65th Mahaparinirvan Diwas

In News 

• Recently, the Prime Minister of India has paid tributes to Babasaheb Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar on Mahaparinirvan Diwas.

Mahaparinirvan Diwas

• The term ‘parinirvan’ has a deep meaning in Buddhist traditions and refers to someone who has attained nirvana in his lifetime and after death. 
• It implies a release from the world, karma and rebirth as well as the dissolution of the skandhas.
• The death anniversary of Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar on 6 December is celebrated as Mahaparinirvana Divas to commemorate his unfathomable contribution to society and achievements.

About BR Ambedkar

• Birth: In a Dalit (Hindu Mahar) family on 14^th April 1891 in a small town at Mhow Cantt in erstwhile Central Provinces (now Madhya Pradesh).
• He was regarded as a Buddhist guru because of his great influence in India to eradicate the social scourge of untouchability. 
• He was an educationist, economist, jurist, politician, journalist, sociologist and social reformer and worked in the fields of culture, religion and spirituality.
  • He is often termed as the ‘Father of the Indian Constitution.
• He considered the Right to Constitutional Remedy (Article 32)  as the soul of the constitution.

• Major Contributions:
  • 1918: His essay titled ‘Small Holdings in India and their Remedies’ (1918) proposed industrialisation as the answer to India’s agricultural problem and is still relevant to contemporary debates.
  • 1920: Started a fortnightly newspaper, the ‘Mooknayak’ (Dumb Hero), with the support of Shahu Maharaj of Kolhapur.
  • 1924: Founded the Bahishkrit Hitakarini Sabha also known as Outcastes Welfare Association, with an aim to spread education and awareness among the Dalits.
  • 1927: Led the Mahad Satyagraha in Maharashtra to challenge the regressive customs of the Hindu.
  • 1929: Decided to cooperate with the British Simon Commission, which drew sharp criticism from Congress.
  • 1930: Started Kalaram Satyagraha in Nashik, which was a temple entry movement for the untouchables.
  •  1932: He, on behalf of the untouchables, signed the Poona Pact with Mahatma Gandhi, who was representing Congress.
    • The pact provided the provisions for reserved seats for the depressed class instead of a separate electorate in the regional legislative assemblies and Central Council of States.
    • He participated in all the three Round Table Conferences in 1930, 1931 and 1932, voicing for untouchables and the depressed class.
  • 1936: Formed the Independent Labor Party, which was later transformed into the Scheduled Castes Federation.
  • 1937: Contested for the Central Legislative Assembly from Bombay.
    • During the Bombay Assembly’s Poona session in 1937, he introduced a bill to abolish the Khoti system of land tenure in Konkan. 
    • As a member of the Bombay Assembly, he opposed the introduction of the Industrial Disputes Bill, 1937, as it removed workers’ right to strike. 
  • 1939: During the Second World War, he called upon Indians to join the Army in large numbers to defeat Nazism, which in his opinion, was another form of Fascism.
  • 1942-46: Worked as Minister of Labour in the Viceroy’s Executive Council.
  • 1947: Worked as the first Law Minister of India in Jawahar Lal Nehru’s cabinet and was also made the Chairman of the Drafting Committee of Constitution.
  • 1955: Founded the Bharatiya Bauddha Mahasabha.
  • 1956: Embraced Buddhism along with many of his followers in a public ceremony in Nagpur.
• Literary Works:
  • The Untouchables: Who Were they and why they Became Untouchables?
  • Who were the Shudra?
  • Mr Gandhi and the Emancipation of the Untouchables
  • Annihilation of Caste
  • Pakistan or the Partition of India
  • The Buddha and His Dhamma
  • What Congress and Gandhi Have Done to the Untouchables
• Death: In New Delhi on 6^th December 1956.
• Ideology: 
  • He always advocated for providing equal rights to women. 
  • Lord Buddha’s message of compassion and harmony was the basis of his life and politics.

Government Initiatives to honour him 

• In 1990, he was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna (highest civilian honour of India).
• The development of Panchtirth is a step towards ensuring an appropriate legacy for Ambedkar, the nationalist reformer. 
  • Janam Bhumi (Mhow), 
  • Shiksha Bhumi (London), 
  • Chaitya Bhumi (Mumbai), 
  • Diksha Bhumi (Nagpur), 
  • Mahaparinirvan Bhumi (Delhi) 

Source: PIB