New Delhi: Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, commonly known as BR Ambedkar, is one of the greatest personalities in the history of India. Today is his death anniversary and it is observed in India as Mahaparinirvan Diwas. He was a social reformer, economist, jurist, and political leader who chaired the committee that drafted the Constitution of India. The role of Ambedkar in the history of India is of supreme importance, especially his opposition to Untouchability and works to uplift the condition of the marginalised sections of the society, the backward classes.
BR Ambedkar and his fight against Untouchability
BR Ambedkar was born on April 14, 1891, into a Mahar (Dalit) caste, who were treated as untouchables and were discriminated socially and economically. In the school, Ambedkar along with other untouchable children were discriminated and not helped by the teachers. They had to sit outside the class and to drink water, someone belonging to the upper caste had to pour it from a height as Ambedkar and other untouchable children were barred from touching the water or the vessel. The school peon usually poured the water to the young Ambedkar, and when the peon was absent, he would receive no water. He had to sit on a gunny sack and he used to take it home.
When he was looking for ways to earn for his family, Ambedkar worked in different roles and even started an investment consulting business, but when his clients came to know he was an untouchable, his ventures failed. Even when he became a successful political economy professor in Mumbai’s Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics, other professors objected to the fact that Ambedkar shared the jug to drink water with his students.
Arguing for separate electorates for untouchables
While testifying before the Southborough Committee, Ambedkar called to create separate reservations and electorates for untouchables. In 1926, while working as a lawyer, Ambedkar defended successfully three non-Brahmin leaders accusing the Brahmin community of ruining India. He tried to work for the education of untouchables for their upliftment while he was a lawyer in the Bombay High Court. For that, he established the Bahishkrit Hitakarini Sabha to promote socio-economic improvement and education for the backward classes.
The movements of Ambedkar against untouchability
By 1927, Ambedkar upped his crusade against untouchability by starting active movements. He organised public movements and marches so that public drinking water resources would be open to all. He strove for the right to enter temples and organised a satyagraha in Mahad to fight for untouchable community’s right to get water from the town’s main water tank. In a conference in late 1927, he criticised the Manusmriti for caste discrimination and burned its copies. On December 25, 1927, thousands of followers of Ambedkar burned Manusmriti copies.
In 1930, after preparing for three months, Ambedkar started the Kalaram Temple movement. In the movement, around 15,000 volunteers gathered at Kalaram Temple satygraha and it was one of Nashik’s greatest processions. People walked in order, determined and disciplined to see the god for the first time. However, Brahmin authorities closed the gates.
This article commemorates B.R. Ambedkar’s death anniversary (Mahaparinirvan Diwas), highlighting his relentless struggle against untouchability and caste discrimination in India. From his own experiences of discrimination as a Dalit, Ambedkar championed the rights of marginalized communities. knowledge Knowledge News, Photos and Videos on General Knowledge
