Dr.Babasaheb 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.Babasaheb 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. Dr.Babasaheb Ambedkar was also the first Law Minister of India. For his yeoman service to the nation, Dr.Babasaheb Ambedkar was bestowed with Bharat Ratna in 1990.
Dr.Babasaheb Ambedkar was born on April 14, 1891 in Mhow (presently in Madhya Pradesh). He was the fourteenth child of Ramji and Bhimabai Sakpal Ambavedkar. Dr.Babasaheb 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 Babasaheb, which would have otherwise been denied to him by the virtue of his caste.
Dr.Babasaheb Ambedkar experienced caste discrimination right from the childhood. After his retirement, Babasaheb's father settled in Satara Maharashtra. Babasaheb 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, Babasaheb continued his studies and passed his Matriculation examination from Bombay University with flying colours in 1908. Dr.Babasaheb 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, Babasaheb lost his father. In the same year Maharaja of Baroda awarded scholarship to Dr.Babasaheb Ambedkar and sent him to America for further studies. Babasaheb reached New York in July 1913. For the first time in his life, Dr.Babasaheb Ambedkar 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.Babasaheb 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.Babasaheb Ambedkar as his political secretary. But no one would take orders from him because he was a Mahar. Dr.Babasaheb 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 Babasaheb addressed. In September 1920, after accumulating sufficient funds, Dr.Babasaheb Ambedkar went back to London to complete his studies. He became a barrister and got a Doctorate in science. MORE
