Tell about B.R. Ambedkar and his contribution in Indian Society ?

In 1921, he got the degree of Master of Science and also PhD on his thesis entitled, “The Problem of the Rupee” from London University. Simultaneously, he did Bar at Law.

In 1955, he formed Bharatiya Buddha Mahasabha. Ambedkar always felt that the depressed class has no honour in the Hindu religion which also reflects in his writings and actions.

In 1923, Ambedkar started his law practice and also devoted himself for the upliftment of Dalits (depressed class) and poor. In 1930, he became the president of the All India ^Depressed Class Association. In 1936, he formed an Independent Labour Party, which later on turned into All India Scheduled Castes Federation.

He created the system of reservation by keeping in mind untouchable and their condition in that India.

On 7th August, 1942, Ambedkar became the member of the Council for Governor General. In his chairmanship, the Consti­tution of India was drafted. On 3rd August, 1949, he took the char ge of the Law Minister in the Government of India.

The word dalit is a common usage in Marathi, Hindi, Gujarati and many other Indian languages, meaning the poor and oppressed persons. Shah (2001) views: “Dalit includes all the oppressed and exploited sections of society. It does not confine itself merely to economic exploitation in terms of appropriation of surplus.

In 1955, he formed Bharatiya Buddha Mahasabha. Ambedkar always felt that the depressed class has no honour in the Hindu religion which also reflects in his writings and actions.

It also relates to the suppression of culture – way of life and value system – and more importantly the denial of dignity. It has essentially emerged as a political category.

Generally, the word Dalit includes those who are designated in administrative parlance as Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Other Backward Classes (OBCs). However, in common political discourse, the term Dalit is so far mainly referred to Scheduled Castes

The term ‘Scheduled Caste’ was used for the first time by the British in Government of India Act, 1935. Prior to this, the untouchable castes were known as depressed classes in public discourse

Mahatma Gandhi gave them the name Harijan – man of God. Gandhi himself did not coin the name. He borrowed the name from a Bhakti saint of the 17th century – Narsimh Mehta.

Dalit is a by-product of the Ambedkar movement and indicates a political and social awareness.

Traditionally, according to the Hindu code of conduct, the untouchables were placed at the bottom of hierarchy and had different names in different parts of the country. They were called Shudras, Atishudras, Chandals, Antyajas, Pariahas, Dheds, Panchamas, Avarnas, Namashudras, Asprusthas, etc.

Ambedkar adopted a different approach and philosophy for the emancipation of Scheduled Castes. He wanted to liberate the Dalits by building an egalitarian social order which he believed was not possible within the fold of Hinduism whose very structures were hierarchical which relegated the Dalits to the bottom. He asserted that the Dalits should come forward and assert for their own cause. He gave them a mantra – educate, organize and agitate.

The word dalit is a common usage in Marathi, Hindi, Gujarati and many other Indian languages, meaning the poor and oppressed persons. Shah (2001) views: “Dalit includes all the oppressed and exploited sections of society

With the advent of Ambedkar into the Indian political arena during 1920s, the issue of social reforms achieved a new dimension. He was of the opinion that until and unless the downtrodden themselves came forward to fight their battle, no one else could alleviate their grievances. No one else could know better than them about their own state of affairs.

. It does not confine itself merely to economic exploitation in terms of appropriation of surplus.

It also relates to the suppression of culture – way of life and value system – and more importantly the denial of dignity. It has essentially emerged as a political category. For some, it connotes an ideology for funda­mental change in the social structure and relationships.” The word dalit indicates struggle for an egalitarian order (Zelliot, 2001: 232).

Ambedkar impressed upon the people to understand their own affairs themselves. Self-awakening, he believed, could provide them necessary strength to fight against evils in society.

Rodrigues (2002) made an attempt to highlight the best of Ambedkar’s writings, reflecting the depth and range of his life’s work, his intellectual incisiveness, and his realistic assessment of the social and political issues.

“Ambedkar (started) exercising the spirit of despair from the minds of dumb millions who had been forced to live the lives of sub-human beings.

We find that the analysis given by Rodrigues is very useful for the understanding of Ambedkar’s writings. Therefore, we are describing here the abridged version of the Rodrigues’ analysis on the following issues as reflected in Ambedkar’s writings.

Here was a liberator preaching them the grand universal law that liberty is neither received as a gift; it has to be fought for. Self-elevation is not achieved by the blessing of others but only by one’s own struggle and deed.

Ambedkar found the need to reflect upon a wide range of concepts either to substantially explore them, decipher their different deter­minations, or to chisel and fine tune them by removing the dross. He adopted different approaches to present them, sometimes in the light of historical developments and at other times, in view of contentions.

Those inert dormant masses lacked courage and needed a vision and a mission. Ambedkar was aspiring them to do battle for their human rights. He was driving them to action by acting himself…. Ambedkar was displaying energy by his own action; arousing their faith by showing faith” (Keer, 1971).