Dr B R Ambedkar Biography Jayanti
What is the one thing that is considered imperative for the successful operation of the country? It is not the judiciary alone. It is not the decree of the people alone and it is definitely not the changing governments. Though all these are considered important pillars in the administration of the nation, the country needs a strong Constitution to guide the government in the correct path.
The Indian Constitution is the considered to the most elaborate written constitution in the world. The Indian Constitution has been influenced by the characteristics of the UK, the US, and several other countries’ constitutions. As a matter of fact, its salient features actually come from the constitutions of 10 different countries, namely – US, UK, USSR, Japan, Canada, Germany, Australia, South Africa, France, and Ireland. It was not an easy task to compile a constitution to govern such a large nation. The man behind the successful completion of the task was none other than one of the stalwarts of the then Indian political scenario – Dr. B. R. Ambedkar. His story has enough power to influence the youth of the nation. He not only compiled the Constitution of the nation but also immortalized his name by assisting the Dalits in their struggle for equality.
Top little-known facts about Ambedkar
- He was the first Indian who received a doctorate degree from outside India.
- He was one of the key players in the formation of RBI in 1935.
- He lost twice in Lok Sabha elections.
- He was against the nation giving special status to Jammu & Kashmir.
- Columbia University uses ‘Waiting for Visa’ – a book written by Ambedkar as a textbook. The book is actually his autobiography.
- He fought for reduction of working hours to 8 hours from existing 14 hours.
- He was also a key player in the formation of India’s NEEA or National Employment Exchange Agency.
Dr. B R Ambedkar Biography Jayanti
Naturally introduced to the Mahar clan, who were considered untouchables, under the creed and cast structure, Dr. Ambedkar’s family originated from the Konkan district of India. His genealogical town is in Maharashtra’s Ratnagiri area, called Ambavade. The Mahars basically lived in coastal areas, and were, therefore, among the primary Indians to interact with the Portuguese when they arrived in India’s western waters. His family members were also palanquin bearers. They carried the palanquin or palki of the goddesses of the village where they lived. They were devotees of Kabir, the fifteenth-century spiritual poet of Varanasi. Kabir’s dohas and calls for solidarity among people may have assumed a major part in molding Ambedkar’s perspectives and values sometime down the road.
The full name of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar is Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar. He was born in the Ambedkar family on the 14th of April, 1891. The family was stationed in the cantonment town of Mhow, which is located in the central part of the country. Ambedkar died on 6th December 1956 in Bombay. The cantonment town is located in the state of Madhya Pradesh. The name of his father was Ramji Maloji Sakpal and the name of his mother was Bhimabai Murbadkar Sakpal. The reason why the family was stationed in the cantonment town was because Ambedkar’s grandfather and father used to serve as soldiers in the British Army. His father held the position of Subedar in the army ranks.
In the year 1894, his father retired from the post and the entire family settled in Satara. Within a quick span, Ambedkar’s mother died and it was getting difficult for his father to take care of the house alone. So, just after a span of 4 years, Ramji Maloji Sakpal remarried. After this, the family again moved to the big city of Bombay (now Mumbai). Ramji Maloji Sakpal died in the year 1912, in Bombay. But he was fortunate enough to see the marriage of his 15-year-old son to Ramabai, in the year 1906.
Ambedkar: Education
Since the very beginning, Ambedkar showed the signs of a genius. He was a very good student and always scored high marks. All the teachers were confident that this boy was going to make it big in life. He always had a thirst of acquiring knowledge. After the Ambedkar family moved to the sprawling city of Bombay, he was first admitted to the Elphinstone High School. In the year 1908, he passed the matriculation examination. Due to the constant shifting from one place to another and some personal losses, he had to face some challenges during his early academic life. But he faced the problems with courage and overcame them.
In the very same year, he got admitted in the reputed Elphinstone College in Bombay. As he was a brilliant student, he had no problems in getting the admission. In the year 1912, he received the degrees in Political Science and Economics from the University of Bombay. Sahyaji Rao III, the King of Baroda gave him a scholarship of Rs. 25/ month for his excellent academic performance. This money was later utilized by Ambedkar to receive higher education.
In the year 1913, at a young age of just 22 years, Ambedkar packed his bags and left for the USA. He secured admission in the Colombia University of USA. He managed to deal with the expenses of Columbia University because of the monthly grant of £11.50 that he received fro King of Baroda. He successfully cleared the Master degree in the month of June 1915 after successfully completing his thesis on “Ancient Indian Commerce.”
In 1916, he earned a seat in London School of Economics and there he started his doctoral thesis work on the topic called “The problem of the rupee: Its origin and its solution”. He came back to the country and was appointed as the professor in one of the reputed colleges of Bombay. The name of the college was Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics. He joined as a political economy professor. In 1920 he went back to England in order to pursue higher studies. However, this time, there was no grant and he carried out his own expenses. He received D.Sc. Degree from London University. He studied Economics at the University of Bonn in Germany. In the year 1927, he received the Ph.D. degree in Economics. On 8th June 1927, the Columbia University honored him with the Doctorate degree.
Ambedkar: Personal life
Dr. B. R. Ambedkar was married twice. The first time, he was married at a young age of just 15 years, in the year 1906. His bride was named Ramabai. She was only 9 years of age at the time of the marriage. They had a beautiful son and they named him Yashwant. But soon after this, Ramabai fell ill and suffered for a long time. Finally, in the year 1935, she passes away. On the 15th of April, 1948, Ambedkar was married for the second time to Dr. Sharada Kabir. Immediately after the marriage, his bride took up the name of Savita Ambedkar. She was there by his side until the end of his days.
Ambedkar: Political Career
One of the milestone achievements of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar in the field of politics was the formation of the Independent Labor Party. This party was founded in the year 1936. In the year 1937, the Central Legislative Assembly elections were held. The ILP managed to get 15 seats. Ambedkar administered the change of his political party into the All India Scheduled Castes Federation. But, the newly named party did not perform well in 1946 elections.
Ambedkar protested the choice of the Congress and Mahatma Gandhi for calling the untouchable group as Harijans. He would state that even the individuals from the untouchable group are same as people from the general community. Ambedkar was delegated to the Defense Advisory Committee and the Viceroy’s Executive Council as Minister of Labor. His notoriety for being a researcher prompted his arrangement as free India’s first Law Minister and director of the board mindful to draft a constitution for autonomous India.
Ambedkar: Social Activism
Ambedkar tried to start his practice as a counselor in India. Be that as it may, his critical monetary circumstance blocked any such endeavor until Naval Bhathena went to his rescue at the end of the day. In this way, Ambedkar started to specialize in legal matters in June 1923, at 32 years of age.
Despite Ambedkar being highly qualified, he was still considered as an untouchable and hence, Hindus who held the upper ranks clearly declined to do anything alongside him. Also, most disputants who could afford to, picked European attorneys, European judges favored European attorneys more over Indian attorneys. Along these lines, Ambedkar’s customers were principally poor people and desperate who couldn’t pay the legal expenses.
The famous freedom fighter, Veer Savarkar was busy with the foundation of the Hindu Sanghatan and Gandhiji was associated with the task of spreading the wings of the Harijan community. These groups were mainly formed with the aim of developing the condition of the untouchables in the nation. Being from the untouchable community himself, Ambedkar was able to feel the pain of the others of the same community. He took matters into his own hands and formed the Bahishkrit Hitakarini Sabha. Dr. Ambedkar was nominated as the chairman of the group. They held a meeting in the Damodar Hall in Bombay on the 9th of March, 1924.
Aims of the Bahishkrit Hitakarini Sabha
The task of bringing the untouchable in the general flow was not easy. Due to the presence of rules against the untouchable community, they were kept away from the light of higher education and betterment. The need for empowering the untouchable community was the main agenda of the group formed by B. R. Ambedkar. The following were the aims for the Bahishkrit Hitakarini Sabha group:
- According to the members of the group, it was necessary to bring the untouchable community in the light of education. This was only possible by organizing education circles or groups in the various areas.
- Unemployment was another issue that the people of the untouchable community faced. As many people denied to employ the untouchables, they often had economic problems. With the establishment of agricultural and industrial institutes, the employment problem was to be tackled.
- Last but not the least; the group worked for highlighting the demands of the untouchable communities. They worked as the channel for making the government aware of the sorry state of the community. They also proposed remedies which would assist the government in developing the condition of the untouchables.
Soon after the popularity of the group started to spread, Ambedkar was given the prestigious position in the Bombay Legislative Council. When he received authoritative powers, he used it for the betterment of the untouchable community. The first recruitment of police from the untouchable community was under the efforts of Ambedkar.
Ambedkar: The main man behind the Constitution
Dr. B. R. Ambedkar was appointed as the head of the Constitution drafting body. It was his duty to see that the constitution was properly drafted. It was important to see that the interests of all castes and communities are properly maintained. As he was there from the start to the very end, he has been aptly honored with the title of “Father of Indian National Constitution.”
The India Constitution is considered to be a unique specimen. Though the constitution is very rigid from certain angles, it is also very flexible to aid the governance of the nation. It is considered to be the most elaborately written constitution in the world. Apart from these, Ambedkar was also aware of the fact that the situations are not going to remain the same forever. Thus, he made sure that the constitution was amendable via proper channels.
The Constituent Body presented Constitution the in front of the Assembly in 1948. After the necessary changes were made, and ratification was done, the nation legally adopted the Constitution on the 26th of January, 1950.
Ambedkar: Conversion to Buddhism
Though Ambedkar was born in a Hindu family, he was never bound by the narrow viewpoint of belonging to one religion. He was respectful towards the rituals and all religious beliefs. The entire nation was shocked when on the 24th of May, 1956; Ambedkar announced that he was going to adopt Buddhism. According to him, Buddhism is established on the main foundation of equality. According to the teachings of Lord Buddha, every person needs to look in their souls for finding out their true potential. It is important for all to find out the truth about the life and work towards greater good. On the 14th of November, 1956, he addressed the people of Nagpur that he has completely converted into Buddhism.
Ambedkar: Unknown facts about the legend
Many are unaware of the fact that the man behind the drafting of the constitution was also behind the establishments of the Reserve Bank of India. He was a part of the core committee in the year 1935. The government always had issues in managing the governance of the states of Bihar and Madhya Pradesh. In the year 1955, Ambedkar was the first person who commented that the states must be divided for better management.
It is sad that India doesn’t have a national language but it was Ambedkar who suggested that the country and the countrymen must adopt Sanskrit as the official national language. Contrary to popular belief, Ambedkar was not in support of the job reservations. He always voiced his concerns against allotting any kind of reservations for any community. According to him, it would only drive a wedge among the unity of one community with another.
Celebrating the life of a legend
As his contributions towards the development of the nation and the untouchable community are significant, the nation honors the legend by celebrating his birthday as a national festival every year. The national festival is known as the Bhim Jayanti or Ambedkar Jayanti. On this day, the common people of the nation celebrate the birth anniversary of the main mind behind the compilation of the Constitution. Ambedkar Jayanti is observed on the 14th of April. Most of the government and private schools and colleges remain closed. Most of the government offices are also closed on the day for paying respect to Dr. Ambedkar.
The entire nation comes out and celebrated the birth anniversary of Ambedkar. In Delhi, the political leaders celebrate the day by paying their respect to the legend. Various events are also organized on the day inside the Parliament compound. These events are also organized in various parts of the nation as well. Children put up plays, take part in dance and painting competitions and much more to pay their respect. The national flag is hoisted and the national anthem is sung in all areas.
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