You know the Dr. B.R. Ambedkar was a social reformer and a politician. He was the chairman
of the drafting committee of the Indian constitution. Now write a brief biographical sketch
using the facts given below.
Birth : 14 April, 1891
Place of Birth : Mhow in central provinces (Currently, Madhya Pradesh)
Parents : Ramiji Maloi sakpal (father) and Bhimabai Murbadkar Sakpal
(mother)
Wife : Ramabai Ambedkar
Education : Elphinstone High School,University of Bombay, Columbia University,
London School of Economics
Associations: Samata Sainik Dal, Independent Labour Party, Scheduled Castes Federation
Political Ideology: Right Winged ; Equalism
Religious Beliefs : a Hindu By Birth ; a Buddhist 1956 onwards
Books Written : Essays On Untouchability, The Annihilation of Caste, Waiting For a Visa
Death : 6, December , 1956.
Answers
Ambedkar was born on 14 April 1891 in the town and military cantonment of Mhow in the Central Provinces (now in Madhya Pradesh).[5] He was the 14th and last child of Ramji Maloji Sakpal, an army officer who held the rank of Subedar, and Bhimabai Sakpal, daughter of Laxman Murbadkar.[6] His family was of Marathi background from the town of Ambadawe (Mandangad taluka) in Ratnagiri district of modern-day Maharashtra. Ambedkar was born into a poor low Mahar (dalit) caste,
Education
Post-secondary education
In 1897, Ambedkar's family moved to Mumbai where Ambedkar became the only untouchable enrolled at Elphinstone High School. In 1906, when he was about 15 years old, his marriage to a nine-year-old girl, Ramabai, was arranged.
Undergraduate studies at the University of Bombay
Ambedkar as a student
In 1907, he passed his matriculation examination and in the following year he entered Elphinstone College, which was affiliated to the University of Bombay, becoming, according to him, the first from his Mahar caste to do so.
Postgraduate studies at Columbia University
In 1913, Ambedkar moved to the United States at the age of 22. He had been awarded a Baroda State Scholarship of £11.50 (Sterling) per month for three years under a scheme established by Sayajirao Gaekwad III (Gaekwad of Baroda) that was designed to provide opportunities for postgraduate education at Columbia University in New York City.Postgraduate studies at the London School of Economics
Ambedkar (In center line, first from right) with his professors and friends from the London School of Economics (1916-17)
In October 1916, he enrolled for the Bar course at Gray's Inn, and at the same time enrolled at the London School of Economics where he started working on a doctoral thesis. In June 1917, he returned to India because his scholarship from Baroda ended. His book collection was dispatched on different ship from the one he was on, and that ship was torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine.[16] He got permission to return to London to submit his thesis within four years. He returned at the first opportunity, and completed a master's degree in 1921
Conversion to Buddhism
Ambedkar delivering speech during mass conversion
Ambedkar considered converting to Sikhism, which encouraged opposition to oppression and so appealed to leaders of scheduled castes. But after meeting with Sikh leaders, he concluded that he might get "second-rate" Sikh status.[87]
Instead, around 1950, he began devoting his attention to Buddhism and travelled to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) to attend a meeting of the World Fellowship of Buddhists.[88] While dedicating a new Buddhist vihara near Pune, Ambedkar announced he was writing a book on Buddhism, and that when it was finished, he would formally convert to Buddhism.[89] He twice visited Burma in 1954; the second time to attend the third conference of the World Fellowship of Buddhists in Rangoon.[90] In 1955, he founded the Bharatiya Bauddha Mahasabha, or the Buddhist Society of India.[91] He completed his final work, The Buddha and His Dhamma, in 1956 which was published posthumously.[91]
Death
Mahaparinirvana of B. R. Ambedkar
Since 1948, Ambedkar suffered from diabetes. He was bed-ridden from June to October in 1954 due to medication side-effects and poor eyesight.[89] His health worsened during 1955. Three days after completing his final manuscript The Buddha and His Dhamma, Ambedkar died in his sleep on 6 December 1956 at his home in Delhi.