Ambedkar Jayanti, 14th April 2019
Ambedkar Jayanti is an annual festival observed in India on 14 April to memorize of B. R. Ambedkar. It marks Dr. B.R. Ambedkar's birthday who was born on 14 April 1891. Since 2015 it has been observed as an official public holiday throughout India. Ambedkar Jayanti is celebrated not just in India but all around the world.
Ambedkar Jayanti processions are carried out by his followers at Chaitya Bhoomi in Mumbai and Deeksha Bhoomi in Nagpur. It is customary for senior national figures, such as the President, Prime Minister and leaders of major political parties, to pay homage at the statue of Ambedkar at the Parliament of India in New Delhi. It is celebrated throughout the world especially bydalits, adivasi, labor workers, women and also those who embraced Buddhism after his example. In India, large numbers of people visit local statues commemorating Ambedkar in procession with a lot of fanfare.
Ambedkar's first birthday was publicly celebrated on 14 April 1928 in Pune, by social activist and Ambedkarite Janardan Sadashiv Ranpise. He started the tradition of Babasaheb's birth anniversary or Ambedkar Jayanti.
On 14 April 1990, Ambedkar was bestowed with Bharat Ratna award. The same year his life-size portrait was also unveiled in the Central Hall of Parliament. The period from 14 April 1990 — 14 April 1991 was observed as "Year of Social Justice" in the memory of Babasaheb.
The United Nations celebrated Ambedkar Jayanti in 2016, 2017 and 2018
In 1935, Ambedkar was appointed principal of the Government Law College, Bombay, a position he held for two years. He also served as the chairman of Governing body of Ramjas College, University of Delhi, after the death of its founder, Rai Kedarnath. Settling in Bombay (today called Mumbai), Ambedkar oversaw the construction of a house and stocked his personal library with more than 50,000 books. His wife Ramabai died after a long illness the same year. It had been her long-standing wish to go on a pilgrimage to Pandharpur, but Ambedkar had refused to let her go, telling her that he would create a new Pandharpur for her instead of Hinduism's Pandharpur which treated them as untouchables. At the Yeola Conversion Conference on 13 October in Nasik, Ambedkar announced his intention to convert to a different religion and exhorted his followers to leave Hinduism. He would repeat his message at many public meetings across India.
Ambedkar was trained as an economist and was a professional economist until 1921 when he became a political leader. He wrote three scholarly books on economics:
- Administration and Finance of the East India Company
- The Evolution of Provincial Finance in British India
- The Problem of the Rupee: Its Origin and Its Solution
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), was based on the ideas that Ambedkar presented to the Hilton Young Commission.