GREAT INDIANS

GREAT INDIANS

By SALADI SRINIVASU

By SALADI SRINIVASU

​The Father of Modern India: Dr. B.R. Ambedkar

By SALADI SRINIVASU

​The Father of Modern India: Dr. B.R. Ambedkar

​

"Babasaheb" and "Ambedkar" redirect here. For other uses, see Babasaheb (title) and Ambedkar (disambiguation).

B. R. Ambedkar
Ambedkar in the 1950s
​
Member of Parliament
In office
President	Rajendra Prasad
Prime Minister	Jawaharlal Nehru
1st Minister of Law and Justice
In office
President	Rajendra Prasad
Governor General	Louis Mountbatten
Prime Minister	Jawaharlal Nehru
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Charu Chandra Biswas
Chairman of the Constitution Drafting Committee
In office
Member of the
In office
Constituency	•
Minister of Labour
In office
Governor General	The Marquess of Linlithgow
Preceded by	Feroz Khan Noon
Leader of the Opposition
In office
Member of the
In office
Constituency	Bombay City (
Member of the
In office
Personal details
Pronunciation	Bhīmrāo Rāmjī Āmbēḍkar
Born	Bhiva Ramji Sakpal 14 April 1891 Mhow, British Indian Empire (present-day Madhya Pradesh, India)
Died	6 December 1956 (aged 65)
Resting place	Chaitya Bhoomi
Political party	•
Other political affiliations	•
Spouse(s)	​ Ramabai Ambedkar ​ ​ (m. 1906; died 1935)​ Savita Ambedkar  ​(m. 1948)​
Children	Yashwant Ambedkar
Relatives	See
Residence(s)	•
Alma mater	​ University of Mumbai (B.A., M.A.) Columbia University (M.A., PhD) London School of Economics (M.Sc., D.Sc.) Gray's Inn (Barrister-at-Law)
Profession	​ Jurist economist academic politician social reformer anthropologist writer
Known for	Dalit rights movement
Awards	Bharat Ratna
Signature	​
Nickname(s)	Babasaheb
​

Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (14 April 1891 – 6 December 1956) was an Indian jurist, economist, social reformer and political leader who headed the committee drafting the Constitution of India from the Constituent Assembly debates, served as Law and Justice minister in the first cabinet of Jawaharlal Nehru, and inspired the Dalit Buddhist movement after renouncing Hinduism.

Ambedkar graduated from Elphinstone College, University of Bombay, and studied economics at Columbia University and the London School of Economics, receiving doctorates in 1927 and 1923 respectively and was among a handful of Indian students to have done so at either institution in the 1920s.^[13] He also trained in the law at Gray's Inn, London. In his early career, he was an economist, professor, and lawyer. His later life was marked by his political activities; he became involved in campaigning and negotiations for India's independence, publishing journals, advocating political rights and social freedom for Dalits, and contributing significantly to the establishment of the state of India. In 1956, he converted to Buddhism, initiating mass conversions of Dalits.^[14]

In 1990, the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award, was posthumously conferred on Ambedkar. The salutation Jai Bhim (lit. "Hail Bhim") used by followers honours him. He is also referred to by the honorific Babasaheb (BAH-bə SAH-hayb).