The Unsung Hero - the (un)told & the un(forgotten) story of the greatest HUMAN

A great economist, social reformer, political reformer, economic reformer, lawyer, professor, author, publisher, highly educated in his time, revolutionary, modern, visionary & a feminist. If our mother, our sisters, our friends and half of Indian citizens are enjoying their rights which were once restricted to them and limited to men, then its due to him - Dr BR Ambedhkar.

Yet, we still knew him as the father of the Indian constitution and the representation of the oppressed community. Since, this was, what we learnt from our history book. So what surprised me is, when I came to know about his education qualification. He got BA, MA, M Sc, Ph.D, D Sc; Barrister-at-Law (totally two masters & Bar-at-Law, 2 doctorates and 2 honorary doctorates) and also the first Indian to pursue a doctorate in economics abroad. But still they didn’t mention this in History & Civics book. And yes like some of you here, I too left the questions in civics, as choices during my school days.

Being an introvert, who loves reading I were enthralled when I came to know about Rajgriha. For most of the people like us, library is our second home. Rajgriha, a house, he built just to store his books and the total number of books he had - 50,000. Yes, fifty thousand books and if I study each book per day, I need to live for nearly 137 years!

Many of us heard of the famous Salt Sathyagraha which was done for breaking salt tax. But most of us never heard of the Mahad Sathyagraha lead by him, which was rather for our basic need, Water. Water was denied for a particular section of people by other sections of people of the same country, from the public water tank. Did they get water?!...No, after fighting legally against the multiple stay orders and moving to high court by the other sections, at last justice delivered after almost 10 years, for the public water tank.

He vehemently opposed the caste system in India. He thought that the Law of Manu (Manu Smriti) which kept on being irrational and inhuman towards specific section of its own people, the oppressed community & the women. And burned the copy of the same to show his agitation based on the grounds of reasoning and morality. He might have hated the system, but not its people. He believed in them and I quote him here,

However good a Constitution may be, it is sure to turn out bad because those who are called to work it, happen to be a bad lot. However bad a Constitution may be, it may turn out to be good if those who are called to work it, happen to be a good lot.

In our schooldays, we might have come across this text, frequently, ‘irrespective of caste, creed, sex & religion’. I wondered why is it there, ‘irrespective of sex’? Isn’t that normally both men and women are equal?! Isn’t it what we had been taught at our school?!Well the reality shocked me. School is so much different from its society, let’s say reality! He believed that social change occurs by uplifting women, as I quote him here again,

I measure the progress of the community by the degree of progress which women have achieved.

&

Unity is meaningless without the accompaniment of women. Education is fruitless without educated women, and agitation is incomplete without the strength of women.

He believed in education, social upliftment both for women & oppressed, which will bring the necessary change. To support the same, he introduced the Hindu Code Bill which will give women the right to inheritance/property, abolishing polygamy & prescribing monogamy and divorce. 

Alas! the bill didn’t see the light of day. And for the same reason, he resigned his position in the parliament. But after four years, the bill was passed has four separate bills, thanks to our first and then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Ambedhkar also designed maternity benefit act, equal pay for equal work irrespective of the sex, right of workers & working hours and linguistic states. And all this I mentioned here are just tip of the iceberg.

 So, why am I righting about him here. There is a famous saying in Tamil,

??? ????????????? ??? ??? ????????? ??? ???????? ??????? ??????, ????? ??? ???? ????????? ???? ????????? ?????? ??????!! 

(Translation: If you educate a man you educate an individual, but if you educate a woman you educate a family/nation )

I strictly believe in this. And there are two women who are inspiration to me and of what I become today. I believe education & healthcare should be basic need and women upliftment & equality is necessary. If you believe in one of those or all, then we share a common interest.

At Yeola conversion conference, since not able to bring the social change what he desired, declared that though he might have born a Hindu but wont die as a Hindu. After 21 years of extensive research about various religions, meeting peoples, he finally converted to Buddhism, along with nearly 4,00,000 peoples, largest conversion of its kind. And yes indeed, he kept his word.

Not only did he preach, but also he followed what he preached, like a very few of us.

After few weeks, he died.

If you reflected your thoughts on the above mentioned, you might be able to get that he fought for liberty, he fought for equality, he fought for fraternity and which will ultimately leads to justice - Preamble of the Indian Constitution.

His followers are calling him as Babasaheb (respected father), but I wish they should call him as one of the greatest HUMAN, India has ever seen….if am not wrong, the world has ever seen. Finally, I will end this story as I quote him here,

Give education to your children, instil ambition in them, inculcate on your minds that they are destined to be great!

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Thanks & References:

Works of Ananya Vajpeyi, Arundhati Roy, Anand S, BR Ambedhkar & Columbia university.