B. R. Ambedkar

He first married in 1906 to Ramabai, who was just nine years old. In 1912, the couple was blessed with a son named Yashwant.

In 1935, Ramabai breathed her last succumbing to a long illness.

It was while treating himself of neurotic pains and lack of sleep that he first met Dr Sharada Kabir. The two eventually married on April 15, 1948. Post marriage, she renamed herself Savita Ambedkar and attended to him all through.

He was born as Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar to Ramji Maloji Sakpal and Bhimabai in the Central Province of India. His father served in the Indian army. He was the last of the fourteen children born to the couple.

Belonging to Mahar caste, who were considered untouchables, his family suffered from socio-economic discrimination. However, due to special privileges rendered to army children, he secured good education.

Young Ambedkar surfaced a lot of problems while academically training himself but he surpassed all of them. In 1897, he along with his family moved to Bombay where he enrolled at the Elphinstone High School, thus becoming the first ever untouchable to attain higher education.

Completing his matriculation degree in 1907, he admitted himself to Elphinstone College in 1908, again creating history by becoming the first untouchable to enter university. He graduated from the same in 1912 with a degree in economics and political science.

He secured a job at the Baroda state government but did not continue the same for long as he was awarded a Baroda State Scholarship, which provided him the opportunity to gain postgraduate education at Columbia University in New York City. To pursue the same, he moved to America in 1913.

Upon returning to India, he worked as the Defence Secretary for the Princely State of Baroda. However, the work was not easy for him as he was often ridiculed and castigated for being an untouchable.

Quitting the profile of military minister, he took up jobs as a private tutor and accountant. He even established a consultancy business which doomed due to his social status. He finally found himself a teaching position at the Sydenham College of Commerce and Economic in Mumbai.

Being a victim of caste discrimination inspired him to uplift the pitiable state of the untouchables in the society. Thus, with the help of the Maharaja of Kolhapur, he founded a weekly journal, ‘Mooknayak’, which criticized the orthodox beliefs of Hindus and the reluctance of politicians to fight against the discrimination.

Accumulating enough wealth, he moved to London to complete his education. In 1921, he attained his Master’s degree from the London School of Economics. Two years later, he acquired his D.Sc.in Economics. Completing his law studies, he was admitted to the British bar as a barrister.

Returning to India, he started working as a legal professional in the country. His passion for eradicating the practice of caste discrimination led him to found the ‘Bahishkrit Hitakarini Sabha’. The main aim of the organization was to provide education and socio-economic improvement to the backward class.

This revolutionary, who fought against the untouchability practiced in India, is popularly known as the chief architect of the Constitution of India.