Ramesh Sarraf Dhamora
Baba Saheb Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar was not only the architect of our country’s constitution but also one of the greatest politicians of the world. He was elected the President of the Indian Constituent Assembly because of his farsightedness, his knowledge, his way of understanding people, his attitude against the caste system. The Indian Constitution is one of the best constitutions in the world. Today we see that the Indian constitution, written under the leadership of Baba Saheb Ambedkar, has stood as a vigilant sentinel of our democracy.
Wherever the government does something against the rules, the constitution reminds them of their path of duty and inspires them to walk on the right path. The Indian constitution is considered one of the best constitutions in the world today, the credit for which goes to Baba Saheb Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar.
Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar’s philosophy of life is still relevant today because it helped shape India’s socio-cultural system. He brought progress from old and archaic beliefs and made India the world’s largest democracy. Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar was born on 14 April 1891 in a poor family in Mau, Madhya Pradesh. He was the 14th child of Bhimrao Ramji Maloji Sakpal and Bhimabai. His family was Marathi and belonged to Ambavade Nagar located in Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra. His childhood name was Ramji Sakpal. He belonged to the Hindu Mahar caste which was called untouchable. His caste was deeply discriminated against socially and economically. Being born in an untouchable family, he had to spend his childhood in hardships.
Babasaheb Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar’s birth anniversary is celebrated every year on 14 April in the country. On Babasaheb’s birth anniversary, people should take a pledge that we will follow his path with all our heart. We will follow the constitution made by him. We will not do anything that violates any law of the country. Since Babasaheb was always against caste system and discrimination, the best way to pay tribute to him on his birth anniversary is to adopt his principles in our lives.
Babasaheb Ambedkar was a master in a total of 64 subjects. He was an expert in 9 languages like Hindi, Pali, Sanskrit, English, French, German, Marathi, Persian and Gujarati. Apart from this, he had studied comparatively all the religions of the world for about 21 years. Dr. Ambedkar is the only Indian whose statue has been installed along with Karl Marx in the London Museum. Not only this, he has also received many prestigious awards in the country and abroad. Bhimrao Ambedkar had a total of 32 degrees. Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar’s private library Rajgrih had more than 50 thousand books. It was the world’s largest private library.
Baba Saheb believed that before creating a classless society, the society must be made casteless. Today, we have all the constitutional safeguards, legal provisions and institutional measures to empower women. The credit for this goes to one man and that is Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar. In the Indian context, whenever there is a contemplation on the issues of caste, class and gender-based inequalities and their improvement, the discussion cannot be complete without including Dr. Ambedkar’s thoughts and views.
Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar, the architect of the Indian Constitution, dreamt that India should be caste-free, become an industrial nation and always remain democratic. People know Ambedkar as a Dalit leader. Whereas he had openly opposed the caste system since childhood. He dreamt of an economically strong India free from casteism. But the dirty politics of the country established him as the leader of the Dalit community instead of the leader of the entire society. Dr. Ambedkar also had another dream that the Dalits should become rich. They should not always remain job seekers but should become job givers.
If seen in the Indian context, Ambedkar was probably the first scholar who tried to understand the condition of women in the caste structure. In his entire viewpoint of brainstorming, the most important part of the brainstorming was women empowerment. Ambedkar understood that the condition of women would not improve just by giving sermons from above, legal arrangements would have to be made for it. The Hindu Code Bill is the real invention of women empowerment. This is why Ambedkar brought the Hindu Code Bill. The Hindu Code Bill was the cure for all problems for Indian women. But unfortunately this bill could not be passed in the Parliament and this is why Ambedkar resigned from the post of Law Minister.
Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar believed that the main reason for the backwardness of Indian women is the discriminatory social system and lack of education. Ambedkar’s views were clear in terms of equality in education. He believed that if we start paying attention to the education of girls along with boys, then we can progress. Education is not the right of only one class. Every section of the society has equal right to education. Women’s education is more important than male education. Since women are the pivot of the entire family system, it cannot be denied.
When a new Congress-led government was formed after India’s independence on 15 August 1947, Dr. Ambedkar was appointed the first Law Minister of the country. On 29 August 1947, Dr. Ambedkar was appointed the Chairman of the Constitution Drafting Committee formed to create the new Constitution of independent India. On 26 November 1949, the Constituent Assembly adopted the Constitution made under his leadership. Speaking after completing his work, Dr. Ambedkar said, I feel that the Constitution of India is achievable, flexible but at the same time it is so strong that it will be able to keep the country together in both peace and war. I can say that if anything goes wrong, it will not be because our Constitution was bad but the man who used it was wrong. Ambedkar contested the Lok Sabha elections as an independent candidate in 1952 but lost. In March 1952, he was nominated to the Rajya Sabha. He remained a member of the Upper House till his death.
Dr. Ambedkar embraced Buddhism from a Buddhist monk in a public ceremony attended by lakhs of his supporters in Nagpur on 14 October 1956. Troubled by political issues, Ambedkar’s health kept deteriorating. On 6 December 1956, Ambedkar died in his sleep at his home in Delhi. On 7 December, his last rites were performed in Buddhist style at Chowpatty beach in Bombay in which thousands of his supporters, activists and admirers participated. In 1990, Babasaheb Dr. Ambedkar was awarded Bharat Ratna. Due to the neglect of the governments, Babasaheb was awarded Bharat Ratna very late. He deserved it first.
A memorial has been established in Ambedkar’s house at 26 Alipur Road in Delhi where he lived as an MP. A public holiday is observed on Ambedkar Jayanti across the country. Many public institutions have been named after him in his honour. A large picture of Ambedkar has been put up in the Indian Parliament House. Babasaheb gave the slogan of ‘Be educated, stay organised and struggle’. Becoming educated means that the doors of our knowledge open and staying organised means gaining power.
(The author is a freelance journalist)
Dr. Ambedkar was vigilant guide of the nation
