B.R Ambedkar Remembrance Day: Celebration, significance, history, achievement

B.R. Ambedkar’s Early Life and Childhood Struggles

Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, was born on April 14, 1891, in the small town of Mhow (now Dr. Ambedkar Nagar) in Madhya Pradesh. He belonged to the Mahar caste, which was considered “untouchable” in the oppressive Hindu caste system. His father, Ramji Maloji Sakpal, was a Subedar Major in the British Indian Army, and his mother, Bhima Bai, was from a humble background. Ambedkar’s childhood was a mix of both military discipline and harsh caste oppression. A Youth Defined by Humiliation of the Caste even though his father was of high rank in the British Army, young Bhimrao was subjected to constant caste harassment:

• School Segregation: At school, he sat separately from the higher castes, usually on a gunny bag in a corner. Teachers never touched his note-books, and peons spilled water into his mouth from afar to prevent “pollution”.
• Denied Water: When he was thirsty, he had to wait for the school peon; in the absence of the peon, he remained without water.
• Barbers & Cartmen’s Refusal: No barber would trim his hair, and cartmen would refuse to carry his family, so they had to walk miles.

Who is outcaste?

An outcaste refers to a person who has been socially excluded from their caste or social group, facing discrimination and deprivation of basic rights. In the Indian caste system, an outcaste is considered as untouchable which are outside the traditional varna (caste) system. The untouchables are economically oppressed and forced into degrading jobs like manual scavenging, leatherwork, and cleaning toilets. Today, the term Dalit (meaning broken or oppressed) is widely used as untouchables, though Scheduled Castes is the official government term.
Ambedkar Remembrance Day is observed on April 14 every year to commemorate the birth anniversary of Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, one of India’s greatest social reformers, jurists, lawyer, chairman of drafting committee of the Indian Constitution, and the chief architect of the Indian Constitution. This day is marked as tribute to the contributions to social justice, equality, and human rights.

How is Ambedkar Remembrance Day Observed?

Ambedkar Remembrance Day is commemorated with national-level observances, as millions of individuals come together to pay homage to Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s legacy. The greatest honor is held at Chaitya Bhoomi in Mumbai, his resting place, where lakhs of followers, social activists, intellectuals, and political leaders gather to offer their respects. The day commemorates his principles of social justice, equality, and upliftment of society. Government offices, schools, and public places have special functions where leaders and public figures place wreaths as a sign of respect.

Universities, research centers, and social organizations conduct seminars, panel discussions, and lectures to commemorate Ambedkar’s role in the Indian Constitution, his struggle against caste exploitation, and his vision for a just society. Intellectuals, activists, and students debate how his teachings are still applicable in addressing issues of caste discrimination, gender inequality, and economic disparity.

Cultural activities feature prominently during the day’s celebration, in terms of presentations of poems, songs, and plays that illustrate the life struggles of Dr. Ambedkar and his continuing fight for social change.

Government, institutions, and many people are voluntarily participates in community service activities, including conducting free health camps, educational workshops, among Dalits and marginalized groups. These activities reflect Ambedkar’s faith in education, self-respect, and mutual upliftment of society.

Education of B.R Ambedkar

In 1907, Ambedkar passed his matriculation exam, which was a novel feat for an “untouchable” back then. People rejoiced at his triumph, hoping from his educational journey, where he earned Bachelor’s degree in economics and political science in 1912. The Maharaja, appreciating his abilities, awarded him a scholarship to pursue studies overseas. In 1913, Ambedkar traveled to Columbia University in New York, USA. There, for the first time in his entire life, he found social equality. He obtaining a Master’s degree in 1915 in economics and other subjects such as sociology, history, philosophy, and anthropology, and a PhD in Economics in 1927.

After completing his higher studies at Columbia University and the London School of Economics, he returned to India full of hope and enthusiasm as he has degrees in economics, law, and political science, thought he got many opportunities in India. But soon, he faced the bitter truth of India’s highly entrenched caste system. No matter how well he had done academically, but the Dalit identity took precedence over everything else.

The Maharaja of Baroda, appreciating his abilities, made me him Military Secretary. It was a high-ranking post, and Ambedkar was keen to apply his abilities to the administration. But, the higher-caste officials in the court would not work under him just because he was born a Dalit. They could not bear the thought of a Dalit being in a position of authority over them. The humiliation he experienced was not only individual but, it was a systematic rejection of his existence as an equal human being, and he had no option but to resign for the military secretary post.

This experience was a watershed moment in his life. It made him realize that education by itself could not destroy the oppressive caste system. The issue was not a deficiency of merit among Dalits but the deeply entrenched prejudice that denied them dignity and opportunity. He realized that the fight for Dalit rights required a more organized and assertive effort.

Political Awakening and Early Activism

In 1919, he was called to testify before the Southborough Committee, which was formulating reforms under the Government of India Act, 1919. he presented the following:
Separate electorates for Dalits in order to give them political representation.
Reservation in government positions and legislatures for oppressed castes.
Provided legal protection to the downtrodden class from caste discrimination.

Bahishkrit Hitakarini Sabha 1924

He established the Bahishkrit Hitakarini Sabha for the Welfare of the Excluded, oppressed class, and dalits with the aim to elevate the downtrodden classes through education, social change, and political empowerment. The Sabha aims were:

• Education for Liberation: he strongly believed that the most effective instrument for liberation was education. The Sabha opened schools and libraries for Dalit children and adults so they had access to knowledge denied them for centuries.
• Economic Empowerment: We all are taking self-sufficiency by promoting vocational training and cooperative societies to enable Dalits to free themselves from exploitative labor systems.
• Legal Advocacy: The Sabha resisted discriminatory behavior by petitioning the government and creating awareness of the injustices perpetrated against Dalits.
• Social Dignity: We held public events where Dalits and upper-caste people could mingle as equals, denying the practice of untouchability.

The Sabha was not merely an organization but a movement that aimed to infuse self-respect and confidence among the oppressed. It was a forum where Dalits could ventilate their grievances and claim justice.

Mooknayak: Voice of the Voiceless 1920

He began a newspaper named Mooknayak (The Leader of the Silent). The title itself was symbolic—it symbolized the millions of Dalits who had been kept silent for centuries through suppression. Through Mooknayak, he raised awareness of the atrocities of the caste system, reported incidences of discrimination, and captured the hopes and dreams of the marginalized. The newspaper served as a platform to raise Dalits to their rights and the need to participate in the political process, against the Brahmanical accounts, and against untouchability and exclusion.
The paper was not only informative but revolutionary. It provided Dalits with a sense of identity and purpose, making them realize that their plight was not in isolation but a part of a greater systemic injustice that had to be uprooted.

The Simon Commission and the Demand for Dalit Representation

In 1925, he became a member of the Bombay Presidency Committee to advise the Simon Commission, an all-British commission responsible for examining India’s constitutional future. The indian political leaders, including the Indian National Congress, boycotted the Commission because an all-white committee had no jurisdiction over India’s political destiny. But Ambedkar welcomed and put forward the demands of the Dalit community.

Key Demands of Memorandum:

• Reserved Seats in provincial and central legislatures that give Dalits reserved seats in the law-making assemblies.
• Abolition of Untouchability through Law as untouchability was not only be socially condemned but statutorily criminalized. Legal sanction was needed to uproot discrimination based on caste.
• Equal Access to Public Places – Schools, wells, roads, and government offices were closed to Dalits. He exhorted the state to provide equal access to all public facilities.

The British paid little attention to Ambedkar proposals, as they were more intent on placating upper-caste Hindu and Muslim leaders. Nonetheless, my memorandum set the basis for future debates on the Constitution.

Mahad Satyagraha (1927)

Dalits were banned from taking water from the public reservoir of Chavdar Tank in the Mahad town (now Maharashtra). Although the Bombay Legislative Council passed a resolution in 1923 permitting all castes access to public water sources, caste Hindus enforced segregation violently
On the 20th of March, 1927, Ambedkar marched with thousands of Dalits to the Chavdar Tank. In defiance of history, we took water from the tank, claiming our rightful place in public resources. But, Upper-caste mobs assaulted us by saying the tank was impure because of Dalits as the tank was “purified” with milk and cow dung—a ritual intended to “cleanse” it of Dalit “pollution”. It was the movement for their civil rights in India led by Dalits that inspired other struggles throughout the country for access to public space.

Burning of the Manusmriti

The Manusmriti, which is an old Hindu law code, formalized the caste system and prescribed merciless punishments for Dalits and Shudras. It stated that Shudras should be the servants of higher castes and should live on the outskirts of villages and shouldn’t touch public property.

Ambedkar openly criticized the ancient Hindu scripture, the Manusmriti (Laws of Manu), for ideologically justifying “untouchability” and caste discrimination, and he ritually burned copies of the ancient text. On 25 December 1927, he took thousands of followers to burn copies of Manusmriti. Therefore, every year on 25^th  December is observed as Manusmriti Dahan Din (Manusmriti Burning Day) by Ambedkarites and Dalits.

Kalaram Temple Entry Movement (1930): The Fight for Religious Equality

The Kalaram Temple in Nashik was one of Maharashtra’s most sacred Hindu temples—yet Dalits were excluded. Priests asserted that our presence would “impure” the temple. In 1930, Ambedkar initiated the Kalaram Temple Satyagraha, insisting on Dalit entry. More than 15,000 volunteers marched in a disciplined procession, chanting-

“We are Hindus too! Let us worship our God!”

In retaliation, Priests bolted the temple doors and conducted “purification” ceremonies and the upper-caste mobs assaulted Dalit. The movement continued for five years, but the temple doors were not opened to us.

Poona Pact

In August 1932, British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald declared the Communal Award, which gave Dalits (then referred to as “Depressed Classes”) separate electorates. This implied that Dalits would cast their votes for their own members in reserved seats. This was viewed as a landmark victory for the first time, Dalits were accepted as a separate political force. But Mahatma Gandhi strongly opposed it, fearing it would divide Hindu society. Caste Hindus should be given a chance to reform from within. He began a fast unto death in Yerwada Jail, pressuring Ambedkar to negotiate. Ambedkar knew that if Gandhi died, upper-caste Hindus would blame Dalits, and there would be a violent backlash. Under tremendous pressure, Ambedkar and  Madan Mohan Malaviya signed on behalf of the depressed classes among Hindus the Poona Pact on September 24, 1932. The language employed the phrase “Depressed Classes” to refer to Untouchables among Hindus who came to be known as Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes under the India Act 1935, and the subsequent Indian Constitution of 1950.

Political career

In 1935, Ambedkar became Principal of Government Law College, Bombay, an unusual distinction for a Dalit in British India. He was also the Chairperson of the Governing Body of Ramjas College, Delhi, after its founder’s demise. Same year his wife, Ramabai, died after a long illness. Ambedkar realized political power would be necessary in order for the Dalits to be free. In 1936, he founded the Independent Labour Party (ILP), India’s first anti-caste, pro-labor political party. In the 1937 elections, the ILP stood in 13 reserved and 4 general constituencies in Bombay and won 11 reserved and 3 general seats.

Annihilation of Caste (1936) – A Radical Manifesto

Ambedkar’s most radical achievement was his 1936 publication, Annihilation of Caste, a devastating critique of Hinduism’s discriminatory caste system that is still central to anti-caste movements today. In this manifesto, Ambedkar criticised the religious arguments for caste, and utter for dismantling of the caste system itself. He specifically attacked the hypocrisy of the mainstream leaders, blaming Gandhi for being hypocritical in denouncing caste in English-language publications while justifying some of it in his Gujarati writings. Ambedkar similarly challenged Jawaharlal Nehru’s Brahminical unconscious privilege. The text also acted as a clarion call to challenge Dalits to the religious order under which they were oppressed and consider a fresh social order founded on liberty, equality and human dignity.

Architect of the Indian Constitution

As the mastermind behind the Constitution of independent India, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar embarked upon one of history’s most visionary legal endeavors – rebuilding a society ridden with castes into a constitutional democracy. After independence in 1947, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru entrusted Ambedkar with the role of being the country’s first Law Minister and chairman of the Drafting Committee of the Constitution, realizing his unmatched legal knowledge and devotion to social justice. Under almost three years of meticulous labor between 1947 and 1949, Ambedkar and his team constructed a vision document aimed at removing centuries of oppression and founding India as a contemporary democratic republic. The Constitution, framed on January 26, 1950 was a revolutionary legal code that did away with untouchability (Article 17), ensured equality before law (Article 14), banned discrimination (Article 15), and provided for reservations to Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Articles 330, 332). Ambedkar relied on universal principles against social realities, providing basic rights, directive principles, and an independent judiciary. Ambedkar’s Constitution is a living constitution that still empowers the marginalized and downtrodden groups.

Conversion to Buddhism and Final Years

Disillusioned with the continuing hold of caste bias in spite of constitutional protection, Dr. Ambedkar made his last and most significant revolutionary move – adopting Buddhism as the spiritual basis for his life-long struggle against oppression. On October 14, 1956, in a historic ritual at Nagpur’s Deekshabhoomi, he led what is still the largest mass religious conversion in history, with more than 500,000 Dalits renouncing Hinduism along with him. This historic moment was no empty gesture, but the zenith of Ambedkar’s long intellectual and spiritual pilgrimage with its dogmatic rejection of caste and affirmation of equality which could give Dalits both spiritual emancipation and social respectability. By embracing Buddhism, he aimed to give his followers a completely new social identity that was untainted by the taint of untouchability. Unfortunately, this victory came when his health was declining after dalits paid the huge physical price of his tireless activism and scholarship. Even on his deathbed in Delhi on 6 December 1956, Ambedkar worked busily to finish “The Buddha and His Dhamma,” his magnum opus reinterpreting Buddhist teachings for contemporary social reform. Published after his death, this last manuscript was his final bequest to his people based on liberty, equality and fraternity.” His death spelled the end of an age, but the Buddhist conversion movement he started continues to liberate millions of Dalits from caste tyranny, so that his dream of spiritual and social freedom lives on.