LIFE OF BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR

His Birth and Greatness Foretold

On April 14th, 1891 a son was born to Bhimabai and Ramji Ambadvekar. His father Ramji was an
army officer stationed at Mhow in Madhya Pradesh - he had risen to the highest rank an Indian
was allowed to hold at that time under British rule. His mother decided to call her son Bhim.
Before the birth, Ramji’s uncle, who was a man living the religious life of a sanyasi, foretold that
this son would achieve worldwide fame. His parents already had many children. Despite that,
they resolved to make every effort to give him a good education.

Early Life and First School

Two years later, Ramji retired from the army, and the family moved to Dapoli in the Ratnagiri
district of Maharashtra, from where they came originally. Bhim was enrolled at school when he
was five years old. The whole family had to struggle to live on the small army pension Ramji
received.

When some friends found Ramji a job at Satara, things seemed to be looking up for the family,
and they moved again. Soon after, however, tragedy struck. Bhimabhai, who had been ill, died.
Bhim’s aunt Mira, though she herself was not in good health, took over the care of the children.
Ramji read stories from the epics Mahabharata and Ramayana to his children, and sang
devotional songs to them. In this way, home life was still happy for Bhim, his brothers and
sisters. He never forgot the influence of his father. It taught him about the rich cultural tradition
shared by all Indians.

An Outstanding Scholar

At this time in his young life, with his mother dead, and father working away from the village
where Bhim went to school, he had some good fortune. His teacher, though from a ‘high’ caste,
liked him a lot. He praised Bhim’s good work and encouraged him, seeing what a bright pupil he
was. He even invited Bhim to eat lunch with him - something that would have horrified most high
caste Hindus. The teacher also changed Bhim’s last name to Ambedkar - his own name.

When his father decided to remarry, Bhim was very upset - he still missed his mother so much.
Wanting to run away to Bombay, he tried to steal his aunt’s purse. When at last he managed to
get hold of it, he found only one very small coin. Bhim felt so ashamed. He put the coin back and
made a vow to himself to study very hard and to become independent.

Soon he was winning the highest praise and admiration from all his teachers. They urged Ramji
to get the best education fro his son Bhim. So Ramji moved with his family to Bombay. They all
had to live in just one room, in an area where the poorest of the poor lived, but Bhim was able to
go to Elphinstone High School - one of the best schools in all of India.

In their one room everyone and everything was crowed together and the streets outside were
very noisy. Bhim went to sleep when he got home from school. Then his father would wake him
up at two o’clock in the morning! Everything was quiet then - so he could do his homework and
study in peace.

In the big city, where life was more modern than in the villages, Bhim found that he was still
called an ‘untouchable’ and treated as if something made him different and bad - even at his
famous school.

One day, the teacher called him up to the blackboard to do a sum. All the other boys jumped up
and made a big fuss. Their lunch boxes were stacked behind the blackboard - they believed that
Bhim would pollute the food! When he wanted to learn Sanskrit, the language of the Hindu holy
scriptures, he was told that it was forbidden for ‘untouchables’ to do so. He had to study Persian
instead - but he taught himself Sanskrit later in life.

VITTHAL RAMJI SHINDE

Maharshi V.R. Shinde was born at Jamkhandi a small princely State, now a part of the
Karnataka.Though Shinde's family was basically Marathi speaking, it was a typical example of a
confluence of both the linguistc cultures of Kannada and Marathi(April 23, 1873 – January 2,
1944)He was a prominent campaiger on behalf of the Dalit movement in India who established
the Depressed Classes Mission of India to provide education to the Dalits. (This article is Edited
by Harshad K.Bhosale)

Education and Life Work

In 1898 he obtained B.A. Degree from the Fergusson College at Pune, India. He had also studied
and passed the first year law and moved to Mumbai (Bombay) for LL.B. examination, however
gave up this course in order to attend to other compelling callings in his life. This same year he
joined the Prarthana Samaj, Where he was further inspired and influenced by G.B. Kotkar,
Shivrampant Gokhle, Justice Ranade, R.G. Bhandarkar and K.B. Marathe and became its
missionary.

The Prarthana Samaj selected him, to go to England in 1901, to study comparative religion at the
Manchester College, founded by the Unitarian Church, at Oxford University. Maharaja Sahyajirao
Gaikwad, of Baroda (a progressive and reformist in his own rights) provided some financial help
for his travels abroad.

After returning from England in 1903 he devoted his life to religious and social reforms. He
continued his missionary work of the Prarthana Samaj. His efforts were devoted mainly to the
removal of Untouchability in India.

In 1905 he established a night school for the children of untouchable in Pune.

In 1906 he established the Depressed Classes Mission in Mumbai (Bombay). In 1922 the
mission’s Ahalyashram building was completed at Pune.

From 1918 to 1920, He went on to convening the all India untouchability removal conferences.
Some of these conferences were convened under the president-ship of Mahatma Gandhi and
Maharaja Sahyajirao Gaikwad. His written communications with the Mahatmaji is noteworthy.

In 1919 he gave evidence before the South borough Commission, asking for the special
representation for the untouchable casts.

In 1923 he resigned as the executive of the Depressed Classes Mission since some of the
members of the untouchable castes wanted its own leaders to manage the mission’s affairs.

His work and association with the Mission continued even though disappointed by the Separatist
attitude of the leaders of the untouchables, especially under the leadership of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar.
Like the Mahatma Gandhi, He wanted unity amongst the Harijans (untouchables) and the caste
Hindus and feared that the British rule will take advantage of such divisions within the Indian
society.

In 1930 he participated in the Civil Disobedience Movement of Mahatma Gandhi and was
imprisoned for 6 months of hard labor, in the Yerawda prison near Pune. In 1933 his book
“Bhartiya Asprushyatecha Prashna” (India’s untouchability question) was published.
His thoughts and examination of the Hindu religion and social culture were similar to Raja Ram
Mohan Roy and Dayananda Saraswati. He has written extensively about it where he rejects cast
system, Idol worship, inequities against woman & depressed classes. He rejected meaningless
rituals, rejected the dominance of hereditary priesthood and the need for a priest to mediate
between God and his devotees. This article is Edited by Harshad Bhosale)

MERA MULK MERA DESH – DILJALE AI MERE PYAARE VATAN

Mera mulk mera desh mera yeh watan
Shanti ka unnati ka pyaar ka chaman
Mera mulk mera desh mera yeh watan
Shanti ka unnati ka pyaar ka chaman
Is ke vaaste nisaar hai mera tan mera man
Aye watan aye watan aye watan
Jaaneman jaaneman jaaneman
Aye watan aye watan aye watan
Jaaneman jaaneman jaaneman
Mera mulk mera desh mera yeh watan
Shanti ka unnati ka pyaar ka chaman
ai mere pyaare vatan, ai mere bichha.De chaman
tujh pe dil qurabaan
tuu hii merii aarazuu, tuu hii merii aabaruu
tuu hii merii jaan
(tere daaman se jo aae un havaao.n ko salaam
chuum luu.N mai.n us zubaa.N ko jisape aae teraa
naam ) - 2
sabase pyaarii subah terii
sabase ra.ngii.n terii shaam
tujh pe dil qurabaan \threedots

Is ki mitti se bane tere mere yeh badan (maa.N kaa dil banake kabhii siine se lag jaataa hai
Is ki dharti tere mere vaaste gagan tuu
Is ne hi sikhaya humko jeene ka chalan aur kabhii nanhii.n sii beTii ban ke yaad aataa hai
Jeene ka chalan tuu )- 2
Is ke vaaste nisaar hai mera tan mera man jitanaa yaad aataa hai mujhako
Aye watan aye watan aye watan utanaa ta.Dapaataa hai tuu
Jaaneman jaaneman jaaneman tujh pe dil qurabaan \threedots
Mera mulk mera desh mera yeh watan
Shanti ka unnati ka pyaar ka chaman (chho.D kar terii zamii.n ko duur aa pahu.nche hai.n
ham
Apne is chaman ko swarg hum banayenge phir bhii hai ye hii tamannaa tere zarro.n kii qasam )
-2
Kona kona apne desh ka sajayenge
ham jahaa.n paidaa hue
Jashn hoga zindagi ka honge sab magan
us jagah pe hii nikale dam
Honge sab magan
tujh pe dil qurabaan
Is ke vaaste nisaar hai mera tan mera man
Aye watan aye watan aye watan
Jaaneman jaaneman jaaneman
Mera mulk mera desh mera yeh watan
Shanti ka unnati ka pyaar ka chaman
Mera mulk mera desh mera yeh watan
Shanti ka unnati ka pyaar ka chaman
Is ke vaaste nisaar hai mera tan mera man
Aye watan aye watan aye watan
Jaaneman jaaneman jaaneman
Aye watan aye watan aye watan
Jaaneman jaaneman jaaneman