Dr. B.R. Ambedkar
Born: April 14, 1891
Died: December 6, 1956
Achievements: Dr. B.R. Ambedkar was elected as
the chairman of the drafting committee that was constituted by the Constituent
Assembly to draft a constitution for the independent India; he was the first
Law Minister of India; conferred Bharat Ratna in 1990.
Dr. B.R. Ambedkar is viewed as messiah of dalits and downtrodden in India. He
was the chairman of the drafting committee that was constituted by the
Constituent Assembly in 1947 to draft a constitution for the independent India.
He played a seminal role in the framing of the constitution. Bhimrao Ambedkar
was also the first Law Minister of India. For his yeoman service to the nation,
B.R. Ambedkar was bestowed with Bharat Ratna in 1990.
Dr.Bhimrao Ambedkar was born on April 14, 1891 in Mhow (presently in Madhya
Pradesh). He was the fourteenth child of Ramji and Bhimabai Sakpal Ambavedkar.
B.R. Ambedkar belonged to the "untouchable" Mahar Caste. His father
and grandfather served in the British Army. In those days, the government
ensured that all the army personnel and their children were educated and ran
special schools for this purpose. This ensured good education for Bhimrao
Ambedkar, which would have otherwise been denied to him by the virtue of his
caste.
Bhimrao Ambedkar experienced caste discrimination right from the childhood.
After his retirement, Bhimrao's father settled in Satara Maharashtra. Bhimrao
was enrolled in the local school. Here, he had to sit on the floor in one
corner in the classroom and teachers would not touch his notebooks. In spite of
these hardships, Bhimrao continued his studies and passed his Matriculation
examination from Bombay University with flying colours in 1908. Bhim Rao
Ambedkar joined the Elphinstone College for further education. In 1912, he
graduated in Political Science and Economics from Bombay University and got a
job in Baroda.
In 1913, Bhimrao Ambedkar lost his father. In the same year Maharaja of Baroda
awarded scholarship to Bhim Rao Ambedkar and sent him to America for further
studies. Bhimrao reached New York in July 1913. For the first time in his life,
Bhim Rao was not demeaned for being a Mahar. He immersed himself in the studies
and attained a degree in Master of Arts and a Doctorate in Philosophy from
Columbia University in 1916 for his thesis "National Dividend for India: A
Historical and Analytical Study." From America, Dr.Ambedkar proceeded to
London to study economics and political science. But the Baroda government
terminated his scholarship and recalled him back.
The Maharaja of Baroda appointed Dr. Ambedkar as his political secretary. But
no one would take orders from him because he was a Mahar. Bhimrao Ambedkar
returned to Bombay in November 1917. With the help of Shahu Maharaj of
Kolhapur, a sympathizer of the cause for the upliftment of the depressed
classes, he started a fortnightly newspaper, the "Mooknayak" (Dumb
Hero) on January 31, 1920. The Maharaja also convened many meetings and
conferences of the "untouchables" which Bhimrao addressed. In September
1920, after accumulating sufficient funds, Ambedkar went back to London to
complete his studies. He became a barrister and got a Doctorate in science.
After
completing his studies in London, Ambedkar returned to India. In July 1924, he
founded the Bahishkrit Hitkaraini Sabha (Outcastes Welfare Association). The
aim of the Sabha was to uplift the downtrodden socially and politically and
bring them to the level of the others in the Indian society. In 1927, he led
the Mahad March at the Chowdar Tank at Colaba, near Bombay, to give the
untouchables the right to draw water from the public tank where he burnt copies
of the 'Manusmriti' publicly.
In 1929, Ambedkar made the controversial decision to co-operate with the
all-British Simon Commission which was to look into setting up a responsible
Indian Government in India. The Congress decided to boycott the Commission and
drafted its own version of a constitution for free India. The Congress version
had no provisions for the depressed classes. Ambedkar became more skeptical of
the Congress's commitment to safeguard the rights of the depressed classes.
When a separate electorate was announced for the depressed classes under Ramsay
McDonald 'Communal Award', Gandhiji went on a fast unto death against this
decision. Leaders rushed to Dr. Ambedkar to drop his demand. On September 24,
1932, Dr. Ambedkar and Gandhiji reached an understanding, which became the
famous Poona Pact. According to the pact the separate electorate demand was
replaced with special concessions like reserved seats in the regional
legislative assemblies and Central Council of States.
Dr. Ambedkar attended all the three Round Table Conferences in London and
forcefully argued for the welfare of the "untouchables". Meanwhile,
British Government decided to hold provincial elections in 1937. Dr. B.R.
Ambedkar set up the "Independent Labor Party" in August 1936 to
contest the elections in the Bombay province. He and many candidates of his
party were elected to the Bombay Legislative Assembly.
In 1937, Dr. Ambedkar introduced a Bill to abolish the "khoti" system
of land tenure in the Konkan region, the serfdom of agricultural tenants and
the Mahar "watan" system of working for the Government as slaves. A
clause of an agrarian bill referred to the depressed classes as
"Harijans," or people of God. Bhimrao was strongly opposed to this
title for the untouchables. He argued that if the "untouchables" were
people of God then all others would be people of monsters. He was against any
such reference. But the Indian National Congress succeeded in introducing the
term Harijan. Ambedkar felt bitter that they could not have any say in what
they were called.
In 1947, when India became independent, the first Prime Minister Pt. Jawaharlal
Nehru, invited Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar, who had been elected as a Member of the
Constituent Assembly from Bengal, to join his Cabinet as a Law Minister. The
Constituent Assembly entrusted the job of drafting the Constitution to a
committee and Dr. Ambedkar was elected as Chairman of this Drafting Committee.
In February 1948, Dr. Ambedkar presented the Draft Constitution before the
people of India; it was adopted on November 26, 1949.
In October 1948, Dr. Ambedkar submitted the Hindu Code Bill to the Constituent
Assembly in an attempt to codify the Hindu law. The Bill caused great divisions
even in the Congress party. Consideration for the bill was postponed to
September 1951. When the Bill was taken up it was truncated. A dejected
Ambedkar relinquished his position as Law Minister.
On May 24, 1956, on the occasion of Buddha Jayanti, he declared in Bombay, that
he would adopt Buddhism in October. On 0ctober 14, 1956 he embraced Buddhism
along with many of his followers. On December 6, 1956, Baba Saheb Dr. B.R.
Ambedkar died peacefully in his sleep.
