Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Biography

Born: April 14, 1891
Died: December 6, 1956
Achievements: Dr. B.R. Ambedkar was elected as the chairman of the drafting committee that was constituted by the Constituent Assembly to draft a constitution for the independent India; he was the first Law Minister of India; conferred Bharat Ratna in 1990.

Dr. B.R. Ambedkar is viewed as messiah of dalits and downtrodden in India. He was the chairman of the drafting committee that was constituted by the Constituent Assembly in 1947 to draft a constitution for the independent India. He played a seminal role in the framing of the constitution. Bhimrao Ambedkar was also the first Law Minister of India. For his yeoman service to the nation, B.R. Ambedkar was bestowed with Bharat Ratna in 1990.

Dr.Bhimrao Ambedkar was born on April 14, 1891 in Mhow (presently in Madhya Pradesh). He was the fourteenth child of Ramji and Bhimabai Sakpal Ambavedkar. B.R. Ambedkar belonged to the "untouchable" Mahar Caste. His father and grandfather served in the British Army. In those days, the government ensured that all the army personnel and their children were educated and ran special schools for this purpose. This ensured good education for Bhimrao Ambedkar, which would have otherwise been denied to him by the virtue of his caste.

Bhimrao Ambedkar experienced caste discrimination right from the childhood. After his retirement, Bhimrao's father settled in Satara Maharashtra. Bhimrao was enrolled in the local school. Here, he had to sit on the floor in one corner in the classroom and teachers would not touch his notebooks. In spite of these hardships, Bhimrao continued his studies and passed his Matriculation examination from Bombay University with flying colours in 1908. Bhim Rao Ambedkar joined the Elphinstone College for further education. In 1912, he graduated in Political Science and Economics from Bombay University and got a job in Baroda.

In 1913, Bhimrao Ambedkar lost his father. In the same year Maharaja of Baroda awarded scholarship to Bhim Rao Ambedkar and sent him to America for further studies. Bhimrao reached New York in July 1913. For the first time in his life, Bhim Rao was not demeaned for being a Mahar. He immersed himself in the studies and attained a degree in Master of Arts and a Doctorate in Philosophy from Columbia University in 1916 for his thesis "National Dividend for India: A Historical and Analytical Study." From America, Dr.Ambedkar proceeded to London to study economics and political science. But the Baroda government terminated his scholarship and recalled him back.

The Maharaja of Baroda appointed Dr. Ambedkar as his political secretary. But no one would take orders from him because he was a Mahar. Bhimrao Ambedkar returned to Bombay in November 1917. With the help of Shahu Maharaj of Kolhapur, a sympathizer of the cause for the upliftment of the depressed classes, he started a fortnightly newspaper, the "Mooknayak" (Dumb Hero) on January 31, 1920. The Maharaja also convened many meetings and conferences of the "untouchables" which Bhimrao addressed. In September 1920, after accumulating sufficient funds, Ambedkar went back to London to complete his studies. He became a barrister and got a Doctorate in science.

After completing his studies in London, Ambedkar returned to India. In July 1924, he founded the Bahishkrit Hitkaraini Sabha (Outcastes Welfare Association). The aim of the Sabha was to uplift the downtrodden socially and politically and bring them to the level of the others in the Indian society. In 1927, he led the Mahad March at the Chowdar Tank at Colaba, near Bombay, to give the untouchables the right to draw water from the public tank where he burnt copies of the 'Manusmriti' publicly.

In 1929, Ambedkar made the controversial decision to co-operate with the all-British Simon Commission which was to look into setting up a responsible Indian Government in India. The Congress decided to boycott the Commission and drafted its own version of a constitution for free India. The Congress version had no provisions for the depressed classes. Ambedkar became more skeptical of the Congress's commitment to safeguard the rights of the depressed classes.

When a separate electorate was announced for the depressed classes under Ramsay McDonald 'Communal Award', Gandhiji went on a fast unto death against this decision. Leaders rushed to Dr. Ambedkar to drop his demand. On September 24, 1932, Dr. Ambedkar and Gandhiji reached an understanding, which became the famous Poona Pact. According to the pact the separate electorate demand was replaced with special concessions like reserved seats in the regional legislative assemblies and Central Council of States.

Dr. Ambedkar attended all the three Round Table Conferences in London and forcefully argued for the welfare of the "untouchables". Meanwhile, British Government decided to hold provincial elections in 1937. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar set up the "Independent Labor Party" in August 1936 to contest the elections in the Bombay province. He and many candidates of his party were elected to the Bombay Legislative Assembly.

In 1937, Dr. Ambedkar introduced a Bill to abolish the "khoti" system of land tenure in the Konkan region, the serfdom of agricultural tenants and the Mahar "watan" system of working for the Government as slaves. A clause of an agrarian bill referred to the depressed classes as "Harijans," or people of God. Bhimrao was strongly opposed to this title for the untouchables. He argued that if the "untouchables" were people of God then all others would be people of monsters. He was against any such reference. But the Indian National Congress succeeded in introducing the term Harijan. Ambedkar felt bitter that they could not have any say in what they were called.

In 1947, when India became independent, the first Prime Minister Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, invited Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar, who had been elected as a Member of the Constituent Assembly from Bengal, to join his Cabinet as a Law Minister. The Constituent Assembly entrusted the job of drafting the Constitution to a committee and Dr. Ambedkar was elected as Chairman of this Drafting Committee. In February 1948, Dr. Ambedkar presented the Draft Constitution before the people of India; it was adopted on November 26, 1949.

In October 1948, Dr. Ambedkar submitted the Hindu Code Bill to the Constituent Assembly in an attempt to codify the Hindu law. The Bill caused great divisions even in the Congress party. Consideration for the bill was postponed to September 1951. When the Bill was taken up it was truncated. A dejected Ambedkar relinquished his position as Law Minister.

On May 24, 1956, on the occasion of Buddha Jayanti, he declared in Bombay, that he would adopt Buddhism in October. On 0ctober 14, 1956 he embraced Buddhism along with many of his followers. On December 6, 1956, Baba Saheb Dr. B.R. Ambedkar died peacefully in his sleep.



Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, the man behind the drafting and formation of the Indian Constitution, was not only a learned scholar and an eminent jurist but also a revolutionary against social evils like untouchability and caste system.

Childhood and Early Life of B.R. Ambedkar

Born on 14 April 1891 in Mhow, Madhya Pradesh, Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar was the fourteenth child of his parents, Bhimabai Sakpal and Ramji. He was the victim of religious untouchability by birth. He was born in a family, which was a part of the Hindu Mahar caste. This caste was considered to be untouchables in the society and have to face immense discriminations, both in the social as well as in the economic fields. The male members of Dr. Ambedkar's family were engaged in the Army. His father was also in army and was promoted to the rank of Subedar in the Mhow Cantonment, Indian Army.

At birth, "Sakpal" was the surname of Bhimrao and "Ambavade" was the name of his native village. To avoid the socio-economic discrimination and the ill-treatment of the higher classes of the society, Bhimrao changed his surname from "Sakpal" to "Ambedkar" by the help of a Brahmin teacher, who had great faith in him. Since then, Bhimrao and his family used the title, Ambavedkar or Ambedkar.

Education of B.R. Ambedkar

Though B.R. Ambedkar was born in a family that was deprived socially as well as economically, he had great interest in education. There were special schools run by the Government for educating children of Army personnel and Ambedkar was lucky to get admission in one of those schools. The standard of education was good and Ambedkar developed a good grasp over Marathi and English. After his father retired from the Army, the entire family shifted to Satara, Maharashtra. Ambedkar was admitted to a local school there and had to face discriminations from all sectors. He was made to sit on the floor, away from other students. The teachers also discriminated him. He was a man of patience from his early childhood and underwent all this agony without a fuss. In 1908, he passed his Matriculation exam with flying colors from Bombay University. His higher education continued in Elphinstone College. Political Science and Economics were the subjects in which he graduated from the Bombay University in 1912.

Just a year after his graduation, Bhimrao Ambedkar lost his father. He acquired a job in Baroda and it was the Maharaja of Baroda, who awarded him a scholarship to go for higher education to the United States of America. It was in New York that he could pursue his studies without any discrimination. Finally, he acquired a degree and doctorate from Columbia University in the year 1916. He was a Master of Arts and also attained a Doctorate in Philosophy on his thesis on "National Dividend for India: A Historical and Analytical Study". In 1917, his scholarship was terminated by the Government of Baroda and Bhimrao Ambedkar had to come back to India.

Social Reforms and Political Life of B.R. Ambedkar

After his return to India, Bhimrao Ambedkar was made the political secretary of the Maharaja of Baroda. He became victim of caste discrimination again and was humiliated greatly by his peers. It was during this time that Ambedkar began his movement to eradicate caste system and untouchability from society. Ambedkar again went back to London, completed his law education and became a barrister.

Untouchability and caste system were the two social evils that had haunted Dr. B.R. Ambedkar since his childhood days. However, he thought of tackling the problem himself and began his fight against untouchability. There were several ways by which he was trying to do this. He started publishing a weekly journal called 'Mooknayak', where he criticized the orthodox system that prevailed in the society. He spoke openly about the discriminations that were made to the lower castes in the society and the humiliations that they had to undergo and endure. He had also voted for creating separate electorates for the backward classes in society. Reservations for "dalits" and other religious communities were also demanded by Bhimrao Ambedkar.

B.R. Ambedkar also formed the "Bahishkrit Hitakarini Sabha" so that the deprived and backward classes could get some opportunities to upgrade themselves. He arranged for spreading education to these classes and tried to improve their socio-economic conditions. He also became a member of the Legislative Council in the year 1926. After this, he began an active movement by bringing out marches and processions for the lower backward classes. In 1928, he was appointed to the Bombay Presidency Committee so that he could work with the all-European Simon Commission. With this, B.R. Ambedkar made a mark in the political arena of India.

He had criticized the Indian National Congress as well as the British Raj for not being able to curb the problem of caste discrimination and untouchability. His staunch stance against the orthodox authorities in India made him quite unpopular with the politicians of those times. There were no considerable changes that were evident in the social system of India. Gandhiji had rather started a fast unto death campaign when Ambedkar demanded separate electorates for the backward classes in society. After many upheavals it was decided that reservations would be provided but there would be no separate electorates.

The Government Law College of Mumbai had Dr. Ambedkar as its Principal for two years from 1935. He even contemplated of building a new political party that would work against staunch and orthodox Hinduism. He named this new political party as "Independent Labour Party (India)", which can only managed around 15 seats in the Central Legislative Assembly Elections in 1937. He also occupied important positions in the government of the country. He had been appointed to the Viceroy's Executive Council as the Minister of Labor. Ambedkar had also served in the Defence Advisory Committee.