The life of Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar, born on 14th April, 1891 in a Mahar family, was marked by struggles but he proved that every hurdle in life can be surmounted with talent and firm determination. The biggest barrier in his life was the caste system adopted by the Hindu society according to which the family he was born in was considered ‘untouchable’. After graduating from Elphinstone College Bombay in 1912, he did his higher studies at Columbia University, USA where he was awarded Ph.D. Later, he joined the London School of Economics and Political Science and obtained the degree of D.Sc. (Eco) and was eventually called to the Bar from Gray’s Inn.
In 1927, Dr. Ambedkar led the Mahad March at the Chowdar Tank at Colaba, near Bombay, to give the untouchables the right to draw water from a public tank. This marked the beginning of his crusade against the practice of discrimination in the society. The temple entry movement launched by Dr. Ambedkar in 1930 at Kalaram temple, Nasik is another landmark in his struggle for human rights and social justice.
On 24th September 1932, Dr. Ambedkar and Gandhiji reached an understanding, which came to be known as the Poona Pact. The Pact carved out a clear and definite position for the downtrodden on the political scene of the country. It opened up opportunities of education and government service for them and also gave them a right to vote.
Dr. Ambedkar attended all the three Round Table Conferences in London and each time, forcefully projected his views in the interest of the ‘untouchables’.
Dr. Ambedkar, organized the Independent Labour Party, participated in the provincial elections, and was elected to the Bombay Legislative Assembly.
In 1947, when India became Independent, the first Prime Minister Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, invited Dr. Ambedkar, who had been elected as a Member of Constituent Assembly from Bengal, to join his Cabinet as a Law Minister. However, Dr. Ambedkar had differences of opinion with the Government over the Hindu Code Bill, which led to his resignation as Law Minister.
On August 29th 1947 Dr. Ambedkar was appointed the Chairman of the Drafting Committee that was constituted by Constituent Assemble to draft a Constitution for Independent India. Dr. Ambedkar played a seminal role in the framing of the Indian Constitution. He used his vast experience and knowledge in drafting the Constitution. In his capacity as the Chairman of the Drafting Committee, he hammered out a comprehensive workable Constitution. He gave free India its legal framework, and the people, the basis of their freedom.
Ambedkarwas a champion of fundamental rights, and Part III of the Indian Constitution guarantees the fundamental rights to the citizens. Some of the fundamental rights contained in Articles 15(2), 17, 23 and 24 are also enforceable against individuals as they are very significant rights relating to the prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth etc. The text prepared by Ambedkar provided constitutional guarantees and protections for a wide range of civil liberties for individual citizens, including freedom of religion, the abolition of untouchability and outlawing all forms of discrimination. Dr. Ambedkar argued for extensive economic and social rights for women. Dr. Ambedkar’s social democracy comprised politicians, political parties with high standards of political morality, honesty and integrity and strong and highly responsible Opposition party or parties committed to the cause of the downtrodden and depressed classes. The Preamble of the Indian Constitution echoes the principles of parliamentary democracy.
In 1948, Dr. Ambedkar completed the draft of the Constitution and presented in the Constituent Assembly. In November 1949, this draft was adopted with very few amendments and came into force on January 26, 1950 marking the beginning of a new era in the history of India. Speaking after the completion of his work, Ambedkar said: “I feel the Constitution is workable; it is flexible and it is strong enough to hold the country together both in peace time and in wartime”.
On October 14, 1956 Baba Saheb Ambedkar embraced Buddhism along with many of his followers. The same year he completed his last writing ‘Buddha and His Dharma’. On 6th December, 1956, Baba Saheb Dr. B.R. Ambedkar attained ‘Mahaparinirvan’.
In 1990, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, the chief architect of our Constitution, was bestowed with Bharat Ratna. The Country is celebrating the 125th Birth year of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and the Department of Posts is happy to issue a commemorative postage stamp on this occasion.
Source : Information Folder issued by Indian Posts & Telegraph Department, Government of India