Ambedkar

Born: 14 April, 1891 Place of Birth: Mhow in Central Provinces (currently Madhya Pradesh) Parents: Ramji Maloji Sakpal (father) and Bhimabai Murbadkar Sakpal (mother) Spouse: Ramabai Ambedkar (1906-1935); Dr. Sharada Kabir rechristened Savita Ambedkar (1948-1956) Education: Elphinstone High School, University of Bombay, Columbia University, London School of Economics Associations: Samata Sainik Dal, Independent Labour Party, Scheduled Castes Federation Political Ideology: Right winged; Equalism Religious Beliefs: Hinduism by birth; Buddhism 1956 onwards Publications: Essays on Untouchables and Untouchability, The Annihilation of Caste, Waiting for a Visa Passed Away: 6, December, 1956 Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, popularly known as Babasaheb Ambedkar, was a jurist, social reformer and politician. He is also known as the Father of Indian Constitution. A well-known politician and an eminent jurist, his efforts to eradicate social evils like untouchablity and caste restrictions were remarkable. Throughout his life, he fought for the rights of the dalits and other socially backward classes. Ambedkar was appointed as India’s first Law Minister in the Cabinet of Jawaharlal Nehru. He was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honor, in 1990. Childhood & Early Life Bhimrao Ambedkar was born to Bhimabai and Ramji on 14 April 1891 in Mhow Army Cantonment, Central Provinces (Madhya Pradesh). Ambedkar’s father was a Subedar in the Indian Army and after his reti...

New Delhi: Today marks 30 years since Dr. B.R. Ambedkar received the Bharat Ratan Award posthumously. Born in the military cantonment town of Mhow, (Madhya Pradesh) on April 14, 1891, Ambedkar was a visionary, who was central in shaping modern India. Since he belonged to a caste that was considered untouchables, his early life was rife with incidents of caste discrimination. This had a great impact on him, and he dedicated his life to the empowerment of the Dalit. He also started a newspaper called Mooknayaka (leader of the silent) in 1920 to highlight caste atrocities. He is also remembered as a social reformer who worked tirelessly for social equality and outlawing discrimination based on caste. Ambedkar also believed in education for all and in 1982, Ambedkar Open University was established by an act of Andhra Pradesh State legislature. Here are some facts you probably didn’t know about him! • He was the youngest among 14 children. • His original surname was Ambavadekar but was changed by his teacher in the school records who were fond of him after his own name Mahadev Ambedkar. • He was the only untouchable to be enrolled in Elphinstone High School in 1897 after his family moved to Bombay. • It took him 2 years and 11 months to draft out the Indian Constitution, which gave him the title “Father of the Indian Constitution” • While practicing law, he had begun working towards the upliftment of the Dalit community of India. • He initiated the change of working hours from ...

Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar is often thought of as a jurist, economist, and social reformer. It is certainly hard to find many figures who can be said to have had a comparable influence in modern Indian history. However, above all, Ambedkar was an arch-critic of the Hindu caste system and a leader in the fight for Dalit liberation. Modern India cannot be understood without an appreciation of Ambedkar’s life and work. Read on to find out more about Dr. Ambedkar and his call for the annihilation of caste. The Hindu Caste System Explained The Hindu caste system of India, via Britannica.com The word “caste” was applied to the castus, in Portuguese, casta means “lineage”, “pure”, or “chaste”. For well over one Each Jati — of which there are literally thousands — has its own norms of conduct (rules around marriage, social interaction, permissible food, occupation, etc.), and from each Jati follows a series of sub-castes. The caste system as it actually works on the ground is called Jati. However, each Jati also fits into the overarching hierarchy of the four-fold Varna system. The authority of Varna is derived from its codification in the Vedic-Brahmin Manusmriti (Laws of Manu) — one of Hinduism’s most holy books. The Varna system outlines four castes, or savarna: Brahmins (priests; intellectuals); Kshatriyas (warriors; administrators); Vaishyas (farmers; traders); and Shudras (workers; laborers). Outcastes from the Hindu fold are those who do not belong to any varna ( avarna): t...

The other, however, remains lesser known outside India. He is Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, the primary author of the Indian constitution, which came into effect 70 years ago on Sunday. Since December, his image has been held aloft by crowds of demonstrators, who say Ambedkar did more than draft the constitution: he was also a revered civil rights leader. Born a Annihilation of Caste, a blistering argument against the ancient system of social stratification. And when, starting in 1947, he hammered out the Indian constitution’s integral principles of democracy, equality and freedom of religion, he also inserted sections prohibiting caste-based discrimination and legally outlawing the practice of untouchability. Here’s what to know about the fight over Ambedkar’s legacy. Who was B.R. Ambedkar? Ambedkar was born in 1891 into a family that had long been bound to the bottom of Indian society, considered impure by higher-caste Hindus. Although he and other Dalits were segregated at school, he managed to pass his exams, obtain a degree in economics and political science from Bombay University, and went on to get a Masters at Columbia University in New York before training as a lawyer in London. In 1936, after returning to India, he wrote Annihilation of Caste, his magnum opus. Written during the struggle that eventually led to India’s independence in 1947, Annihilation of Caste was a searing critique of not just the age-old caste system (still observed today by many Hindus in India), b...

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