Q – Year of birth and death of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar-
(a) 1886, 1951
(b) 1891, 1956
(c) 1877, 1961
(d) 1889, 1961
M.P.P.C.S. (Pre) 1992
Ans. (b)
Explanation – Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, who played a prominent role in drafting the Constitution, was born on 14 April, 1891 and died on 6 December, 1956.
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Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar
B.R. Ambedkar (1891-1956) was another crusader in the cause of the uplift of the lower castes.
Bhim Rao was born on 14 April 1891 in a Mahar (Hindu untouchable) caste at Mhow. Bhimrao married Rambai of his own caste in 1905; she died in 1935. In 1948, Bhim Rao married a second time Dr. Sharada Kabir who came from a Saraswat Brahmin family of Bombay.
Ambedkar graduated from Elphinstone College, Bombay; later he did his M.A. and Ph. D., from Columbia University. In 1923, he was called to the Bar.
In July 1924, Ambedkar started an organisation in Bombay called ‘Bahishkrit Hitkarni Sabha‘ for the moral and material progress of the untouchables. He resorted to methods of agitation and launched Satyagraha to establish civic rights of the untouchables to enter the Hindu temples and draw water form public wells.
In 1930 Ambedkar entered national politics. He demanded separate electorates for the untouchables. He was nominated as a delegate of the three around Table Conferences in Londan (1930-32). The Communal Award announced by the British Prime Minister on 17 August 1932 provided for separate electorates for the Depressed Classes. This upset Gandhiji who went on fast unto death; a final compromise popularly known as the Poona Pact (24 Sept., 1932) provided for reservation of seats for the Depressed Classes in the general constituencies.
In desperation, Ambedkar opposed the National Congress’s demand for independence and wanted British rule in India to continue to safeguard the interest of the lower castes.
In April 1942, he founded the Scheduled Caste Federation as an all India party. Later, he announced that Scheduled castes would leave Hindu fold altogether. He along with many followers embraced Buddhism.
On the eve of independence, Ambedkar was nominated by the Congress Party as a member of the Constituent Assembly. His contribution in framing and piloting the Indian Constitution and the Hindu Code Bill are well recongnised. Today, Ambedkar is remembered as the emancipator of the lower castes.
The new Constitution of Indian Republic has accepted the Principle of Equality for all Indian citizens and has abolished untouchability. The Untouchability (offences) Act 1955 spells out the punishment to be awarded for offences under this Act.
Source : A New Look at Modern Indian History – B L Grover, Alka Mehta
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