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Approach

• Give a basic introduction of Dr Ambedkar and his thoughts and values
• Enumerate the lessons learnt from his life, including the values which his personality inspires
• Conclude with the relevance of his thoughts in the present time

Answer

Dr B.R. Ambedkar (1891-1956) was not only a constitution specialist but was also a great social reformer and moral and philosophical thinker. His entire life was full of challenges and struggles but he faced them with utmost courage and honesty. Every person can learn various lessons from his life like hard work, integrity, impartiality, compassion, and perseverance.

In my opinion, the following lessons are most relevant from the life of Dr Ambedkar:

• Decision making- A person, who can take and follow tough decisions in his life, is always successful. Dr Ambedkar faced strong protest while enacting Hindu code bill for the welfare of women but he did not move back rather resigned from the post of law minister to prove his point. Subsequently, the code was enacted with minor changes by the government.
• Compassion and Sensitivity- Dr Ambedkar was always sensitive and compassionate toward weaker sections of the society like Scheduled castes, Scheduled tribes, women, children, poor people etc and kept fighting for their cause till the last in various capacities. He used to say, “I measure the progress of a nation by the progress of women in that nation.”
• Integrity- Dr Ambedkar belonged from a poor family but he did not compromise with his principles for any kind of monetary or material gains and fought the evils of our society with the utmost honesty. This attitude is relevant in the present era of rising corruption and degradation of moral values.
• Impartiality- Dr Ambedkar was from Schedule Caste but he did not provide any unfair treatment ever to others castes or sections of the society. He formed policies with full objectivity and didn’t discriminate against people because of any kind of prejudice. Because of this, our constitution could become one of the best constitutions in this world. A civil servant should always keep this thought in his/her mind.
• Perseverance- The goal of Dr Ambedkar to provide justice to downtrodden people was full of challenges. Nonetheless, he remained undeterred, even in the face of violent opposition that he faced during the Mahad Satyagraha and Kalaram temple movement. This lesson is relevant for people aspiring for high goals in personal and professional life.
• Modern values- Dr Ambedkar used to emphasize on scientific temper, humanism, equality, liberty and was always against evil customs and traditions which were demeaning to the dignity of an individual.

Dr B.R Ambedkar was one of the most visionary personalities of 20th century India. His thoughts and ideas laid the foundations of the modern Indian Republic and the values he stood for remain relevant in our society-due to persistent social and economic inequality. He continues to inspire us to work towards the 'sacred' goal of making India an egalitarian and liberal society.