As the Law and Justice minister in Jawaharlal Nehru's first cabinet, Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (14 April 1891 – 6 December 1956) was an Indian jurist, economist, social reformer, and political leader who chaired the committee that drafted the Indian Constitution based on the debates of the Constituent Assembly of India and Sir Benegal Narsing Rau's first draft.

Ambedkar was born into the Mahar (Dalit) caste, which faced socioeconomic discrimination and was regarded as untouchable. Ambedkar and other untouchable children went to school, but they were kept apart and received little assistance or attention from their teachers. They were not permitted to take seats in the classroom. They were not permitted to touch the water or the container that held it, so when they needed to drink water, someone from a higher caste had to pour it from a height. The school peon would typically complete this chore for the young Ambedkar; if the peon was unavailable, he would have to go without water; he later wrote that "No peon, No water" was the result. He had to carry a gunny sack home with him, and he had to sit on it.

He claimed to be the first member of his Mahar caste to enrol in Elphinstone College, which was connected to the University of Bombay, after passing his matriculation exam in 1907. His community wanted to rejoice after he completed his fourth standard English exams because they thought he had achieved "great heights," which he claims is "hardly an occasion compared to the state of education in other communities." The community organized a public ceremony to honor his accomplishment, and it was during this event that Dada Keluskar, the author and a family friend, gave him a biography of the Buddha. After graduating from Bombay University with a degree in economics and political science in 1912, he was ready to start working for the Baroda state government.

The establishment of a distinct electorate for "Depressed Classes" under the Communal Award was proclaimed by the British colonial government in 1932. Mahatma Gandhi was adamantly against untouchables having their own electorate because he believed it would split the Hindu community. Gandhi fasted in protest while he was confined to Poona's Yerwada Central Jail. Following the fast, Ambedkar and his supporters were invited to Yerwada for joint discussions with congressional leaders and activists Madan Mohan Malaviya and Palwankar Baloo. Ambedkar, speaking for the Hindu lower classes, and Madan Mohan Malaviya, speaking for the rest of the Hindu population, signed the Poona Pact on September 25, 1932. The accord allocated seats to the general electorate's depressed classes in the Provisional parliament. Instead of the 71 seats in the legislature that the colonial government under Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald had previously recommended through the Communal Award, the depressed class was granted 148 seats as a result of the deal. According to the India Act of 1935 and the subsequent Indian Constitution of 1950, Untouchables among Hindus were referred to as "Depressed Classes" and subsequently became Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. In theory, the Poona Pact created a single electorate, but in reality, Untouchables were permitted to select their own candidates through primary and secondary elections.

In 1935, Ambedkar declared that although he was born a Hindu, he would not die a Hindu. His perception of Hinduism as an "oppressive religion" led him to contemplate conversion to any other faith. Ambedkar argues in Annihilation of Caste that dispelling the notion of the Shastras' purity and negating their power is the only long-term solution to a truly casteless society. Ambedkar wrote a book called Riddles in Hinduism between 1954 and 1955, and was critical of Hindu holy writings and epics. Mass protests and counter-demonstrations followed the posthumous publication of the book, which was a compilation of separate chapter manuscripts. Ambedkar believed that Christianity was powerless to combat injustice. "It is an undeniable fact that Christianity was insufficient to abolish slavery for African Americans in the United States," he stated. To grant the Negro the freedom that the Christians denied him, a civil war was required.

Islam is "a close corporation and the distinction that it makes between Muslims and non-Muslims is a very real, very positive, and very alienating distinction," according to Ambedkar, who also denounced divisions within the faith. "The danger of Muslim domination also becomes real" if they converted to Islam, he said, and "will help to strengthen the hold of Britain on the country" if they converted to Christianity. He also opposed the conversion of the downtrodden classes to either religion. Ambedkar had originally intended to convert to Sikhism, but he changed his mind after learning that the British government would not provide the untouchables with the same advantages in reserved parliamentary seats. Weeks before his death, on October 16, 1956, he became a Buddhist.

Ambedkar contemplated becoming a Sikh, a religion that favoured leaders of the scheduled castes and promoted resistance to injustice. However, he came to the conclusion that he might be granted "second-rate" Sikh status after meeting with Sikh officials. Rather, he started focusing on Buddhism around 1950 and went to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) to attend a World Fellowship of Buddhists gathering. During the dedication of a new Buddhist vihara close to Pune, Ambedkar declared that he would formally convert to Buddhism after finishing a book on the subject. In 1954, he made two trips to Burma, the second time to Rangoon for the World Fellowship of Buddhists' third meeting. He established the Buddhist Society of India, also known as the Bharatiya Bauddha Mahasabha, in 1955. His last book, The Buddha and His Dhamma, was finished in 1956 and released after his death.

Ambedkar organized a formal public celebration for himself and his followers in Nagpur on October 14, 1956, following discussions with Hammalawa Saddhatissa, a Buddhist monk from Sri Lanka. Along with his wife, Ambedkar underwent his own conversion after receiving the Three Refuges and Five Precepts from a Buddhist monk in the conventional way. He then went on to convert about half a million of his followers who had gathered around him. Following the Three Jewels and Five Precepts, he recommended the 22 Vows for these converts. After that, he went to the Fourth World Buddhist Conference in Kathmandu, Nepal. He never finished writing "Revolution and counter-revolution in ancient India" or "The Buddha or Karl Marx."

Ambedkar's legacy was not without disapproval. Some of his biographers have criticized him for his disregard for organization-building, while others have criticized him for his biased views on the caste issue at the expense of collaboration with the broader nationalist movement. Many political organizations, periodicals, and workers' unions that are still in existence throughout India, particularly in Maharashtra, are the result of Ambedkar's political ideology. His advocacy of Buddhism has rekindled interest in Buddhist ideas among some segments of the Indian populace. In the present era, human rights activists have organized mass conversion ceremonies that mimic Ambedkar's 1956 Nagpur ceremony. Despite never having claimed it himself, he is considered a Bodhisattva by certain Indian Buddhists.

Some Hungarian Romani people outside of India in the late 1990s compared their own predicament to that of the oppressed Indian people. They began converting to Buddhism after being inspired by Ambedkar.

Ambedkar had diabetes since 1948. Due to negative effects from his medication and bad vision, he spent June through October of 1954 in bed. In 1955, his health deteriorated. Ambedkar passed away in his sleep on December 6, 1956, at his Delhi home, three days after finishing his last work, The Buddha and His Dhamma. On December 7, a Buddhist cremation was held at Dadar Chowpatty beach, which was attended by half a million mourners. In order to convert cremation attendees to Buddhism at the same location, a conversion event was organized on December 16, 1956.

Ambedkar's home at 26 Alipur Road in Delhi now has a memorial dedicated to him. In many Indian states, the day of his birth, known as Ambedkar Jayanti or Bhim Jayanti, is celebrated as a public holiday. In 1990, he received the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honor, posthumously. At least half a million people come to Mumbai to honor him at his memorial on the anniversaries of his birth and death, as well as on Dhamma Chakra Pravartan Din (October 14) in Nagpur. Books are sold, and thousands of bookstores are opened. "Educate, agitate, organise!" was his takeaway for his supporters.

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