AMBEDKAR JAYANTHI

1. Context

2. About Dr. B.R. Ambedkar

• Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, popularly known as Babasaheb Ambedkar, is widely revered as one of the architects of the Indian Constitution.
• A man of immense stature and many facets, he was also a renowned political leader, eminent jurist, Buddhist activist, philosopher, anthropologist, historian, orator, writer, economist, scholar, and editor.
• Dr. Ambedkar fought to eradicate social evils like untouchability and for the rights of the Dalits and other socially backward classes throughout his life.
• Dr. 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. The birthday of this great individual is celebrated as Ambedkar Jayanti. 
• He was born on April 14, 1891, at Mhow near Indore in the then Central Province, now Madhya Pradesh.
• For the first time, activist Janardan Sadashiv Ranapisay celebrated Ambedkar’s birthday publicly on 14 April 1928 in Pune.
• Since then, this day is celebrated as Ambedkar Jayanti or Bhim Jayanti. From a humble origin, Dr. Ambedkar went on to become one of the foremost legal minds in the country.
  On March 31, 2021, the Government of India decided to declare April 14 as a public holiday on account of the birthday of Dr. BR Ambedkar.

3. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar: Emancipator of Dalits

• After returning to India from his studies abroad, Bhimrao Ambedkar observed that caste discrimination was almost fragmenting the Nation. He favored the concept of providing reservations for Dalits and other religious communities.
• With the aim of reaching out to people and making them understand the drawbacks of the prevailing social evils, he launched a newspaper called "Mooknayaka" (leader of the silent).
• In 1923, he set up the 'Bahishkrit Hitkarini Sabha (Outcastes Welfare Association), for spreading education and culture amongst the downtrodden, improve their economic status and raise matters concerning their problems in the proper forums to focus attention on them and find solutions to the same.
• In 1927, he led the Mahad March at the Chowdar Tank. This marked the beginning of the anti-caste and anti-priest movement. 
• The temple entry movement launched by Dr. Ambedkar in 1930 at Kalaram temple, Nasik is another landmark in the struggle for human rights and social justice.
• Following the British Government’s announcement of the ‘Communal Award’ granting the ‘depressed classes’ the right to separate electorates, in September 1932, Dr. Ambedkar and Gandhiji reached an understanding, which became the famous Poona Pact.
• According to this Pact, the provision for separate electorates was dispensed with, and reservations were provided for untouchables in Government jobs and legislative assemblies. 
• The Pact carved out a clear and definite position for the downtrodden on the political scene of the country.
• It opened up opportunities for education and government service for them and also gave them the right to vote.
• Dr. Ambedkar attended all three Round Table Conferences in London and each, time emphatically projected his views in the interests of the 'untouchable'.
• He exhorted the downtrodden sections to raise their living standards and acquire as much political power as possible.

4. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar as a National Builder

• Babasaheb underlined the importance of creating not just a political democracy, but also a social and economic one.
• His doctoral thesis inspired the setting up of the Finance Commission of India and his works acted as a beacon in framing guidelines for the RBI Act, of 1934.
• He was one of the founders of Employment Exchanges in our country.
• He played a vital role in the establishment of the National Power Grid System, Central Water Irrigation, Navigation Commission, Damodar Valley Project, Hirakud Dam Project, and Son River Project. 

5. Established the Finance Commission of India

• In 1951, Ambedkar established the Finance Commission of India.
• He opposed income tax for low-income groups. He contributed to Land Revenue Tax and excise duty policies to stabilize the economy.
• He played an important role in land reform and the state's economic development. He emphasized equal rights for women for economic development.
• He laid the foundation of industrial relations after Indian independence.

• Administration and Finance of the East India Company
• The Evolution of Provincial Finance in British India
• The Problem of the Rupee: Its Origin and Its Solution. 

6. Dr. B. R. Ambedkar as an Architect of the Indian Constitution

• Dr. B.R. Ambedkar was elected as the Chairman of the drafting committee of the Constitution. His statesmanship is visible in every article of the Indian Constitution.
• At the beginning of 1948, Dr. Ambedkar completed the draft of the Constitution and presented it to the Constituent Assembly.
• In November 1949, this draft was adopted with very few amendments.
• Many provisions have been made in the constitution to ensure social justice for scheduled castes, Scheduled tribes, and backward classes.
• Dr. Ambedkar thought that traditional religious values should be given up and new ideas adopted. He laid special emphasis on dignity, unity, freedom, and rights for all citizens as enshrined in the Constitution.

First Law Minister of Independent India

• Dr. Ambedkar stressed the importance of economic and social justice for women.
• His ideas are crystallized in his article titled "Castes in India- Their Mechanism, Genesis and Development" in which he argues that both child marriage and Sati had roots in an ancient practice of endogamy or marriage in the same caste.
• The article is one of the earliest feminist works in India.
• He strongly advocated for family planning measures for women in the Bombay Legislative Assembly.
• Dr. Ambedkar created awareness among poor, illiterate women and inspired them to fight against unjust and social practices like child marriage and the devadasi system.
• He dedicated his efforts to the adequate inclusion of women's rights in the political vocabulary and constitution of India.

8. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and his relationship with Buddhism

• Dr. B.R. Ambedkar converted to Buddhism after attending a convention of Buddhist scholars in Sri Lanka.
• On 24 May 1956, on the occasion of Buddha Jayanti, he declared in Bombay, that he would adopt Buddhism in October.
• On October 14, 1956, he embraced Buddhism along with many of his followers. 
• Dr. B.R. Ambedkar founded the Bharatiya Bauddha Mahasabha (Buddhist Society of India) in 1955 and completed his final work 'The Buddha and His Dhamma' in 1956. The book was however published posthumously.

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