Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar
(14 April 1891 — 6 December 1956)
APRIL 14
“Birthday”
NATIONAL HOIDAY
INDIA
(Marathi: डॉ.भीमराव रामजी आंबेडकर [bʱiˑmraˑw raˑmʥiˑ aˑmbeˑɽkər]) also known as Babasaheb, was an Indian jurist, political leader, Buddhist activist, philosopher, thinker, anthropologist, historian, orator, prolific writer, economist, scholar, editor, revolutionary and a revivalist for Buddhism in India.
He was also the chief architect of the
Indian Constitution
Born into a poor Mahar, then Untouchable, family, Ambedkar spent his whole life fighting against social discrimination, the system of Chaturvarna — the categorization of Hindu society into four varnas — and the Hindu caste system. He is also credited with providing a spark for the conversion of hundreds of thousands of Dalits with his Ambedkar(ite) Buddhism.
Ambedkar has been honoured with the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest Civilian Award.
Overcoming numerous social and financial obstacles, Ambedkar became one of the first “Dalit” to obtain a college education in India.
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Eventually earning law degrees and multiple doctorates for his study and research in economics and political science from Columbia University and the London School of Economics, Ambedkar returned home as a famous scholar and practiced law for a few years before publishing journals advocating political rights and social freedom for India’s untouchables.
“Dalit Hymn”:
Sing from the village, sing from the town.
(Sub kooch ho sak-ee dey)
Sing everyone who has been cast down.
(Sub kooch ho sak-ee dey).Emancipate, emancipate. Prime Minister, emancipate.
Emancipate, emancipate. Prime Minister, emancipate.Sweeping, weaving, tilling the Earth.
(Sub kooch ho sak-ee dey)
Show me the man to deny our worth.
(Sub kooch ho sak-ee dey)Free the Dalit, free the Dalit. Prime Minister, free the Dalit.
Free the Dalit, free the Dalit. Prime Minister, free the Dalit.Skin of the buffalo declared unclean.
(Sub kooch ho sak-ee dey)
Through revolution, we’ll be redeemed.
(Sub kooch ho sak-ee dey)Heed Ambedkar, heed Ambedkar. Prime Minister, heed Ambedkar.
Heed Ambedkar, heed Ambedkar. Prime Minister, heed Ambedkar.God made every man forward and free.
(Sub kooch ho sak-ee dey)
Rich man, poor man, every man free.
(Sub kooch ho sak-ee dey)Politically, socially, everybody free.
(Sub kooch ho sak-ee dey)
Rich man, poor man, everybody free.
(Sub kooch ho sak-ee dey)Caste is a lie, caste is a lie. Prime Minister, caste is a lie.
Caste is a lie, caste is a lie. Prime Minister, caste is a lie.Emancipate, emancipate. Prime Minister, emancipate.
Free the Dalit, free the Dalit. Prime Minister, free the Dalit.
Heed Ambedkar, heed Ambedkar. Prime Minister, heed Ambedkar.
Caste is a lie, caste is a lie. Prime Minister, caste is a lie.Sub kooch ho sak-ee dey. Sub kooch ho sak-ee dey.
Sub kooch ho sak-ee dey. Sub kooch ho sak-ee dey
He is regarded as a Bodhisattva by Indian Buddhists even though he never claimed himself to be a Bodhisattva.
In Buddhism, a bodhisattva (Sanskrit: बोधिसत्त्व, IAST: bodhisattva; Bengali: বোধিসত্ত্ব, Bodhishotto, Tibetan Wylie: byang chub sems dpa; Burmese: Bawdithat; Indonesian: Bodhisatwa; Vietnamese: Bồ Tát; Pali: बोधिसत्त, bodhisatta; Thai: โพธิสัตว์, phothisat; Japanese: bosatsu; simplified Chinese: 菩萨; traditional Chinese: pinyin: púsà) means either “enlightened (bodhi) existence (sattva)” or “enlightenment-being” or, given the variant Sanskrit spelling satva rather than sattva, “heroic-minded one (satva) for enlightenment (bodhi).” Another translation is “Wisdom-Being.” It is the name given to anyone who, motivated by great compassion, has generated bodhicitta, which is a spontaneous wish to attain Buddhahood for the benefit of all living beings.
