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Bhim Rao Ambedkar’s original name was Ambavadekar. Ambedkar’s actual surname was Ambavadekar (originated from the name of his native village, ‘Ambavade’ in Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra). It was his teacher, Mahadev Ambedkar, who changed his surname from ‘Ambavadekar’ to his own surname ‘Ambedkar’ in school records as he appreciated him very much. Bhim Rao Ambedkar took birth on 14th April 1891. This date is now celebrated as Ambedkar Jayanti of Baba Saheb Ambedkar Jayanti to honour his great works as a civil rights activist. Back in 2015, it was observed as an official public holiday throughout India. His birthday is also celebrated as equality day in India.
Baba Saheb Ambedkar Jayanti, Also Known As ‘Equality Day’
Bhim Rao Ambedkar understood that rising and persistent inequalities pose fundamental challenges to the economic and social well-being of nations and people.
His tireless efforts to ensure that excluded groups were politically and socially empowered, that workers were fairly treated and that every person had access to education made him a pioneer in India and other countries. To appreciate Ambedkar’s efforts toward equality, 14th April is also known as Equality Day beside Ambedkar Jayanti.
Bhimrao Ambedkar’s “tireless efforts” towards securing ignored groups were politically and socially empowered, making him a “pioneer.”
Dr. Ambedkar Towards Democratic India
Babasaheb Ambedkar was the first Indian, and arguably the only Indian in the 20th century, who offered a theory of democracy, a theory that can lead us in the 21st century. This must be recalled because the celebration of his intellectual and political legacy focuses almost exclusively on his criticism of caste-based injustice.
Dr. Ambedkar was not the first Indian thinker to reflect on democracy. But he was the first to offer original answers to the three basic questions that a theory of democracy must address. A theory must set out a norm, an idea of what democracy should be like. Two, it must evaluate the current state of democracy in the light of its ideal and offer a critique. It must spell out a path to a democratic ideal, from where we stand to where we should aim to be. Ambedkar’s answers were original because they were not drawn from some abstraction. His reflections were firmly located in the Indian context.
He offered a substantive definition of democracy, radically different from the procedural definition that dominated the 20th-century theories of democracy. He was not unmindful of the procedural aspects of democracy, but for him, all these democratic mechanisms like elections and parliament were there for a purpose.
How Were Dr. Ambedkar’s Democratic Ideas Different
Dr . Ambedkar’s answers were strikingly different from the two ways of thinking about democracy that dominated his times. On the one hand were ‘liberals’ like Jawaharlal Nehru, who expected the western fairytale of democracy to be replayed in India, albeit with a time lag.
For them, western democracies were the model towards which India had begun its journey by enacting a Constitution and holding free and fair elections. On the other hand were the critics, mostly from the Left, who thought that the democratic experiment in India was a sham, nothing but a rule of the capitalist class cloaked in procedures of democracy.
Gandhi, too, shared this disdain for Westminster-style democracy. Dr . Ambedkar offered a theory of cautious and conditional optimism, an optimism drawn from the abstract promise of democracy and a caution rooted in the Indian context.
Departing from the western democratic imagination that foregrounds liberty, Dr. Ambedkar put equality at the heart of democracy.
Significance Of Celebrating Ambedkar Jayanti Or Baba Saheb Ambedkar Jayanti
Ambedkar Jayanti has been observed as an official public holiday throughout India since 2015.
Not just in India, Ambedkar Jayanti is celebrated across the world. Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar, known as Babasaheb Ambedkar, was a scholar, a social reformer, and a prestigious leader; he dedicated his life to the reforms like eradicating social inequality in India. A well-known personality who fought for the oppressed and was the face of Dalits.
Ambedkar has spent most of his life working for the upliftment of Dalits and those from the backward communities. The social reformer, a Dalit, is widely credited to be the force behind the Dalit Buddhist Movement in India. April 14 is observed as Ambedkar Jayanti or Bhim Jayanti to celebrate Ambedkar’s birthday.
Conclusion
Bhim Rao Ambedkar’s first birthday was publicly celebrated as Ambedkar Jayanti or Baba Saheb Ambedkar Jayanti on 14 April 1928 in Pune by Janardan Sadashiv Ranapisay.
It is celebrated worldwide and emanates Adivasi, labor workers, women, and those who embraced Buddhism after his representation. Many people visit local statues commemorating Ambedkar in procession in India with much fanfare.
Indian Post issued stamps dedicated to Ambedkar’s birthday in 1966, 1973, 1991, 2001, and 2013, and featured him on other stamps in 2009, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2020.
On 14 April 1990, Ambedkar was awarded the Bharat Ratna award.
