Babasaheb Ambedkar Jayanti: The work that Babasaheb Ambedkar, born on 14 April 1891 in Mhow, Madhya Pradesh, did for social equality and equality, till date no one has been able to repeat it. His (Dr BR Ambedkar Jayanti) thoughts are the ideal of millions of Indians today. His work can be called the greatest contribution to Indian political history. He gave the constitution to the country. He is called the creator of the Constitution of India. He was the chairman of the drafting committee of the Constituent Assembly which prepared the complete outline of the Constitution. Despite suffering from diabetes and blood pressure, Ambedkar left no stone unturned in drafting the Constitution. He was one of the most educated persons of his time. His vast knowledge was useful in drafting the Constitution. Today the entire country is governed by this Constitution. Dr. Ambedkar was a great political leader, philosopher, writer, economist, jurist, polyglot, scholar of religious philosophy and a social reformer who dedicated his life to the eradication of untouchability and social inequality in India.
14 April is the birth anniversary of Dr. BR Ambedkar and this day is also celebrated as Bhim Jayanti, Ambedkar Memorial Day, Equality Day.
Dr. Ambedkar became the voice of the Dalits, the deprived and the exploited classes in the 20th century when their condition was extremely pathetic. He sacrificed his entire life to provide equal rights to the Dalit class in the society. The backward classes considered him as their Messiah. He spent his entire life fighting against social discrimination and untouchability. He belonged to the Mahar caste, considered untouchable at that time, for whom it was not possible to walk in the society with heads held high. His childhood was spent with injustice, oppression and neglect. But he fought and succeeded in reaching political heights by attaining higher education. After independence, he was made the first Law Minister of the country. He received Bharat Ratna posthumously in 1990. Today Babasaheb's name is taken with great respect in the list of great people of the 20th century.
Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar's struggle for survival and education, his efforts for the upliftment of Dalits and his contribution in the making of the Constitution of independent India have been a source of inspiration for many people.
Read here some interesting and special things related to BR Ambedkar-
1. Why did she not get along with Gandhiji, why did she not consider him a Mahatma?
Both Mahatma Gandhi and Babasaheb Ambedkar made tireless efforts for social reform. But their views were quite different on many issues. The biggest difference was that Gandhiji wanted to eliminate untouchability from the caste system whereas Ambedkar wanted to abolish the entire caste system. Gandhiji was a supporter of the caste system. However, both were in favor of improving the condition of Dalits. In an interview given to BBC, he had said that Gandhi was never a Mahatma. I refuse to call him Mahatma. I never called him Mahatma in my life. Apart from this, Mahatma Gandhi advocated rural economy. He asked to move towards villages for complete development. Whereas Ambedkar used to appeal to the people to leave villages and move to cities. He believed that Dalits should come to cities for better education and progress.
Give this easy speech on Babasaheb Ambedkar Jayanti
2. One of the most educated people of his time
BR Ambedkar was one of the most educated great scholars of his time. He had degrees in 32 different subjects. After completing BA from Elphinstone College, Mumbai, he went to Columbia University, USA to pursue MA. Also did PhD from there. After this he did MSc, DSC from London School of Economics. Graduated as Barrister-at-Law. He was the only Dalit student in Elphinstone College.
3. Great hobby of reading books
Dr. Ambedkar was fond of reading a lot of books. He had a huge and excellent collection of books. John Gunther has written in Inside Asia that in 1938 Ambedkar had 8000 books. At the time of his death he had reached 35,000.
4. Hobby of gardening
Babasaheb Ambedkar was also fond of gardening. His garden was much praised. He also loved his dog very much. Many times he used to cook food himself and invite his friends for dinner.
5. Father had 14 children but only Ambedkar got a chance to study in school.
Ambedkar's ancestors were soldiers in the British East India Company. Father was a Subedar in the British Indian Army. Because of this also Ambedkar got a chance to study in school. At that time, it was not possible for a child of a Dalit and untouchable caste to go to school and study. Ambedkar did not have as many rights as other children in school. They were made to sit separately. He couldn't even drink water himself. Higher caste children used to pour water on his hands from height.
Give this short and simple speech on Babasaheb Ambedkar Jayanti
6. Inspired by
Ambedkar was greatly inspired by the thoughts of Kabir Das, Jyotiba Phule and Mahatma Buddha.
7. What was your real name?
Ambedkar's real name was Ambawadekar. His father had also registered the same name in the school. But one of his teachers changed his name and gave him his surname 'Ambedkar'. In this way his name was recorded as Ambedkar in the school records.
8. Was married to a 9 year old girl
Due to child marriage being prevalent, Ambedkar married 9 year old girl Ramabai in 1906. At that time Ambedkar was only 15 years old.
9. It was possible for Dr. Ambedkar to study in America because of the monthly scholarship he received from the Gaekwad ruler of Baroda, Sahyaji Rao III.
10. Had studied the constitutions of many countries
Babasaheb Ambedkar's legal expertise proved to be very helpful in the drafting of the Indian Constitution. He is called the creator of the Constitution and the father of the Constitution. He had studied the constitutions of many countries before making the constitution. On the basis of his ability, he reached the post of the first Law Minister of India.
11. Ambedkar started publishing fortnightly and weekly papers named 'Bahishkrit Bharat', 'Mook Nayak', 'Janta' to raise voice against the atrocities on Dalits. From 1927 he intensified his movement against untouchability and casteism. He also started Satyagraha in Mahad of Raigarh in Maharashtra. He along with some people burnt the then existing copy of 'Manusmriti'. In 1930 he started the Kalaram Temple Movement.
12. Ambedkar formed the Labor Party in 1936 amid the freedom struggle. Ambedkar contested the country's first general election from Bombay North seat in 1952 but lost. He was a member of Rajya Sabha twice.
13. Some scholars believe that Ambedkar did not want the British to leave India at once. Actually, Dr. Ambedkar was a member of the Viceroy's Executive Council. The status of a member was equal to that of a present-day cabinet minister. According to experts, he felt that while holding this post, he could do many important works for the welfare of Dalits, which could not be done after the British left India.
14. Resigned when Hindu Code Bill was not passed
In 1951, he presented the 'Hindu Code Bill' in the Parliament. Dr. Ambedkar believed that true democracy would come when women would get an equal share in ancestral property and would be given equal rights as men. Ambedkar resigned from the Cabinet after his Hindu Code Bill draft was blocked in Parliament.
15. Struggled with many diseases during his journey of struggle.
During the journey of struggle, Baba Saheb had been struggling with many diseases. He was suffering from incurable diseases like diabetes, blood pressure, neuritis and arthritis. His body had become very weak due to diabetes. Due to arthritis, he remained in bed suffering from pain for many nights.
16. Left Hinduism
On 14 October 1956, Ambedkar and his supporters converted to Buddhism, adopting Panchsheel. He had become quite unhappy with many of the practices of Hinduism. Ambedkar died on December 6, 1956.
17. When the Constitution came into force, Baba Saheb had said on the same day that we can write the best Constitution, but its success will ultimately depend on those who will run the country.
18. What is Shantivan?
Items of his personal use are kept in Dr. Ambedkar's object museum 'Shantivan' in Chicholi village of Nagpur district. His ashes are kept in the central room of the museum.
19. Lost Lok Sabha elections twice
Baba Saheb Ambedkar, the architect of the Constitution of India, contested India's first Lok Sabha election after independence in 1952. He contested from North Mumbai seat of Maharashtra but he lost. After this, Abandekar also stood in the by-election for Bandara Lok Sabha in 1954 but again lost.
20. Is there a holiday on Ambedkar Jayanti or not?
Ambedkar Jayanti 14 April is not a national holiday in India. However, this day is a public holiday in many Indian states. The central government announces the decision on holidays a day or two before the birth anniversary.
