Dr. Bhimrao
Ramji Ambedkar ;
Father of the Indian Constitution , Eminent Political Leader, Philosopher and Freedom Fighter; (14.04.1891 – 06.12.1956)
(For Commemorative stamps issued on the 125th Birth Anniversary of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar in October 2015, titled "Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and the indian constitution" please click here: Stamps on "Dr. Ambedkar and the Indian Constitution")
Father of the Indian Constitution , Eminent Political Leader, Philosopher and Freedom Fighter; (14.04.1891 – 06.12.1956)
(For Commemorative stamps issued on the 125th Birth Anniversary of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar in October 2015, titled "Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and the indian constitution" please click here: Stamps on "Dr. Ambedkar and the Indian Constitution")
Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar was born on 14th
April 1891 in Mhow (presently in Madhya Pradesh – India) to parents belonging to
the Mahar caste which was considered an “outcaste” or “untouchable” (low caste)
which had suffered injustice at the hands of the upper castes for generations. He
spent his entire life fighting against social discrimination (the “Chaturvarna”
– four caste system of the Hindu society, among his other achievements). His
parents lived in a village called Ambavade ( Ratnagiri district – Maharashtra,
India) . Thus, he was, initially,called Bhimrao “Ambavadekar”. When he became a student of High School, one
of his high caste teachers Mahadev Ambedkar was very impressed with his resolve
to study and changed Bhimrao’s name to his own name “Ambedkar” in school
records. He is also known as “Bodhisatva”, “Babasaheb”, “Baba”, MookNayak” and
“Adhunik Buddha”.
There was a tradition of serving in the British Armed
forces in his family and both his grandfather and his father had done service
in the British Army. Later, after his retirement from the British Army, his
father settled in Satara (Maharashtra – India) in 1894.
Education:
The children of Army personnel were all educated in
special schools run by the Government and, this ensured that he received good
education in one such school in Satara, which opportunity to receive good
education, would otherwise not have been available to him .
Despite his brilliant all-round merit, he was not
permitted to study Sanskrit, because it was considered to be a prerogative of
the higher caste students only. This injustice made him very bitter, but later,
he, did learn Sanskrit on his own. Not only this, he became conversant with
English and Persian. He passed his Matriculation from the University of Bombay,
and later his Intermediate Examination. He joined Elphinstone College, Bombay
in 1908 on a scholarship from the Gaikwad ruler of Baroda, and here he obtained
his B.A. Degree in Economics and Political Science in 1912. He was one of the first
“outcastes” to obtain college education in India.
He took up employment under the Maharaja of Baroda who
sent him to Columbia University in the United States of America for higher studies
again on a scholarship. For the first time in his life he experienced no
discrimination on account of untouchability. Here, in 1915, he passed his M.A.,
majoring in Economics. He also studied Law and Economics in England, but had to
return to India in August 1917 because his scholarship term had ended.
But, he was
reminded of his low-caste birth once again in India when he worked as Military
Secretary with the Maharaja of Baroda again, when the staff, including Parsis, in
his office would throw the files at him and even physically threatened him. He
could not stand this treatment and had to quit his post.
In 1918, he became a Professor of Political Economy in
Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics in Bombay, where he faced caste
discrimination from his fellow Professors.
In 1920, he went to England from where he obtained an
M.Sc. Degree in Economics from the London School of Economics and studied Law
and returned in 1922 to India as a barrister.
One of his first successful cases was the defence of 3
non-Brahmin leaders who were proceeded against in court by Brahmins, led by an
able advocate from Poona (present day Pune), for writing a pamphlet that the
Brahmins had ruined India, which success made him very popular.
Some of his other
caste-discrimination experiences :
Despite the work of several social reformers and religious
leaders, down the ages like, Buddha, Ramanujacharya, Basaveshwara, Eknath,
Tukaram, Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Mahatma Phule, Sree Narayan, et al, he experienced
caste discrimination like several members of his caste, right from his
childhood. While studying in school, he had to sit on the floor in one corner
of the class-room and his teachers would not touch his notebooks and the school
peon would serve him water by pouring it from a height.
There is an instance where he along with his brother were
travelling on a bullock cart on a summer afternoon and the cart driver on coming to know that he
belonged to the Mahar caste , stopped and raised one end of the cart, so that
both of them fell down and injured themselves. Since it was hot, the boys
requested people to give them a drink of water, but no one obliged as they were
not allowed to approach wells and water tanks and they had to remain thirsty.
He faced other discriminations, when a barber refused to
cut his hair and a lady refused to let him take shelter near the wall of her
house when it was raining.
He resolved to fight these injustices, through acquiring
the best possible education and knowledge. It is said that he had a resolve of
steel and even though it was raining hard one day, he still went to school
thoroughly drenched, when his school-mates stayed at home.
Periodicals and
writing:
He started a periodical called “Mook Nayak” (Leader of
the Silent or Quiet Hero) which highlighted the discrimination faced by the
“untouchables” and to fight for their equal rights.Sahu Maharaj of Kolhapur
arranged for free education and jobs for the lower castes and Nationalists
like, Veer Savarkar and Chittaranjan Das also began to work for equal rights
for the lower castes. Mahatma Gandhi took practical steps to fight
untouchability.
“The Annihilation of Caste”, “Who were the Shudras?”, “The
Untouchables: A Thesis on the Origins of Untouchability”, “Buddha and his Dhamma”,
“Revolution and Counter-Revolution in India” “What Congress and Gandhi have done to the
Untouchables” and “The riddle of Hinduism” were some of the books, that
Ambedkar wrote, apart from a Paper on “Castes in India: Their Mechanism,
Genesis and development” and an Autobiography “Waiting for a Visa” .
On the issue of Partition, he wrote “Thoughts on
Pakistan” in which after much reasoning on the pros and cons he favoured the
creation of Pakistan.
The Government of Maharashtra has published Ambedkar’s
writings and speeches in 21 different volumes.
Ambedkar’s fight for equal rights and Chowdar Tank Satyagrah:
He organized the “Bahishkrit Hitakarini Sabha” (Society
working for the upliftment of the Outcastes) for promoting their education and
socio-economic development.
By 1927, he launched active agitations to open up public
water resources and temple entry to the outcastes. He led a Satyagrah (insistence of a right
through peaceful protest) in Mahad for the right of the untouchables to draw
water from the main tank in Bombay.
The Bombay Legislature (present day Mumbai) had passed a
bill that public water tanks and wells could be used by all persons
(irrespective of caste and creed). The Mahad Municipality in Colaba district
resolved that Chowdar Tank could be used even by lower castes but it had not
been implemented in effect because of fear of upper caste retaliation. Ambedkar
led a “Chowdar Tank Satyagrah” (peaceful insistence of Rights, on the lines of
Gandhiji’s agitations) and drank the water first. The participants were attacked
by higher caste Hindus and several of them including Ambedkar were injured.
But, a significant symbolic protest had been made. Many sensible Hindus started
questioning the age-old practices of social discrimination and speaking up for
equal rights for all. The Chowdar Tank dispute went to court where it was
upheld that water tanks were public property.
Ambedkar also reasoned that entry into temples should
also be allowed for all persons. He argued that while the Indians were fighting
for Nationalism and self-rule for India and freedom from British rule, there
was a war within Hindu society, because of caste discrimination and they could
not seek self-independence , presenting a united front when, members of their
own society (lower castes) were being discriminated against by them.
He took part in symbolic protest in which casteist
excerpts from the “Manu Smriti” (The sage Manu’s written word from oral
tradition) were burned by a Brahmin.
In 1927, there was a Conference which resolved that there
should be no caste differences within the Hindu Dharma and persons of all
castes should be allowed to work as priests in temples.
Despite his bitter experiences, Ambedkar did not want the
pity of others for the “untouchables” and held the view that justice cannot be
granted by others and that those who suffer because of the injustices should
themselves work towards securing justice.
Towards this goal he fought for more representation of
the lower castes in legislatures and was against “nomination” of such
representatives by the Government. He also wanted them to be employed in
greater numbers in the Army and Police Departments.
He participated in the “Second Round Table Conference” in
1932 along with Gandhiji, where he equated the social discrimination being
practiced by the upper caste Hindus with the British Rule and openly opposed
Gandhiji on several crucial issues. As a result, Ambedkar secured separate
electorates for the “Harijans” (untouchables/lower castes) where they could
elect their representatives separately.
Gandhiji started a fast against separate electorates,
reasoning that this would only separate the Harijans from the Hindus and was
prepared to fast unto death. The issue was resolved when Ambedkar fearing a
communal genocide, gave up the claim for separate electorates and agreed to ten
percent reservations in legislatures for Harijans (or Depressed Classes, as
they were called). The resultant Agreement between Ambedkar and Gandhiji is
known as the “Poona Treaty” (or Poona
Pact).
Political and other
achievements:
He was appointed to work with the Simon Commission in 1925,
whose report led to protests across India, but Ambedkar’s Notes formed a basis
for several future constitutional recommendations.
In 1935, he was made the Principal of the Government Law
College, Bombay, where, in his house, he accumulated a library of more than
50,000 books (his earlier collection of books having been sunk in a ship by a
German U-boat while being transported back to India in 1918, during World War
I).
In 1936, he founded the “Independent Labour Party”, which
won 15 seats in the 1937 elections to the Central Legislative Assembly. The
party later transformed into the “All India Scheduled Castes Federation”.
He was appointed to the Defence Advisory Committee and
the Viceroy’s Executive Council as Minister for Labour.
Ambedkar was the first Law Minister in Nehru’s 14 – member
Cabinet when India obtained freedom on 15th August 1947 from British
Rule.
On 29th August 1947, a 7-member committee was
set up to frame the Constitution of
India with Ambedkar as its Chairman. One member died, two were very sick and
one was very busy with official Government work, as a result the Indian
Constitution was drafted by Dr.Ambedkar, practically all by himself with
support from two members, which was placed before the Constituent Assembly for
consideration on 4th November 1948. Some of the salient features were:
-
Constitutional guarantees and protection for a
wide range of civil liberties for individual citizens,
-
Freedom of religion
-
Abolition of untouchability and declaring all
forms of discrimination illegal
-
Extensive economic and social rights for women
-
Introducing a system of Reservations of jobs in
civil services, schools and colleges for members of the scheduled castes and
scheduled tribes, hoping to eradicate the socio-economic inequalities and lack
of opportunities for India’s depressed classes through this system, which was
purely a temporary measure for a limited period of 10 years only.
The Constitution was adopted on 26th
November 1949 by the Constituent Assembly.
In 1951, he resigned his office as a Minister when his
draft of Hindu Code Bill which sought to bring about gender equality in the
laws of inheritance, marriage and economy was rejected by the Parliament.
He fought the elections of the Lok Sabha in 1952 as a
Congress Candidate, but, surprisingly lost. Later, he was elected as a Rajya
Sabha member. In 1953, he brought a Bill before Parliament for punishing those
who still practiced caste discrimination.
While fighting casteism within the Hindu society, he
stood for better treatment of Muslim
women and criticized the practice of
polygamy and the “oppressive purdah
system”by Muslims and wanted them to introspect and “rid their society of
social evils “ which had crept in over a period of time in the interpretation
of the Islamic doctrine.
On 14th October 1956, he embraced Buddhism. In
1955, he founded the Bhartiya Bauddha Mahasabha (The Buddhist Society of
India).
Death and
legacy:
He suffered from Diabetes and the stress of politics and
fighting against caste injustices took a toll on his health and passed away on
16th December 1956 in his sleep.
His entire life was devoted to securing justice and
equality tor the lower caste Hindus. He
lived to see “untouchability declared a crime. The lower castes got political
equality and to a large extent social equality.
A memorial was made at his house in Delhi and his
birthday is celebrated as a public holiday known as “Ambedkar Jayanti” or “Bhim
Jayanti”.
Many Educational institutions are named in his honour
viz: Dr. B.R.Ambedkar Open University in Hyderabad, A University in Srikakulam
and Muzaffarpur, National Institute of Technology in Jalandhar and an
international Airport at Nagpur are named after him.
A large portrait of Ambedkar is displayed in the Indian
Parliament Building.
In several parts of India, it is common to see his
statues in prominent places and small temples have been erected where he is
worshiped and remembered for the social equality that he strove to accord to
the “lower” castes, all his life among his other contributions.
He was awarded the
Bharat Ratna in 1990 by the Government of India in recognition of his
contribution to the Nation and Society.
Commemoration:
The Reserve
Bank of India brought out a one rupee coin for general circulation in his
honour in 1990 to celebrate the commencement of his birth centenary celebration
year.
The obverse
of the coin shows the Lion Capital with the words “Satyameva Jayate” (Truth
Always Prevails) forming the emblem of the Indian Government. Below this symbol
is the numeral “1” indicating the denomination of the coin. The words “Bharat”
and “Rupiya” in Hindi appear on the left side of the coin, and the words “India
“and “Rupee” in English appear on the right side of the coin.
On the
reverse of the coin is his image with the words “Dr.B.R.Ambedkar Janmshati” in
Hindi and “Dr.B.R.Ambedkar Centenary” in English. The year of issue for this
coin 1990 is mentioned below his portrait. This coin was issued by Mumbai mint.
Notice the “Diamond” mint mark below the year of issue.
Links to other Posts on Buddhism and DR. B.R. Ambedkar on this Blog:
5) Commemorating the 125th Anniversary of the Birth of Dr. B.R. Ambedker by Department of Posts, India with a stamp titled "Dr B.R. Ambedkar and the Indian Constitution"
6) Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar : Father of the Indian Constitution, Eminent Political Leader, Philosopher & Freedom Fighter (14.04.1891-06.12.1956)
1) Thailand postage stamps commemorating Buddhist Jataka Tales & celebrating Magha Puja Day (Part I)
2) Thailand Post stamps commemorating Buddhist Jataka Tales & celebrating Asalha Puja Day (Part II)
3) Thailand Post stamps commemorating Buddhist Jataka Tales & celebrating Visakha Puja Day (Part III)
4) Postage stamps from Thailand commemorating Buddhist Jataka Tales
Links to other Posts on Buddhism and DR. B.R. Ambedkar on this Blog:
5) Commemorating the 125th Anniversary of the Birth of Dr. B.R. Ambedker by Department of Posts, India with a stamp titled "Dr B.R. Ambedkar and the Indian Constitution"
6) Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar : Father of the Indian Constitution, Eminent Political Leader, Philosopher & Freedom Fighter (14.04.1891-06.12.1956)
7) 2550 years of Mahaparinirvana of the Buddha: Commemorative stamps issued by India Post
8) "Deekshabhoomi": The place of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar's initiation into Buddhism: Two Commemorative stamps of 500 Paise or Rs.5/- denomination issued by India Post on 14.04.2017
8) "Deekshabhoomi": The place of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar's initiation into Buddhism: Two Commemorative stamps of 500 Paise or Rs.5/- denomination issued by India Post on 14.04.2017
Postage Stamps from Thailand depicting Buddhist Jataka Tales:
1) Thailand postage stamps commemorating Buddhist Jataka Tales & celebrating Magha Puja Day (Part I)
2) Thailand Post stamps commemorating Buddhist Jataka Tales & celebrating Asalha Puja Day (Part II)
3) Thailand Post stamps commemorating Buddhist Jataka Tales & celebrating Visakha Puja Day (Part III)
4) Postage stamps from Thailand commemorating Buddhist Jataka Tales
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