BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR - A TRIBUTE

Today, December 6, is the death anniversary (Priinirvan Diwas) of Babasaheb Dr. B.R. Ambedkar (1891-1956), the greatest son of the contemporary India.  The dalits and other down trodden people consider Ambedkar their messiah and savior in the caste ridden society at large. But for Ambedkar and his struggle, it was difficult for the large chunk of the Indian society to live and lead honourable life.  He fought and fought single handedly for the just social and economic order.  Ambedkar fought and got political rights for the dalits not only from the British rulers before independence in 1947 but also tried his level best to get these rights secured and insured in the constitution of India of which he was the chief architect.  Babasaheb was a crusader for the social change in India with a view to strengthen India and not for anything else.  He was a nationalist and a patriot of the highest order.  He was an Indian to the core.  Though he was opposed to Mahatma Gandhi and the Congress Party yet he joined hands with the main stream of the polity and society for the larger good of the society and the country.  Some people think that it was magnanimity of Congress leadership to invite Ambedkar to draft the Indian constitution but the fact is that he got the job of making the constitution by his own right and to the good fortune of India.  Otherwise, India might not be the India of today.  The last speech Ambedkar made in the Constituent Assembly on November 24, 1949 before the constitution was adopted and passed finally is one of finest speeches of the contemporary India. It is worth reading.  I quote from the compilation of the book ‘Greatest Speeches of Modern India’ edited by Rudrangshu Mukherjee “His tone was jubilant yet somber and reflective. The warning he gave – place of popular protest in a democracy, the blind following of charismatic leaders and the limitations of only a political democracy – retain their relevance, perhaps more today than in 1949.” It is the befittest tribute to the memory of Babasaheb Dr. B.R. Ambedkar.

हजारों साल नर्गिस अपने बेनूरी पे रोती है;

बड़ी मुश्किल से होता है चमन में दीदावर पैदा !