Father of the Indian Constitution: Dr.B.R.Ambedkar

Modern Indian History Leaders in History

15-Apr-20

Context: Dr. B R Ambedkar’s Birth Anniversary is observed every year on 14th April and this yea marked his 129th Birth Anniversary.
About Dr. B. R. Ambedkar

He was born in 1891 at Mhow in Madhya Pradesh.
He had to face severe discriminations from every corner of the society as his parents hailed from the Hindu Mahar caste. Mahar cast was viewed as “untouchable” by the upper class.
After coming back from US, Ambedkar was appointed as the Defence secretary to the King of Baroda, where he again faced discrimination.
In wake of reaching to the people and making them understand the drawbacks of the prevailing social evils, he launched a newspaper called “Mooknayaka” (leader of the silent) with the help of Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj, Maharaja of Kolhapur.
He was elected as the Chairman of the Drafting Committee of the Constituent Assembly. He is called as the father of the Indian Constitution.
Bahishkrit Hitakarini Sabha was the first organization formed by him in 1924.
He was appointed to the Bombay Presidency Committee to work with the Simon Commission in 1925.
He was invited to attend the Second Round Table Conference in London in 1932 but Mahatma Gandhi was opposed to a separate electorate for untouchables as this would split the nation.
By 1927, he decided to launch active movements against untouchability and espousing access to public drinking water resources and the right to enter Hindu temples. He led a satyagraha in Mahad to fight for the right of the untouchable community to draw water from the main water tank of the town.
In 1932, the British announced a Communal Award of a separate electorate. Gandhi ji protested by fasting. This resulted in an agreement known as the Poona Pact in which Gandhi ji ended his fast and Babasaheb dropped his demand for a separate electorate.
In 1936, he founded the Independent Labour Party. During this period, He wrote extensively on the condition of Dalits and the caste system in Hindu society. He also renamed his party as the Scheduled Castes Federation which later evolved into the Republican Party of India.
He was appointed as the first Law Minister of Independent India, but he resigned from the Cabinet on September 1951 due to differences with Nehru on the Hindu Code Bill.
He got himself converted to Buddhism in 1956.