Dr B R Ambedkar - more than just the representative of oppressed classes

 Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar, popularly known as Baba Saheb, was the first law minister of India and the head of the Drafting Committee which prepared the Constitution of India. A social worker with an expertise in the subjects of Anthropology, Economics and Political Science, he is widely regarded as a great representative of oppressed classes, but it would be an understatement as his contribution was not just limited to a particular section of the society. 

Baba Saheb was born in 1891 to a Dalit family. His father was a Subedar in the British Army, so he got the privilege to have an access to education that was very rare in his community. In fact, he was the first person from his community to qualify for 5th class. However, his journey was not an easy one. He faced severe discrimination from his classmates and the school authority. He has stated in his autobiography that he used to sit on a mat at the back side of the class, where the shoes of other students were kept. There was a practice of reserving the front seats of the classes for the toppers, but even after being excellent in academics, this privilege was not granted to Baba Saheb. Also he was only allowed to drink water when a school peon was present to avoid direct contact with the water container. Even after completing his Ph.Ds from the United States and Great Britain and being designated as a military officer to the princely state of Baroda, the discrimination had not stopped. His seat was placed at a corner in the office and his subordinates used to throw files on his desk to avoid accidentally touching him. And this discrimination was not just exclusive to Hindu community and he stated of the same treatment from Christian, Parsi and Muslim communities in his autobiography.

Most of the people after being so capable and facing such kind of social negligence, would have returned to abroad and opted for a luxurious lifestyle, but Baba Saheb decided to remain in India and work for the rights of oppressed sections of the society. His demand for the educational and voting rights for the Scheduled Caste and his fight against Untouchability continued even after India got Independence. While drafting the Indian constitution, he recommended to place Equality Rights above all other rights as for him, Equality Rights were even more important than Freedom Rights.

The contribution of Baba Saheb was not just limited to Scheduled Castes. He was a firm believer that Indian society would be able to progress only when women were granted equal status to men and hence he worked continuously towards the rights of women. His major contribution for women rights was the introduction of Hindu Code Bill in 1947, which was later passed in the Parliament and became an Act, in which he proposed revolutionary changes in the fields of marriage, property and maintenance for women. He also identified the grievances of labor working in factories and played a key role in bringing reforms in favor of the labor section such as the Minimum Wages Act of 1948.