Saluting India's legal & economic guru – Dr Ambedkar

Prof (Dr) Jayadeba Sahoo *

The 19th century India produced a galaxy of great men who have enriched our national life by their talent and personality. Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar was one of them. Ambedkar Jayanti is celebrated every year by the people of India with great zeal and enthusiasm like festival on 14th of April in order to commemorate the birthday of Dr BR Ambedkar and his immense contributions for the people of India. It would be 125th birthday anniversary celebration in the year 2016 to commemorate his memories.

About Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar

Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar is the father of Indian Constitution who had drafted the Constitution of India. He was the great human rights activists who was born on 14th of April in the year 1891 to the Ramji Maloji Sakpal and Bhimabai in a poor Mahar family in Mhow, Central Provinces, British India (Madhya Pradesh). He died on 6th of December in 1956 at the age of 65 in Delhi, India. He was popular among public by the name Babasaheb because of his great contributions towards the Indian society. He served in India throughout his life as a jurist, philosopher, social activist, politician, historian, anthropologist and economist as well as revivalist for the Buddhism in India to bring Modern Buddhist movement. He became the first law minister of the Independent India and drafted the Constitution of India.

Early Life

He struggled throughout his life for the campaign of eradicating the casteism and social discrimination in India. He own converted to the Buddhism to inspire the lower group people for which he was addressed as a Bodhisattva by the Indian Buddhists. He faced the social discrimination from his childhood when he joined the government school. He and his other colleagues were isolated by other high group students and paid little attention by the teachers. Even, they were not permitted to sit in class and touch the water. They were provided water by the person of higher caste from a distance.

Education

Dr Ambedkar got MA (Columbia University), MSc (London School of Economics), PhD (Columbia University), Doctor of Science (DSc) ( London School of Economics), Doctor of Laws (LLD) (Columbia University), DLitt (Osmania University). Barrister-at-Law (Gray's Inn, London). The person who sat outside the class, to whom drinking water was denied in school became the most educated Indian scholar.

His Contributions

He worked to eliminate the social belief of untouchability for the lower group of people. He protested to uplift the untouchables in the society to enhance their social status during law practice in the Bombay High Court. He had organized an event called "Bahishkrit Hitakarini Sabha" in the year 1923 in India to encourage the education among untouchables for their socio-economic improvement and welfare of the outcastes people of depressed classes. He also protected the Dalit rights by organizing various programs like "Mook Nayak, Bahishkrit Bharat and Equality Janta".

Ambedkar held that emancipation of Dalits in India was possible only through the three-pronged approach of "education, agitation and organization" and run a social movement for people using slogan "Educate-Agitate-Organize" aiming to eradicate the casteism in India as well as rebuilding the Indian Society by following the rule of equality of human beings. His works are deeply embedded in a secular and modern understanding of human society. Moreover, they are also impressed by a strong sense of humanism and a belief in human dignity and worth.

Why Ambedkar Jayanti is celebrated

A march was also led by him in the year 1927 at Mahad, Maharashtra for establishing the equal rights for untouchable people who were not allowed to even touch or taste the water of "Public Chawdar Lake". He has been marked in the Indian history for starting the social movements like anti-caste, anti-priest movement and temple entry movement. He led the temple entry movement in the year 1930 at Kalaram Temple, Nashik, Maharashtra for real human rights and political justice. He said that political power is not the only way to solve all the problems of depressed class people, they should get equal rights in the society in every field. He was deeply involved in making legal changes in order to protect the low class people rights during his Membership of Viceroy's Executive Council in 1942.

He had played his great role in establishing the Reserve Bank of India as he was a professional economist. He became successful in forming the Reserve Bank of India in 1934 after giving his ideas to the Hilton Young Commission through his three successful scholarly books on economics such as "Administration and Finance of the East India Company, The Evolution of Provincial Finance in British India, and The Problem of the Rupee: Its Origin and Its Solution".

He also played his role in planning the Indian economic as he got his Economics doctorate degree from abroad. He encouraged people for the growth and development of the industrialization and agricultural industry to enhance the economy of country. He had given ideas to the government for accomplishing the food security goal. He encouraged people for good education, hygiene and community health as their basic requirement. He had established the Finance Commission of India.

He was invited by the Congress government to serve as a first Law Minister after the independence of India on 15th of August in 1947 and appointed as a "Chairman of the Constitution Drafting Committee" on 29th of August in 1947 where he drafted the new Constitution of India which was adopted by the Constituent Assembly on 26th of November in 1949.

He paid his major contribution by protecting the Fundamental Rights (for the social freedom, equality and eradication of untouchability for low group people) and Directive Principles (enhancing the living status by securing the fair distribution of wealth) of State Policy in the Indian Constitution.

He had opposed the Article 370 in the Constitution of India in order to provide the special status to the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

Dr BR Ambedkar left an indelible mark on Indian polity, society and economy with a broad range of scholarly work and rigorous political activism. While much is known, heard and written about his political, social and economic writings, there has been relatively less of an attempt at understanding the philosophical underpinnings and theoretical origins of his worldview.

Ambedkar was both a prolific writer and an avid reader and it was the ideas of Buddha, Saint Kabir, Jyoitba Phule and John Dewey that deeply influenced his thinking. "My social philosophy may be said to be enshrined in three words: liberty, equality and fraternity. My philosophy has roots in religion and not in political science. I have derived them from the teachings of my master, the Buddha," said Dr BR Ambedkar.

He continued his social revolution till the end of his life through the Buddhism. He has been honored with the Bharat Ratna in the month of April in 1990 for his big contributions towards the Indian society. He emphasised as "Knowledge is the foundation of a man's life". "I measure the progress of a community by the degree of progress which women have achieved".

"I like the religion that teaches liberty, equality and fraternity". "Religion is for man and not man for religion". "The basic idea underlying religion is to create an atmosphere for the spiritual development of the individual".

His final words of advice were 'educate, agitate and organize'; have faith in yourself. With justice on our side I do not see how we can lose our battle. The battle to me is a matter of joy. The battle is in the fullest sense spiritual. There is nothing material or social in it. It is battle for freedom. It is the battle of reclamation of human personality."