• EARLY LIFE

• His original name was Bhimrao Sakpal.

• He was born on 14 April 1891 in Mhow, near Indore, Madhya Pradesh.
• He was the 14th and last child of his parents.
• His father name was Ramji Maloji Sakpal who held the rank of Subedar in
Army.
• His Ancestors served in Indian British Army.
• He was born when people like Jyotirao Phule started Satyashodak
movement for the of depressed classes.
• DISCRIMINATIONS
• Because he was untouchable he faced discrimination in school.
• He had to sit separately on gunny sack and he was not allowed to drink
water from vessels.
• Only school peon used to pour water from a height.
• In case peon was not available he had to go without water; he described
this situation in his autobiography (Waiting for Visa) as "No peon, No
Water"
• SAKPAL TO AMBEDKAR
• His father retired in 1894 and the family moved to Satara two years later Of
his brothers and sisters, only Ambedkar passed his examinations and went
to high school.
• His original surname was Sakpal but his father registered his name as
'Ambadawekar' on his native village 'Ambadawe' (Ratnagiri district.)
• His Brahmin teacher, Krishna Keshav Ambedkar, changed his surname from
'Ambadawekar' to his own surname 'Ambedkar' in school records.
• HIGHER EDUCATION
• In 1907, he passed his matriculation exam.
• Next year, he enrolled in Elphinstone College, and became the first person
from his Mahar caste to do so.
• By 1912, he obtained degree in economics and political science from
Bombay University
• HIGHER EDUCATION
• In 1913, he moved for his postgraduation at Columbia University
in USA.
• In 1915, he presented his thesis of MA titled as 'Ancient Indian
Commerce’.
• It's only because of scholarship given by Sayajirao Gaekwad III,
he was abled to study in abroad.
• THESIS
• In 1916, he completed his second thesis, 'National Dividend of India- A
Historic and Analytical Study' for another MA.
• On 9 May, 1916 he presented his first paper on Cast titled as 'Castes in India:
Their Mechanism, Genesis and Development’.
• In June 1916, he left the Colombia University after completing his work.
• MORE EDUCATION
• In Oct 1916, he enrolled for the Bar course at Gray's Inn, London.
• At the same time he enrolled at the London School of Economics for his
doctoral thesis.
• His thesis was on "The problem of the rupee: its origin and its solultion"
• CHANGING PROFESSIONS
• In June 1917, he returned to India because his scholarship from Baroda
ended.
• In July 1917, He was appointed Military Secretary to the Gaikwad but had to
quit in a short time.
• For making a living for his family, he worked as a tutor, as an accountant and
then established investment consulting business.
• But it failed when his clients learned that he was an untouchable.
• LIVING WITH UNTOUCHABILITY
• In 1918, he became Professor of Political Economy in the Sydenham College
of Commerce and Economics in Mumbai.
• Although he was successful with the students, other professors objected to
his sharing a drinking-water jug with them.
• DEMANDING SEPARATE ELECTORATES
• In July 1918, Ambedkar had been invited to testify before the Southborough
Committee, which was preparing the Government of India Act 1919.
• At this hearing, Ambedkar argued for creating separate electorates and
reservations for untouchables
DIFFERENT SHADES OF LIFE
➤In Jan 1920, he began the publication of the Marathi weekly Mooknayak
(Leader of the Silent) in Mumbai for the cause of depressed classes.
➤From 1920-23 he rejoined the London School of Economics.
➤In June 1924, he started practice in Bombay High Court.
• AS A LEADER OF DEPRESSED CLASSES
• He defended the rights of depressing classes through periodicals like Mook
Nayak, Bahishkrit Bharat, and Equality Janta.
• In July 1924, he founded 'Bahishkrit Hitkarini Sabha' for the uplift of the
depressed classes.
• He also founded the organisations like 'Samaj Samata Sangh' and 'Samata
Sainik Dal' in 1927 to fight for the cause of emancipation of the
untouchables.
• BEGINNING OF SATYAGRAHAS
• By 1927, Ambedkar had decided to launch active movements against
untouchability.
• He began with public movements and marches to open up public drinking
water resources.
• He also began a struggle for the right to enter Hindu temples.
MAHAD SATYAGRAHA
➤ On 20 Mar, 1927, he led a satyagraha in Mahad to fight for the right of the
untouchable community to draw water from the 'Chowder Tank 'of the town.
➤ Ambedkar drank water from the tank and thousands of untouchables
followed him.
➤ To purify the tank cow-urine, cow-dung, milk, curds, butter were used.
➤ 108 pots containing a mixture of these products were emptied into the tank
while Brahmins recited mantras.
➤ The tank was then declared fit for upper caste Hindu consumption.
BURNING MANUSMRITI
➤ In a conference in late 1927, Ambedkar ceremonially burned copies of
Manusmriti, for ideologically justifying caste discrimination and
"untouchability“.
➤ On 25 December 1927, he led thousands of followers to burn copies of
Manusmrti.
➤ Thus annually 25 December is celebrated as Manusmriti Dahan Din
(Manusmriti Burning Day) by Ambedkarites and Dalits.In 1930, he launched
Kalaram temple entry movement with 15000 satyagrahis
COMMUNAL AWARD
➤ He participated in various round table conference (1930-1932) for the
purpose of securing separate electorate for untouchables.
➤Hence, In 1932 'Communal Award' was announced.
➤ But Gandhi went for fast unto death in Yerwada Jail, Poona against
separate electorate for untouchables.
➤ Because he believed that it would separate the untouchables from Hindu
Community forever.
➤Finally on 25 September, the Poona Pact was signed.
➤ The agreement gave reserved seats for the depressed classes in the
Provisional legislatures, within the general electorate.
➤ Due to the pact, the depressed class received 148 seats in the legislature,
instead of the 71 as allocated in the Communal Award.
• POONA PACT:
• The Communal Award was intended to free the Untouchables from the
thraldom of the Hindus.
• The Poona Pact is designed to place them under the domination of the
Hindus
• 'I WOULD NOT DIE A HINDU’
• ➤ After, The Poona pact he remained no more sure of the potentiality of
the Hindu religion to reform itself.
• ➤ He cut off his seven years of temple entry satyagraha with an
announcement in 1935, Nasik confernce that he 'would not die a Hindu’.
• ➤ Henceforth, he started finding the way for conversion into other religion.
• ➤ And also he started safeguarding the interests of the untouchables
through constitutional means.
PARTY POLITICS FOR DEPRESSED CLASSES
• In 1936, he founded first political party i.e. Independent Labour Party
➤ His party contested the 1937 Bombay election to the Central Legislative
Assembly for the 13 reserved and 4 general seats, and secured 11 and 3 seats
respectively.
➤ However, he did not get much success in party politics as congress
candidate was winning from reserved seats.
• PARTY POLITICS FOR DEPRESSED CLASSES
• In 1942, he founded second party i.e. Schedule Caste Federations to unite
untouchables all over India.
• In last year of his life i.e. in 1956 he founded third political party, The
Republican Party.
• It was an attempt to unite all untouchables, STs, the working man and the
poor.
• WORKING FOR 'UNTOUCHABLES
• 'In 1942, he was appointed Labour member in the Viceroy's Executive
Council, and he held this position until 1946.
• In this posts, he was able to secure such benefits for SCs as a Mahar
batallion in the Indian Army.
• And overseas scholarships for untouchable boys.
• The years between 1942 and 1946 were also years in which Ambedkar was
harshly critical of the Congress.
FATHER OF INDIAN CONSTITUTION
➤ Upon India's independence on 15 August 1947, the new Congress-led
government invited Ambedkar to serve as the nation's first Law Minister,
which he accepted.
➤ On 29 August, he was appointed Chairman of the Constitution Drafting
Committee, and was appointed by the Assembly to write India's new
Constitution.
• It is by placuting the sentiments of smaller communities and smaller people
who are afraid that the majority may do wrong, that the British Parliament
works. Sir, my friends tell me that I have made the Constitution. But I am
quite prepared to say that I shall be the first person to burn it out. I do not
want it. It does not suit anybody. But whatever that may be, if our people
want to carry on, they must not forger that there are majorities and there
are minorities, and they simply cannot ignore the minorities by saying, "Oh,
no. To recognise you is to harm democracy." I should say that the greatest
harm will come by injuring the minorities. B.R. Ambedkar in the Rajya Sabha
on 2 September 1933
• MOVING TOWARDS BUDDHISM
• Around 1950s, he began devoting his attention to Buddhism and traveled to
sri lanka to attend a meeting of the World Fellowship of Budhhists.
• In 1955, he founded the Bharatiya Bauddha Mahasabha, or the Buddhist
Society of India.
• He completed his final work, The Buddha and His Dhamma, in 1956 which
was published posthumously.
CONVERSION TO BUDDHISM
➤ Ambedkar publicly converted on 14 October 1956, at Deeksha bhoomi,
Nagpur, over 20 years after he declared his intent to convert.
➤ Around 380,000 of his followers converted to Buddhism at the same
ceremony.
➤ He died in his sleep on 6 December 1956 at his home in Delhi.