Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday paid tributes to BR Ambedkar on his 67th death anniversary, saying he inspire him everyday to strive for justice for all citizens.
In a post on X, Rahul Gandhi said, “Babasaheb Ambedkar’s life and his message inspire me everyday to strive for justice for all citizens. Humble tributes to him on his Mahaparinirvan Diwas.”
Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh in a post on X said, “Today is the 67th death anniversary of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. He had converted to Buddhism along with his wife and lakhs of his followers in Nagpur on October 14, 1956. A month later he was in Kathmandu for a meeting of the World Fellowship of Buddhists where he gave a talk on Buddha and Marx. Thereafter, he went to Lumbini and embraced the historic Ashoka pillar at Buddha’s birthplace.”
Ramesh said that after Lumbini, Dr. Ambedkar and his wife visited Bodh Gaya, the site of the Buddha’s enlightenment, Sarnath where the Buddha first preached his teachings and Kushinagar where the Buddha had passed away.
“Returning to New Delhi on November 30, 1956, Dr. Ambedkar visited an exhibition of Buddhist statues and two days later participated in a welcome ceremony for the visiting Dalai Lama at Ashoka Vihara. He attended the Rajya Sabha for the very last time on the morning of December 4, 1956. The next day he met with a delegation of Jain munis and had a conversation on Buddhism and Jainism. He finalised the preface to his book, ‘The Buddha and his Dhamma’ and brought his two other books (i) Revolution and Counter-Revolution and (ii) The Buddha and Karl Marx to near completion.
“His wife wrote in her memoirs that after dinner on December 5, 1956, he had started singing Kabir’s couplet Chalo Kabir Tera Bhavasagar Dera (Move on Kabir, this is your temporary abode) with a lot of passion and musicality. She was to find him dead the very next morning. The Prime Minister paid him a tribute later that day in the Lok Sabha,” Ramesh added.
Ambedkar played a pivotal role in drafting the Constitution as the chairman of the drafting committee and also served as the Law and Justice Minister in Jawaharlal Nehru’s initial cabinet.
Ambedkar, hailing from a Dalit background, ascended to a prominent position in Indian politics. He championed for the rights of the underprivileged.
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