Why in News? 

14^th April 2025 marks the Birth Anniversary of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar.  

 About B.R. Ambedkar 

 Birth: 14 April 1891  

Death: 06 December 1956 

Brief Profile 

• A social reformer, jurist, economist, author, and thinker of comparative religions. 
• Labour member in the Executive Council of Viceroy (1942). 
• Chairman of the Drafting Committee for the new Constitution. 
• First Law Minister of independent India. 
• Posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna (1990). 

Contributions 

• Led the Mahad Satyagraha in 1927 against untouchability. 
• Participated in all three Round Table Conferences. 
• Signed the 1932 Poona Pact with Mahatma Gandhi to drop the idea of separate electorates for the depressed classes. 
• Result: Reserved seats for depressed classes increased: 
  • From 71 to 147 in provincial legislatures. 
  • To 18% in the Central Legislature. 
• Opposed the special status of Jammu & Kashmir (Article 370). 
• Supported the Uniform Civil Code. 
• Referred to Article 32 as the "soul of the Constitution and very heart of it." 

Resignation and Buddhism 

• Resigned from Cabinet in 1951 due to differences over the Hindu Code Bill. 
• Converted to Buddhism; his death is commemorated as Mahaparinirvan Diwas. 

Important Journals 

• Mooknayak (1920) 
• Samatha (1929) 
• Bahishkrit Bharat (1927) 
• Janata (1930) 

Books 

• Annihilation of Caste 
• Buddha or Karl Marx 
• The Untouchable: Who are They and Why They Have Become Untouchables 
• The Rise and Fall of Hindu Women 

Organisations 

• Established Bahishkrit Hitkarini Sabha (1923) 
• Founded Independent Labour Party (1936) 
• Founded Scheduled Castes Federation (1942) 

Dr. B.R. Ambedkar