Ambedkar Jayanti 2023
Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar, a fighter in the cause of Annihilation of Caste, was born in a Mahar family on 14th April, 1891, at Mhow cantonment, where his father served in the Army. But this very man framed the Constitution for the country. His life was one of struggles, as his radical proposals to deal with the Caste System met with overt hostility from the Upper Castes. Not only did the great Doctor fight against all institutional and social odds to keep studying, but spectacularly earned a Doctorate in Economics from Columbia University in 1917. The boy who suffered bitter caste humiliation became the first Minister for Law in free India, and shaped the country’s Constitution. Dr. Ambedkar’s struggle against Brahmanical Patriarchy, his radical proposals for the Hindu Code Bill, and his suggestions for a radical restructuring of property relations, alert us to his challenging of the status-quo. Dr. Ambedkar, perhaps India’s most radical thinker, transformed the social and political landscape in the struggle against British Colonialism, by making the downtrodden politically aware of their own situation. Ambedkar famously said to Dalits something that bears immense importance even today – “Educate, Agitate, and Organise”.. .
Clearly, he laid a great emphasis on education, specially where it was tradionally denied. In fact, he is known to have said once that education was more important than Temple entry for the downtrodden. He saw Education as a potent tool which could equally empower every citizen to build an egalitarian society as also to help break the age-old restrictive shackles of discriminatory social practices. As a college bearing his name we continually strive to to emulate his vision and help empower the future generation build a holistic, inclusive and progressive society of Modern India.
