Unreservedly, an Indian idol B R AMBEDKAR APRIL 14, 1891 — DECEMBER 6, 1956

It’s a tribute to the Congress that in a party bristling with lawyers and barristers, it chose someone from outside the organisation to head the drafting committee of the Indian Constitution in 1947. B R Ambedkar, of course, had all the necessary qualifications to guide the drafting of the Constitution of a country as populous and diverse as India. Born into an untouchable Mahar family, he went on to get a double doctorate from Columbia University and the University of London. Besides he was a barrister from Gray’s Inn.
Not surprisingly, Ambedkar drew inspiration from the American and British models to draft the Constitution. Though he argued for a wide range of civil liberties to be included in the Constitution, during the Constituent Assembly debates he convinced members that there had to be a system of reservation
for Dalits and tribals. If Ambedkar was instrumental in getting special privileges for scheduled castes and tribes inserted in the Constitution, he was active in raising Dalit consciousness outside Parliament.
Ambedkar resigned as law minister from the Nehru cabinet in 1951 following his strong objection to the draft of the Hindu Code Bill and formed the Scheduled Caste Federation. The party fared poorly in the 1952 elections with Ambedkar himself losing from Bombay. Just six weeks before his death, he registered his final protest against the caste system.
On October 15, 1956 Ambedkar, along with a few lakh followers, converted to Buddhism. Though some critics dismissed this as a gimmick, Ambedkar’s desire to make a statement by stepping outside the fold of Hinduism had a long history. His opening words at the Depressed Classes Conference in 1935 were: ‘‘I will not die a Hindu.’’ In the intervening years he toyed with several options before choosing Buddhism.
Ambedkar is one of those rare figures whose legacy far outstripped the influence he wielded during his lifetime. Statues of Ambedkar dressed in a suit with the Constitution in one hand dot the Indian countryside. He also remains an icon for Dalit groups, most notably the Bahujan Samaj Party.