Dr B. R. Ambedkar's 63rd Mahaparinirvan Diwas

• 06 Dec 2019

Why in News

Mahaparinirvan Diwas is observed every year on December 6 to commemorate death anniversary of Dr. B R Ambedkar.

• He is known as the Father of the Indian Constitution and was independent India’s first law minister.
• Dr. Ambedkar was a social reformer, jurist, economist, author, polyglot orator, a scholar and thinker of comparative religions.

“Constitutional morality is not a natural sentiment. It has to be cultivated. We must realise that our people have yet to learn it. Democracy in India is only a top-dressing on an Indian soil which is essentially undemocratic.”

― B.R. Ambedkar, Annihilation of Caste

“I measure the progress of a community by the degree of progress which women have achieved”

― B.R. Ambedkar

About Dr. Ambedkar

• Dr. B.R. Ambedkar was born on 14 April 1891 in Mhow, Central Province (now Madhya Pradesh).
• He founded Bahishkrit Hitkarni Sabha (1923).
• He led the Mahad Satyagraha in March 1927 to challenge the regressive customs of the Hindus.
• He participated in all three round-table conferences.

Round Table Conferences

• First Round Table Conference: It was held in London on Nov. 12, 1930 but the Congress did not participate in it.
  
  • In March 1931, Mahatma Gandhi and Lord Irwin (Viceroy of India 1926-31) entered into a Pact, called Gandhi-Irwin Pact, by which the Congress called off the Civil Disobedience Movement and agreed to participate in the Round Table Conference.
• Second Round Table Conference: It was held in London on the 7^th of September, 1931.
• Third Round Table Conference: It was held in London on the 17^th of November, 1932 to consider the reports of various sub-committees appointed from time to time. It ultimately led to the passage of Govt. of India Act, 1935.
  
  • The Congress did not participate as most of the leaders were in jail.

• In 1932 he signed Poona pact with Mahatma Gandhi, which abandoned the idea of separate electorates for the depressed classes (Communal Award). However, the seats reserved for the depressed classes were increased from 71 to 147 in provincial legislatures and to 18% of the total in the Central Legislature.
• In 1936, he was elected to the Bombay Legislative Assembly as a legislator (MLA).
• In 1947, Dr. Ambedkar accepted PM Nehru's invitation to become Minister of Law in the first Cabinet of independent India.
• On August 29, 1947, he was appointed Chairman of the Drafting Committee for the new Constitution.
• He resigned from the cabinet in 1951, over differences on the Hindu Code Bill.
• In 1956, he converted to Buddhism.
• He passed away on 6^th December 1956.
• Chaitya Bhoomi is a memorial to B. R. Ambedkar located in Dadar, Mumbai.