Dr Ambedkar, an economist, an advocate for education, and the principal drafter of the Indian Constitution spent his whole life working to eradicate social injustice, degrading, and prejudice. Here are some interesting facts about his remarkable life.
It is impossible to overestimate the significance of Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar to Indian politics. Ambedkar, an economist, an advocate for education, and the principal drafter of the Indian Constitution spent his whole life working to eradicate social injustice, degrading, and prejudice.
Ambedkar came from modest origins but went on to become one of India’s greatest leaders. He was born on April 14, 1891, to parents Ramji Maloji Sakpal and Bhimabai Murbadkar Sakpal in Mhow, Madhya Pradesh.
Ambavadekar was Ambedkar’s first name.
Ambedkar’s first name was Ambavadekar, which was taken from the name of his native village in the Maharashtra region of Ratnagiri, “Ambavade.” Due to his instructor Mahadev Ambedkar’s affection for him, he got his last name changed from “Ambavadekar” to “Ambedkar” in school records.
The first Indian to obtain a doctorate in economics overseas was Ambedkar.
Ambedkar is not only the first Indian to pursue a PhD in economics overseas; he is also the first person in South Asia to acquire both a PhD and a double doctorate in economics. Additionally, he was one of the most educated Indians of his period.
Ambedkar studied 29 courses in economics, 11 in history, 6 in sociology, 5 in philosophy, 4 in anthropology, 3 in politics, and 1 each in elementary French and German during his three years at Columbia University.
Ambedkar was crucial in the 1935 formation of the Reserve Bank of India.
The Reserve Bank of India was established following the principles outlined in Ambedkar’s book, The Problem of the Rupee – Its Origin and Its Solution, which he presented before the Hilton Young Commission (also known as the Royal Commission on Indian Currency and Finance).
Ambedkar was also aware that the rupee’s issues are ultimately related to those of domestic inflation. He noted that “nothing will stabilise the rupee unless we stabilise its general purchasing power” in the prologue of the book version of his thesis.
Ambedkar’s first significant campaign was the Mahad Satyagraha in 1927.
One of the pivotal occasions in Ambedkar’s political philosophy and action was the Mahad Satyagraha of 1927. This satyagraha, which took place in the small Maharashtrian town of Mahad, took place three years before Gandhi’s Dandi march. Gandhi’s cause was centred on salt, whereas Ambedkar’s cause was focused on clean drinking water.
Ambedkar not only upheld the freedom of Dalits to use public water sources by directing a group of Dalits to do so in Mahad’s Chavadar Lake, but he also planted the seeds of Dalit emancipation. He stated in his infamous phrase,
Ambedkar reduced India’s working day from 14 to 8 hours.
Dr Ambedkar played a crucial role in the implementation of various labour reforms during his tenure as the viceroy’s council’s representative for labour from 1942 to 1946. In November 1942, at the 7th session of the Indian Labour Conference in New Delhi, he reduced the working day from 12 to 8 hours.
Also read: Books by Dr. Ambedkar that everyone should read
He also adopted several measures for workers, including minimum salaries, leave benefits, employee insurance, medical leave, dearness allowances, and periodic pay scale revisions. Additionally, he reinforced labour unions and started job exchanges all over India.
The autobiography of Ambedkar is utilised as a textbook at Columbia University.
Waiting for a Visa is a 20-page autobiographical story that Ambedkar wrote in 1935–1936 (after his return from America and Europe). It draws on his experiences with untouchability, beginning with those he had as a child. The book is utilised by Columbia University as a textbook.
Article 370 of the Indian Constitution was rejected by Ambedkar.
Ambedkar declined to write Article 370 of the Constitution, which grants the state of Jammu & Kashmir special status because it was discriminatory and went against the nation’s guiding values of unity and integrity. Gopalswamy Ayyangar, a former Diwan to Maharajah Hari Singh of Jammu and Kashmir, eventually wrote Article 370.
Ambedkar worked for three years to pass the extensive Hindu Code Bill, which offered women several significant rights.
As soon as the comprehensive Hindu Code Bill was rejected by the Indian parliament, Ambedkar resigned from his position as the country’s first law minister. The bill’s two main goals were to end caste and social inequality and to raise the social standing of Hindu women by granting them their due rights.
This bill’s primary components included the following:
Now that women could inherit family property, it was possible to adopt children and get a divorce.
If a marriage proved unworkable, both men and women had the option of getting a divorce under the legislation.
The option to remarry was provided to widows and divorcees.
Polygamy was prohibited.
inter-caste union
