Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar, also known as Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, was a writer, social reformer, politician and Indian economist. He was born in Mhow, Madhya Pradesh, on April 14, 1891, and his journey ended on December 6, 1956.
Ambedkar, popularly known as 'Babasaheb' Ambedkar, hailed from a lower caste family. He was a key figure in shaping India's history. His contributions to the nation earned him the title of 'Father of the Indian Constitution' and father of the lower caste people.
Who was Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar?
The legend born to do many things for the people was the last child of Ramji Maloji Sakpal and Bhimabai Sakpal. His parents, especially his father, greatly inspired Babasaheb. His mother died when he was very young.
Ambedkar's struggle began at the time of his birth because he was born into a lower caste family. He faced numerous challenges during his lifetime and his life was never easy.
Dr Ambedkar was very fond of books and literature from a very young age. He was treated as untouchable because of his caste.
The lower caste people were permitted to study, but they were not allowed to sit in a classroom, so they had to sit outside of the class and away from the upper caste students. Furthermore, they were not allowed to drink water from public reservoirs. If they were thirsty and needed to drink water, someone from the upper cast poured the water, and they had to drink it with their hands.
Contributions toward society and nation
According to the reports, his mother passed away due to a high fever. It is believed that she could have been saved had she received proper treatment, but unfortunately, doctors refused to treat her because of her caste.
At a young age, Babasaheb Ambedkar witnessed many such instances and realised that education and knowledge could help eradicate this custom from society.
In 1912, he completed his degree in economics and political science and in 1915, Bhimrao completed his master's degree in economics, philosophy, sociology, history and anthropology.
BR Ambedkar Jayanti 2024 | FPJ
Babasaheb has written many books and some of his most popular books are 'Who Were Shudras?', 'Buddha Or Karl Marx', 'The Problem of the Rupee: Its Origin and its Solution', 'Annihilation of Caste' and many more. He was invited by former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1947 to serve as India's Law minister.
Later, Babasaheb drafted the Indian constitution, which was adopted on November 26, 1949. In 1990, Babasaheb was honoured with India's highest civilian award, Bharat Ratna, for his contributions to the society.
