bhandara but he was placed third in the ballot won by Congress.
 By the time the second general election was held in 1957, Ambedkar had already passed away

Upon India's Transfer of Power by British Government to leaders of High Caste on August 15,1947, the new Congress-led government invited Ambedkar to serve as the nation's first Law Minister, which he accepted. On August29,1947 he was appointed Chairman of the Constitution Drafting Committee, charged by the Assembly to write India's new Constitution

Ambedkar resigned from the cabinet in 1951 following the stalling in parliament of his draft of the Hindu Code Bill, which sought to expound gender equality in the laws of inheritance and marriage

Ambedkar studied Buddhism all his life, and around 1950, he turned his attention fully to Buddhism and travelled to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) to attend a meeting of the World Fellowship of Buddhists .While dedicating a new Buddhistvihara near Pune, Ambedkar announced that he was writing a book on Buddhism, and that as soon as it was finished, he planned to make a formal conversion to Buddhism.Ambedkar twice visited Burma in 1954; the second time in order to attend the third conference of the World Fellowship of Buddhists in Rangoon.

In 1955, he founded the Bharatiya Bauddha Mahasabha, or the Buddhist Society of India He completed his final work,The Buddha and His Dhamma , in 1956which was published posthumously.

After meetings with the Sri Lankan Buddhist monk Hammalawa Saddatissa Ambedkar organised a formal public ceremony for himself and his supporters in Nagpur on October 14,1956.

Accepting theThree Refuges and Five Preepts from a Buddhist Monk in the traditional manner, Ambedkar completed his own conversion, along with his wife

Since 1948, Ambedkar had been suffering from Diabetes and was bed-ridden from June to October in 1954 owing to side-effects from his medication and failing eyesight.He had been increasingly embittered by political issues, which took a toll on his health. His health worsened during 1955. Three days after completing his final manuscript The Buddha and His Dhamma,Ambedkar died in his sleep on Dec 06, 1956 at his home in Delhi.
A Buddhist cremation was organised for him at Dadar Chowpatty beach on Dec 07,1956 attended by half a million sorrowing people

Ambedkar was survived by his second wife, who died in 2003 and his son Yashwant (known as Bhaiyasaheb Ambedkar)

A memorial for Ambedkar was established in hisDelhi house at 26 Alipur Road. His birthdate is celebrated as a public holiday known as Ambedkar Jayanti or Bhim Jayanti

 Ambedkar was posthumously awarded India's highest civilian honour, theBharat Ratna in 1990




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