Ambedkar Jayanti

Ambedkar Jayanti

Subject : History

Section: Personality

Concept:

• Bhirao Ramji Ambedkar, popularly known as Babasaheb, was the chairman of Constitution Drafting Committee and a champion of Dalit and minority rights movement in India.
• Ambedkar, who was an economist and social reformer, also served as the first Law Minister of Independent India.
• Born into a poor Mahar caste in Mhow, Madhya Pradesh, he was the first untouchable to have entered Elphinstone Collegewhich was affiliated with University of Bombay.
• After obtaining a degree in economics and political science, Ambedkar moved to United States in 1913 to study at Columbia Universityin New York City. He earned doctorates in economics from Columbia University and London School of Economics.
• Throughout his political career and public life, Ambedkar worked for upliftment of Dalit (untouchable) community.
• In 1920, Ambedkar launched a newspaper called “Mooknayaka”
• Other periodicals started by him were – ‘Bahishkrit Bharat’ (1927), ‘Samatha’ (1929) and ‘Janata’ (1930))
• In 1923, he set up the ‘Bahishkrit Hitkarini Sabha.
• Ambedkar launched full-fledged movements for Dalit rights in 1927and demanded public drinking water sources open to all and right for all castes to enter temples. This is called as Mahad Satyagraha.
• Ambedkar participated in all three round table conferencesin London.
• He demanded separate electorate for untouchables which were opposed by Gandhiji leading to Poona pact in 1932.
• The Poona Pact was an agreement between Mahatma Gandhi and B. R. Ambedkar on behalf of depressed classes and upper caste Hindu leaders on the reservation of electoral seats for the depressed classes in the legislature of British India in 1932.
• It was signed by Ambedkar on behalf of the depressed classes and by Madan Mohan Malviya on behalf of Hindus and Gandhi  as a means to end the fast that Gandhi was undertaking in jail as a protest against the decision made by British prime minister Ramsay MacDonald to give separate electoratesto depressed classesfor the election of members of provincial legislative assemblies in British India. They finally agreed upon 148 electoral seats. Nearly twice as many seats were reserved for Depressed Classes under the Poona Pact than what had been offered by MacDonald’s Separate Electorate.
• He published the book Annihilation of Caste in 1936which spoke against caste system and Hindu orthodox religious leaders.
• In order to participate in this election Dr. Ambedkar established Independent Labour Partyin August, 1936 which contested election on 17 seats in Bombay Presidency and won 15 seats.
• After this on 19^thJuly, 1942 he formed another party known as All India Scheduled Castes Federation (AISCF). This party contested election held in 1946 and 1952 but lost them under the adverse impact of Poona Pact.
• As a result of it Dr. Ambedkar himself lost the election in 1952 and 1954
• At last Dr. Ambedkar dissolved AISCF on 14^th October, 1956 at Nagpur and announced the formation of Republican Party of India (RPI).
• He was the chairman of the drafting committee of Indian constitution