B. R. Ambedkar (Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar; 1891–1956) was an Indian jurist, economist, social reformer and political leader. He is widely regarded as the principal architect of the Constitution of India and a foremost advocate for the rights of the Dalit community and other historically marginalised groups in Indian society.
| Full name | Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar |
|---|---|
| Born | 14 April 1891, Mhow, Central Provinces, British India |
| Died | 6 December 1956, New Delhi, India |
| Known for | Chairman of the Drafting Committee of the Constitution of India; social reform; Dalit rights movement |
| Education | University of Bombay; Columbia University; London School of Economics; Gray's Inn |
| Notable office | First Law and Justice Minister of independent India |
| Honour | Bharat Ratna (1990, posthumous) |
Ambedkar was born into a Marathi-speaking Mahar family, a community then treated as "untouchable" within the prevailing caste hierarchy. His father served in the British Indian Army, and the family lived for periods in Mhow and later in the Bombay Presidency. The discrimination Ambedkar faced as a child shaped much of his later intellectual and political work.
Ambedkar was among the first members of his community to obtain higher education in colonial India. He studied at Elphinstone College and the University of Bombay, and subsequently undertook advanced studies abroad. At Columbia University in New York he worked under scholars including John Dewey, and he later studied at the London School of Economics. He was also called to the Bar from Gray's Inn in London. He earned doctoral-level qualifications in economics and law.
Before entering politics fully, Ambedkar worked as a teacher and lawyer, and produced scholarly writings on Indian economics, public finance and the rupee. He also wrote extensively on caste, including the influential tract Annihilation of Caste.
Ambedkar led several public campaigns against untouchability, including movements for access to public water sources and to Hindu temples. He founded organisations and periodicals to mobilise Dalit communities and articulate their political demands. He represented the "Depressed Classes" at the Round Table Conferences in London in the early 1930s.
Following Indian independence in 1947, Ambedkar was appointed Chairman of the Drafting Committee of the Constituent Assembly of India. In this role he played a central part in shaping the text of the Constitution of India, which came into effect on 26 January 1950.
He served as the first Minister of Law and Justice in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. He resigned from the cabinet in the early 1950s, in part over differences regarding the Hindu Code Bill, which sought to reform personal law.
On 14 October 1956, in Nagpur, Ambedkar formally embraced Buddhism along with a large number of his followers, initiating what is often called the Dalit Buddhist movement or Navayana. He died a few weeks later, on 6 December 1956.
Ambedkar's contribution to modern India spans constitutional law, social justice, economics and religious thought. The constitutional safeguards he championed, including provisions on equality, non-discrimination and reservations, continue to be central features of the Indian legal and political system. He remains a defining figure for Dalit political and cultural identity, and his birth anniversary, observed as Ambedkar Jayanti on 14 April, is marked across India.