B. R. Ambedkar

B. R. Ambedkar plaque. 10 King Henry Road, Chalk Farm, London

Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar who was a leader of the depressed classes throughout his life. He worked for the moral and material progress of the 'untouchables'.

B. R. Ambedkar was born on 14 April 1891 in Mhow (now officially known as Dr Ambedkar Nagar) in Madhya Pradesh. He belonged to the 'untouchable' Mahar caste.

Ambedkar was a great scholar who studied economics at Columbia University and the London School of Economics. 

In 1924 Ambedkar founded the Depressed Classes Institute (Bahishkrit Hitkarni Sabha) in Bombay. Three years later in 1927 he established the Samaj Samta Sangh to propagate the gospel of social equality between caste Hindus and worked for the uplift of the 'untouchables'.

In December 1927, he led a satyagraha in Mahad to fight for the rights of the 'untouchables' to draw water from public wells and tanks.

In 1928 he organized temple entry movement named  Parvati temple satyagraha. He started Kalasam temple satyagraha during 1930 and 1935. 

In 1936, Ambedkar founded the Independent Labour Party for protecting the interest of the labour classes. That year he wrote seminal work Annihilation of Caste which strongly criticizes the caste system. 

In 1942 he founded Scheduled Castes Federation to campaign for the rights of the Dalit community.

Ambedkar was one of the chief authors of the Indian Constitution which came into effect on January 26, 1950. He resigned from government in 1951. In 1956 he converted to Buddhism, and he died later that year.