NEW DELHI, 15 April 2007 — Indians across the nation remembered Dalit hero Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar on his 116th birth anniversary yesterday. Dignitaries, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress party President Sonia Gandhi, paid floral tributes at his statue in Parliament House.
Cultural functions and gatherings were held across the country to mark the anniversary. Since early morning, scores of men and women — mainly belonging to the lower class — queued up outside Parliament to pay their respects.
Ambedkar, a Dalit, born on April 14, 1891 in Madhya Pradesh’s Mhow town, is remembered as the primary architect of the country’s constitution and an advocate against the Hindu caste system.
Being one of the first Dalits to obtain a college education, Ambedkar’s scholarly career began with an M.Phil dissertation on “Castes In India,” which was converted into his first published article.
