B R AMBEDKAR – THE FATHER OF THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION
B R Ambedkar (Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar) was born on 14 April 1989 in Madhya Pradesh. Babasaheb Ambedkar had a very difficult childhood. His father worked as a Subedar in the British Indian Regiment. Babasaheb Ambedkar was born into the Mahar caste which was considered untouchables Dalit at that time.
On account of the caste discrimination, Babasaheb Ambedkar had to suffer a lot. When he went to school he was not allowed to sit in the class with other students. He had to sit outside the class. If he was thirsty, he could not touch the pot of water. A peon would come and drop the water from the top. This was because the Dalits were not supposed to touch either water or the water can directly. On days when the peon was absent, Babasaheb Ambedkar had to go home thirsty.
Babasaheb Ambedkar was the only one amongst his siblings to pass the Primary School examination and go to High School. He became the only untouchable to get admission to Elphinstone High School. He obtained his degree from Bombay University and became the first one in his cast to achieve this. Babasaheb Ambedkar was a double PhD. He received his first PhD from the London School of Economics in 1923 for his dissertation thesis “The Problem of Indian Rupee: Its Origin and Its Solution”. He was conferred his second PhD from Columbia University in 1927 for his dissertation thesis “The Evolution of Provincial Finance in British India”.
On his return to India post his PhD, Babasaheb Ambedkar worked at various jobs to meet his financial needs. However, he could not make much of a living with those jobs because upon getting to know that he was untouchable, he would be dismissed from the job. He became a Professor of Political Economy in a college in Bombay. Though he was popular with his students, the other professors raised a complaint against him for drinking water from the same jug.
In 1926, Babasaheb Ambedkar started working as a legal professional and gained fame when he successfully defended three non-Brahmins who were put on false accusations and charges. That was considered a great victory. It was during this time that Babasaheb Ambedkar started working against the laws and practices of Dalits. He fought fearlessly for the Dalits. He released several publications to give them rights and freedom. He launched massive protests against the rules and laws of untouchability. He became especially famous for waging a cognitive battle against the most educated and intelligent minds behind these practices. He fought for Dalits to be allowed inside temples and to be allowed to draw water from the central water tank. He shocked the nation by publicly condemning the Manusmriti (Laws of Manu) and he burned the copies of Manusmriti.
Babasaheb Ambedkar launched one of the biggest processions of Nashik (Maharashtra) when he rallied the Kalaram Temple Movement. More than 15,000 volunteers, consisting of men, women and children marched towards the Kalaram Temple, with great hope of seeing the idol of the God for the first time in their life. However, unfortunately, when they reached the temple, the priests and other Brahmin authorities closed the gates of the temple. This incident made Babasaheb Ambedkar even more committed and dedicated to getting the recognition and rights of the Dalits.
In 1932, the British Government announced a separate electorate for the Depressed classes (that was what the untouchables were called at that time). Mahatma Gandhi in his protest started fasting in the Yerwada Jail of Poona. Mahatma Gandhi was convinced that this separation would divide the Hindu community. A Poona Pact was agreed upon by the supporters of Mahatma Gandhi and Babasaheb Ambedkar where it was agreed that the Depressed classes would get double the opportunity for representation with 148 seats in the legislature as compared to the earlier 71 seats.
Babasaheb Ambedkar’s wife, Ramabai, passed away due to illness. It was her desire to go on pilgrimage, but Ambedkar had denied her that wish stating he would create a new pilgrimage for her instead of the ones created by Hindus, where they were considered untouchables. Her death deeply impacted Babasaheb Ambedkar and he took the decision to denounce Hinduism.
Babasaheb Ambedkar went on to form the Independent Labour Party and wrote a book called ‘Annihilation of Caste’. He criticised the orthodox Hindu leaders and did not spare even the most prominent names in India during that time. The world was becoming aware of the injustice to the Dalits and the Dalits themselves were much more empowered now because of Babasaheb Ambedkar’s efforts.
Babasaheb Ambedkar also opposed the exploitation of farmers and wrote several articles urging the government to intervene to make the life of farmers better. His protests later play a significant role in creating a direct relationship between the government and the farmers.
Babasaheb Ambedkar gave a fiery speech against the policies of the Congress on the “Day of Deliverance” event in Bhindi Bazar, Bombay, with he attended along with Mohammed Ali Jinnah. The Lahore Resolution gained prominence in 1940. Ambedkar wrote a 400-page document which was titled ‘Thoughts on Pakistan’. He proposed that Muslims should be given a separate country called Pakistan. He also proposed that the provincial boundaries should be redrawn between the Muslims and Hindus of Bengal and Punjab. Babasaheb Ambedkar’s thoughts on Pakistan were a major harbinger of concepts and ideas and would sway the nation for almost a decade. It also anchored and charted the course of dialogue between the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League. While he supported the partition of India, he criticised severely slavery and polygamy in Islam.
After 15 August 1947 when India became independent, the then Prime Minister Nehru appointed Babasaheb Ambedkar as the Chairman of the Drafting Committee of the Constitution for the future Republic Of India. Ambedkar wrote greatly for the empowerment of women and suggested extensive reform and social rights for women. He also suggested that the SCST (Scheduled Caste and Schedule Tribes) be given reservations to ensure fair chance and growth opportunities. He recommended a lot of social-economic reforms which we now see in modern India. The Constituent Assembly adopted the Constitution of India on 26 November 1949.
Babasaheb Ambedkar was a great visionary. His recommendations and suggestions about the investment in agriculture and industrialisation played a significant role in India securing its food security goal. His views on the modern economy and those three phrases – faithfulness, wisdom and economy – became the central bedrock of wisdom in governing the finance in India. In Babasaheb Ambedkar’s view, faithfulness meant using the money in an intended way, wisdom meant using it for the benefit of the people, and economy meant using it in such a way that gets maximum returns and justifies the purpose.
At that time many people did not understand the vision of Babasaheb Ambedkar. When he advocated birth control measures and needs, several people opposed it. It is only now that his views on population control have been accepted as words of wisdom. He opposed Income Tax for low-income groups and came up with several reforms to benefit them.
The concept of women’s empowerment was one of Babasaheb Ambedkar’s greatest gifts to modern India. He fought for women’s rights and for equal gender employment. He fought hard to get the bill passed in which he had asked for equal rights for women. This allowed women to inherit property and they could file for divorce. Widows and divorcees were given the right to remarry.
Babasaheb Ambedkar said “I measure the progress of community by the degree of progress which women had achieved. Let every girl who marries stand by her husband, claim to be her husband’s friend and equal, and refuse to be his slave. I am sure if you follow this advice, you will bring honour and glory to yourselves.”
Babasaheb Ambedkar was way ahead of his counterparts in terms of thinking about the future of India. He was the first person to advocate the separation of Bihar from Madhya Pradesh. He describes it in detail in his book “Thoughts on Linguistic States” about the reasons and requirements. At that time several prominent people opposed it. It took a good forty-five years for the country to realise that he was right and eventually with Jharkhand getting carved out of Bihar and Chattisgarh out of MP, his thoughts became reality.
Babasaheb Ambedkar played a key role in making India self-sufficient and strong. He pioneered the works of the Damodar Valley Project, the Bhakra Nangal Dam Project and the Son River Valley Project among many others. Had it not been for these irrigation and river valley projects, India would have been unable to bring significant land under cultivation.
Babasaheb Ambedkar also established the Central Technical Power Board and Central Electricity Authority which played a significant role in developing India’s power sector. Based on the ideas that Babasaheb Ambedkar presented to the Hilton Young Commission, the Reserve Bank Of India was modelled.
Babasaheb Ambedkar took more pain to think about India’s future and draft the constitution for India. This also had a negative impact on his health. He was on insulin and medical treatment and had sleepless nights. It was during his treatment that he met Sharada Kabir in Bombay and married her. She took care of him till his end and was referred to as ‘Mai’ (mother) by all.
Babasaheb Ambedkar developed a lot of interest in Buddhism and after writing several books on Buddhism, he finally converted and accepted Buddhism as his religion. Following this about 5,00,000 of his followers also accepted Buddhism.
Babasaheb Ambedkar was a man extremely well versed in several subjects. He was respected as a scholar and was voted to be the first law minister of India. He had an unparalleled thirst for knowledge and learning. While returning from his trips to London and other places, he would bring back thousands of second-hand books with him. He had more than 50,000 in his personal library in Bombay. Once while returning from one of his trips, he had to send his books through another ship which got destroyed on the way. He is then said to have collected double the books on his next trip to compensate for this loss of books.
It is said that once during his stay in London, Babasaheb Ambedkar was having his lunch in the Library. The Librarian saw him having lunch and warned him as this was against the policy. Babasaheb Ambedkar apologised and shared his plight with the librarian that he did not have any money to purchase anything from the cafeteria. Upon hearing his condition and seeing his dedication to reading and learning the librarian was moved. The Librarian then offered to take Babasaheb Ambedkar with him to the cafeteria the next day onwards and pay for his food. This incident had a great impact on Babasaheb Ambedkar’s life and later on he helped several children by providing food and books without ever letting them know who helped them.
Not many of us may know that it was Babasaheb Ambedkar who played a key role in changing the working hours in India from 12 hours to 8 hours. He refused to draft Article 370, which gave a special status to Jammu and Kashmir. He fought for the equality of all.
His command over Sanskrit was supreme. In an interesting incident that people once observed in the parliament, Babasaheb Ambedkar and Lal Bahadur Shastri were having a conversation in Sanskrit, both being fluently in Sanskrit.
The role that Babasaheb Ambedkar played in creating a modern India is beyond words. His vision, his far-sightedness, and his thought process were way ahead of most of the people of his time. Along with being highly educated, he was also touched by the plight and biases in society. He fought till his last to ensure that the underprivileged always got a chance. In the back of his mind, he never wanted others to face the difficulties that he faced in his life.
Babasaheb Ambedkar, a Dalit boy, who was deprived of getting an education and also deprived of sharing happiness or sadness with anybody, who lost his father and later his mother and wife, still thought about an India which will be free from all the prejudices. A person who was deprived of getting even a basic education, Babasaheb Ambedkar went on to become the champion for the cause of education and empowerment and came to be known as the ‘Father of the Indian Constitution.’
While he was still drafting a book called “The Buddha and his Dharma”, Babasaheb Ambedkar passed away in his sleep on 6 December 1956. Babasaheb Ambedkar’s death anniversary is celebrated as “Mahaparinirvana Diwas”, which signifies the attainment of nirvana, while his birth anniversary is celebrated as ‘Ambedkar Jayanti’ throughout India.
Ambedkar was voted “the Greatest Indian” in 2012, ahead of Sardar Patel and Jawaharlal Nehru, by a poll organised by History TV18 and CNN IBN, which had nearly 20 million votes cast. Noted Indian economist, Narendra Jadhav wrote about Babasaheb Ambedkar as the highest educated Indian economist of all times. Noble laureate Amartya Sen while referring to Babasaheb Ambedkar said that he was the “father of my economics”.
Several public institutions are named in his honour, like the Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport in Nagpur, otherwise known as Sonegaon Airport and Dr B. R. Ambedkar National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar. The Ambedkar University Delhi is also named in his honour.
In the Parliament of India, a 12-feet tall bronze statue of Babasaheb Ambedkar was installed in 1967. It was unveiled by the then president Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. A portrait of Babasaheb Ambedkar is also put in the Central House of Parliament House. Another portrait of Babasaheb Ambedkar is also housed in the Parliamentary Museum.
Stamps dedicated to him on Babasaheb Ambedkar’s birthday were issued by the India Post on several occasions. He was also featured with other great leaders on postage stamps on various occasions.
On 14 April 2015, Google commemorated Babasaheb Ambedkar’s 124th birthday through a homepage doodle. The doodle was featured in India, Argentina, Chile, Ireland, Peru, Poland, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
Several movies were also made to honour Babasaheb Ambedkar’s life and achievement, prominent mention being:
- Babasaheb Ambedkar directed by Jabbar Patel. The film won National Award for the best feature film,
- Dr BR Ambedkar a 2005 biographical film in the Kannada language directed by Sharan Kumar Kabbur; and
- Ramabai Bhimrao Ambedkar a 2011 biographical film in the Marathi language directed by Prakash Jadhav.
For his contribution to modern India and service towards the Dalits, women and children, Babasaheb Ambedkar was posthumously awarded India’s highest civilian honour, Bharat Ratna, in 1990.
Credits and suggested further reading:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B._R._Ambedkar