India observes December 6 as Mahaparinirvan Divas every year to mark the death anniversary of Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, who fought for the economic and social empowerment of Dalits in the country. He was popularly known as Babasaheb Ambedkar passed away on December 6, 1956. The Union government has decided to celebrate Mahaparinirvan Divas as part of the major commemoration of ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.
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Life of Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar:
- Bhimrao Ambedkar was born in Madhya Pradesh’s Mhow, Ambedkar was the 14th and the last child of his parents. He was primarily an Economist and educationist.
- Babasaheb was also the flag bearer of India’s Dalit Activism, is called the chief architect of the Indian Constitution.
- BR Ambedkar was the Chairman of the Constitution Drafting Committee for the constitution of independent India on August 29, 1947. He was also the law minister of India after independence.
- He had also started fortnightly and weekly papers named ‘Excluded India’, ‘Mook Nayak’, ‘Janta’ to raise voice against the atrocities on Dalits. His first wife was only 9 years old at the time of their marriage.
Some lesser-known facts about Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar:
- Ambedkar was posthumously conferred with the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award.
- Rajgirh, Babasaheb’s personal library was the world’s largest library with over 50 thousand books.
- He was the first lawyer belonging to a backward caste.
- His original surname was Ambawadekar, which was changed to Ambedkar by his teacher in school.
- He was the only Satyagrahi worldwide, who did Satyagraha for drinking water.
- Around the world all Buddha paintings and statues have Buddha’s eyes closed, Ambedkar was the first person to make a painting of him with open eyes.
- The chief architect of the Indian Constitution’s 20-page autobiography, Waiting for a Visa, is used as a textbook at Columbia University.