New Delhi: Bhimrao Ambedkar, a name that stands synonymous with equality, representation and fraternity. Born on April 14, 1891, to a Mahar family in Mhow town of Madhya Pradesh, Babasaheb Ambedkar propelled historic changes that altered the social fabric of the country.
Born in a humble household, Ambedkar went on to study in the USA, Britain and Germany. In 1907, he became the only untouchable to be enrolled at Elphinstone High School. He completed his degree in economics and political science from Bombay University and pursued his Masters at Columbia University in New York. In 1916, he enrolled himself at the London School of Economics where he worked on his doctoral thesis 'The problem of the rupee: Its origin and its solution'. Later, Babasaheb trained as a lawyer in London.
Despite being a genius, Ambedkar's life was riddled with problems that stemmed from societal bias. In 1918, when he was teaching at the Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics in Mumbai, his colleagues refused to share a drinking water jug with him.
Upset with the treatment meted out to the oppressed sections of the society, Ambedkar started the weekly Mooknayak in Mumbai. Ambedkar never slacked in his effort to make society a better place for untouchables and Dalits. While practising at the Bombay High Court, he established Bahishkrit Hitakarini Sabha, an institution that encouraged the development and empowerment of oppressed classes.
In 1927, the revolutionary led a satyagraha in Mahad to protest the fact that members of the Dalit community were not allowed to draw water from the main water tank. Not only this, he publically displayed his disapproval towards Manusmriti, the text that justified caste discrimination and untouchability and burnt copies of the same.
In 1936, Ambedkar penned the book 'Annihilation of Caste' and critiqued the caste system prevalent in the country. In the same year, he founded the Independent Labour Party that contested the 1937 Bombay election to the Central Legislative Assembly. He later wrote 'Who were the Shudras', where he explained the formation of the untouchables.
After independence, the Congress Party invited Ambedkar to serve as the nation's first Law Minister. On August 29, 1947, Ambedkar was appointed as the Chairman of the Constitution Drafting Committee and was also appointed by the Assembly to write India's new Constitution. In the text prepared by him, the politician batted for social rights for women, abolition of untouchability and freedom of religion.
The social reformer opposed Article 370, which granted a special status to the State of Jammu and Kashmir, and was later abrogated by the BJP-led government. He told Kashmiri leader Sheikh Abdullah, "You wish India should protect your borders, she should build roads in your area, she should supply you food grains, and Kashmir should get equal status as India. But Government of India should have only limited powers and Indian people should have no rights in Kashmir. To give consent to this proposal, would be a treacherous thing against the interests of India and I, as the Law Minister of India, will never do it."
In 1948, Ambedkar suffered from diabetes and from June to October 1954, he was bedridden due to the side effects of medication. By 1955, Ambedkar's health worsened further and he passed away on December 6, 1966, at his home in Delhi.