Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar
Constitution of India, thinker, social reformer Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar was born on 14 April 1891 in Mhow, Madhya Pradesh. His father's name was Ramji Maloji Sakpal and his mother's name was Bhimabai. He was the 14th and last child of his parents. Ambedkar, popularly known as Baba Saheb, spent his entire life in the struggle against social evils like untouchability and casteism. During this time, Babasaheb struggled for the rights of the poor, Dalits and the exploited.
15 special things related to Baba Saheb Ambedkar's life on his birth anniversary
1. Baba Saheb Ambedkar's family belonged to the Mahar caste (Dalits), who were considered untouchables. His ancestors were in the army of the British East India Company for a long time. His father was a subedar in the Mhow cantonment of the British Army.
2. Ambedkar, who had witnessed economic and social discrimination since childhood, started studying in odd circumstances. He suffered a lot in school. He and other untouchable children were seated separately in school. He could not even drink water himself. Children of high caste used to pour water on their hands from a height.
3. Ambedkar's real name was Ambavadekar. The same name was also registered by his father in the school. But one of his teachers changed his name and gave him his surname 'Ambedkar'. In this way, his name was recorded in the school records as Ambedkar.
Ambedkar Jayanti 2019: 10 precious thoughts on Ambedkar Jayanti
4. Ambedkar was married to a 9-year-old girl Ramabai in 1906 due to the prevalence of child marriage. At that time Ambedkar was just 15 years old.
5. In 1907 he passed matriculation and then in 1908 he attended Elphinstone College. He was the first Dalit student to enter this college. In 1912 he obtained degrees in Economics and Political Science from Bombay University.
6. He moved to America in 1913 to do an MA. At that time, he was only 22 years old. Studying in America was possible due to the monthly scholarship awarded to Sahayaji Rao III, the Gaekwad ruler of Baroda. Subsequently, in 1921, he obtained an MA degree from the London School of Economics.
7. Ambedkar started extracting fortnightly and weekly papers named 'Excluded India', 'Mook Nayak', 'Janta' to raise voice against the atrocities on Dalits. From 1927, he intensified his movement against untouchability. He also started Satyagraha at Mahad in Raigad in Maharashtra. He along with some people had burnt the then copy of 'Manusmriti'. In 1930 he started the Kalaram temple movement.
8. In 1935, Ambedkar was made the Principal of Government Law College, Bombay. He held this position for two years.
9. Ambedkar formed the Labor Party in 1936.
10. He was made the chairman of the drafting committee of the constitution. After India's independence, he was made law minister.
11. Ambedkar contested the country's first general election from the Bombay North seat in 1952 but lost. He was twice MP from Rajya Sabha.
12. Ambedkar resigned from the cabinet after his Hindu code bill draft was stalled in Parliament. The draft spoke of gender equality in the laws of succession, marriage, and the economy.
13 Ambedkar was against Article 370 of the Indian Constitution which gives special status to Jammu and Kashmir.
14. On 14 October 1956, Ambedkar and his supporters embraced Buddhism while adopting Panchsheel.
15. Ambedkar died on 6 December 1956. In 1990, he was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest honor.
