Remembering Dr B R Ambedkar, the Messiah of dalits and oppressed
Dr B R Ambedkar, the messiah of dalits and downtrodden, was a remarkable leader, jurist and politician.He was one of the main architects of the Indian Constitution. Babasaheb Ambedkar, as his followers called him, lovingly,
Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar was born to Bhimabai Sakpal and Ramji on 14 April 1891 in Madhya Pradesh. His parents belonged to poor low Mahar caste.
Ambedkar was the 14th child of his parents. His father was a Subedar in the Indian Army.
His family was of Marathi background from the town of Ambavade (Mandangad taluka) in Ratnagiri district of modern-day Maharashtra.
Ambedkar's Mahar caste falls under the category of ‘untouchables' as per the socially condemnable caste system. Owing to this, his family was always subjected to socio-economic discrimination.
The discrimination and humiliation haunted Ambedkar even at the Army school, run by British government. Fearing social outcry, the teachers would segregate the students of lower class from that of Brahmins and other upper classes.
The untouchable students were often asked by the teacher to sit outside the class. After shifting to Satara, he was admitted to a local school but the change of school did not change the fate of young Bhimrao.
Discrimination followed wherever he went. In 1908, Ambedkar got the opportunity to study at the Elphinstone College. Besides clearing all the exams successfully Ambedkar also obtained a scholarship of twenty five rupees a month from the Gayakwad ruler of Baroda, Sahyaji Rao III.
Political Science and Economics were the subjects in which he graduated from the Bombay University in 1912. Ambedkar decided to use the money for higher studies in the USA.
Ambedkar was a very bright student and knew that he had to achieve a lot in life, if he wanted to succeed.
In 1913, he moved to the United States. He had been awarded a Baroda State Scholarship of £11.50 (Sterling) per month for three years under a scheme established by the Gaekwar of Baroda that was designed to provide opportunities for postgraduate education at Columbia University in New York City.
Ambedkar completed his Masters in June 1915, majoring in Economics, with Sociology, History, Philosophy and Anthropology as other subjects of study. He also presented a thesis on Ancient Indian Commerce.
He also pursued Masters from London School of Economics and Bar by Gray's Inn. There he was awarded honor of D.Sc by the London University. Ambedkar also spent few months at the University of Bonn, Germany, to study economics. On 8 June, 1927, he was awarded a Doctorate by the University of Columbia. In fact he was the first Indian to pursue an Economics doctorate degree abroad.
Right after coming back from the US, Ambedkar was appointed as the Defence secretary to the King of Baroda. On his return he was again subjected to humiliation.
But by now, Ambedkar has prepared himself to fight of this discrimination. He made a resolution to fight against this evil that almost tore the nation apart.
Ambedkar opined that there should be separate electoral system for the Untouchables and lower caste people. He also favored the concept of providing reservations for Dalits and other minority religious communities.
Moreover he also started reaching out to people to influence their thoughts.
He launched a newspaper called "Mooknayaka" (leader of the silent) and other periodicals like Bahishkrit Bharat and Equality Janta. It was believed that, one day, after hearing his speech at a rally, Shahu IV, an influential ruler of Kolhapur dined with the leader.
The incident also created a huge uproar in the socio-political arena of the country.