Ambedkar Jayanti – The birth anniversary of the father of the Indian Constitution

• Dr. Ambedkar, heralded as the Father of Indian Constitution was born on April 14, which is observed as Ambedkar Jayanti year on year.
• The Constitution of India, which contains the fundamental laws and principles of the Indian Democratic Republic was drafted under the chairmanship of Babasaheb Dr. Ambedkar.
• Dr. Ambedkar’s massive contribution to the Constitution of India makes him a great leader who will be remembered for a thousand more years.

In 2020, the nation celebrates the 129th birth anniversary of Dr. Ambedkar, who was born on April 14, 1981. From 2015, the government has declared a public holiday in the country on Ambedkar Jayanti. Dr. Ambedkar’s birthday was publicly celebrated in India for the first time in Pune on April 14, 1928. Social activist and Ambedkarite Janardan Sadashiv Ranapisay was the one who initiated the tradition of celebrating Ambedkar Jayanti.

On April 14, 1990, the Indian Government honored Dr. Ambedkar with the most prestigious Bharat Ratna Award. Around this time, a life size portrait of Babasaheb Dr. Ambedkar was unveiled in the central hall of the Parliament building.

The year stretching from April 14, 1990 to April 14, 1991 was celebrated as the ‘Year of Social Justice’ in memory of Dr. Ambedkar. Behind all these recognitions goes the mammoth contribution of this veteran who guided the drafting of Indian Constitution, which is the supreme law book and scripture of the democracy.

Dr. Ambedkar’s contribution to the Constitution of India

Once India became independent on August 15, 1947, the nation appointed Dr. Ambedkar as the chairman of the constitution drafting committee on August 29, 1947.

Dr. Ambedkar strongly opined that the government in a democracy must be a responsible government formed by the representatives of people. He never wanted to impose a constitution on the Indians, rather he submitted that the opinion of the masses on how they wished to be governed must be accepted. He said, “The best government rests on the people, and not on the few on persons and not on property, on the free development of public opinion and not on authority.”

Dr. Ambedkar strongly believed that the unity and solidarity of the country can be maintained in the long run only when the gaps between the different classes were equalized.

Dr. Ambedkar highly emphasized the religious, caste and gender equality.

The reservation system we find in the Indian constitution was purely the brainchild of Dr. Ambedkar who thought of it as a means to create a social balance among the different classes of the population in India.

While drafting the constitution, Dr. Ambedkar envisioned a strong India administered by a federal government. When he sought to give the central government more powers, some members of the constituent assembly criticized him saying the idea goes against his own view that the rights and values of every individual in the country and the interests of every province and each village must be ensured. From this point of view, it was contradictory to make the center a strong entity. However, justifying his stand on the strong central government, Dr. Ambedkar said the center must be strong to “save minorities from the misrule of majority” and also “for it is only the center which can work for a common end and for the general interests of the country as a whole.”