Looking Back At The Work And Life Of Bharat Ratna Dr. B.R. Ambedkar

Dr. B.R. Ambedkar was a visionary, who worked and dedicated his life to the empowerment of the Dalit. A lot of what we have in modern-day India has been through his efforts.

New Delhi: Today marks 30 years since Dr. B.R. Ambedkar received the Bharat Ratan Award posthumously. Born in the military cantonment town of Mhow, (Madhya Pradesh) on April 14, 1891, Ambedkar was a visionary, who was central in shaping modern India. Since he belonged to a caste that was considered untouchables, his early life was rife with incidents of caste discrimination. This had a great impact on him, and he dedicated his life to the empowerment of the Dalit. He also started a newspaper called Mooknayaka (leader of the silent) in 1920 to highlight caste atrocities. He is also remembered as a social reformer who worked tirelessly for social equality and outlawing discrimination based on caste. Ambedkar also believed in education for all and in 1982, Ambedkar Open University was established by an act of Andhra Pradesh State legislature. Here are some facts you probably didn’t know about him!

1. He was the youngest among 14 children.
2. His original surname was Ambavadekar but was changed by his teacher in the school records who were fond of him after his own name Mahadev Ambedkar.
3. He was the only untouchable to be enrolled in Elphinstone High School in 1897 after his family moved to Bombay.
4. It took him 2 years and 11 months to draft out the Indian Constitution, which gave him the title “Father of the Indian Constitution”
5. While practicing law, he had begun working towards the upliftment of the Dalit community of India.
6. He initiated the change of working hours from 12 to 8 hours a day in the 7th Indian Labour Conference in New Delhi in the year 1942.
7. In 1935, he presented the Reserve Bank of India to the Hilton Young Commission which was formed in 1926 to look at ways of bringing unity in British territories in East and Central Africa.
8. Ambedkar also established the Central Technical Power Board (CTPB) and Central Electricity Authority, which helped in the development of the power sector in India. He emphasized on having trained engineers and this gave young India a push to develop and become more self-sufficient. According to him, agriculture and industrialization were important to uplift India.
9. Ambedkar was also responsible for the largest religious conversion in the world because his supporters too turned to Buddhism as it did not preach caste or segregation.
10. B.R. Ambedkar passionately believed in individual freedom openly criticized the caste society. He lived a life to which was exemplary of his views.
11. 10, King Henry’s Road in Camden, is a house where Dr. B.R. Ambedkar lived in 1921- ‘22 as a student at the London School of Economics. It now functions as a museum and recently successfully stopped the decision to close the house due to a breach of planning norms for the residential area
12. In 1951, Ambedkar established the Finance Commission of India. He opposed income tax for low-income groups. He contributed to Land Revenue Tax and excise duty policies to stabilize the economy. He played an important role in land reform and state economic development. According to him, the caste system divided laborers and impeded economic progress. He emphasized a free economy with a stable Rupee which India has adopted recently