DR AMBEDKAR BIRTH ANNIVERSARY: Bharat Ratna Dr. B R Ambedkar gave India it’s the biggest asset which helped our country to become a successful democracy. The chief architect of our constitution, Dr. B R Ambedkar has also been the flag bearer of Dalit activism in India, giving a voice to the unheard masses of the nation.
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While we celebrate his birth anniversary on April 14 this year, here are a few lesser-known facts about Dr. B R Ambedkar:
1. Born on 14 April 1891 in the town and military cantonment of Mhow (in Maharashtra pre-independence, now in Madhya Pradesh), which is now known as Dr. Ambedkar Nagar now, Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar was the 14th and the last child of his parents. His original surname was Ambawadekar, however, it was changed to Ambedkar in school by his teacher.
2. Dr. Babasaheb Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar was born in the Mahaar caste (natives of Maharashtra) in Hindu religion. While he was an active revolutionary against inhuman caste practices against Dalits and inequality among men and women, Ambedkar converted to Buddhism in 1956.
3. At the age of 14, Dr. B R Ambedkar was married to Ramabai. However, Ramabai Ambedkar on May 27, 1935, after a prolonged illness. She was 37. After her death, Dr. B R Ambedkar married Savita Ambedkar. Savita Ambedkar, who originally belonged to a Brahmin family, converted to Buddhism along with Dr. B R Ambedkar. She passed away in the year 2003.
4. Dr. B R Ambedkar was master in 64 subjects. He had knowledge of 9 languages. Apart from this, he studied all the religions of the world in a comparative way for almost 21 years.
5. He completed 8 years of studies in just 2 years 3 months at London School of Economics. He is the first and only person in the world to receive a valuable doctorate degree named “Doctor All Science” from the London School of Economics.
6. Dr. B R Ambedkar has the highest number of statues in the world. In 1950, his first statue was built in Kolhapur city. Dr. B R Ambedkar is the only Indian whose statue is attached with Karl Marx in the London Museum. His birth anniversary is also celebrated all over the world.
7. The credit of giving a place to “Ashok Chakra” on the Indian tricolour goes to Dr. B R Ambedkar. His book “Waiting for a visa” is a textbook at Columbia University. Worldwide, the highest number of songs and books written in the name of any leader is Dr. B R Ambedkar.
8. All the statues and paintings of Buddha around the world have Buddha with closed-eyed, but Dr. B R Ambedkar made the first painting of Buddha in which Buddha’s eyes were opened.
9. Dr. B R Ambedkar’s initiation in Buddhism with his 8,50,000 supporters historical in the world was the largest conversion in the world. Mahant Veer Chandramani, a great Buddhist monk who initiated Dr. Ambedkar to Buddhism, called him “the modern Buddha of this age”.
10. Ambedkar took his last breath on December 6, 1956, in New Delhi, where he was accorded a Buddhist cremation. In 1990, Ambedkar was posthumously conferred with Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award.
