3 life lessons everyone can learn from Dr. B.R. Ambedkar

MUMBAI: “Unlike a drop of water which loses its identity when it joins the ocean, man does not lose his being in the society in which he lives. Man’s life is independent. He is born not for the development of the society alone, but for the development of his self too.” – Dr. B.R. Ambedkar 

Today, the nation is remembering the architect of the Indian Constitution and Bharat Ratna Dr. B R Ambedkar on his death anniversary. Three days after completing his final manuscript The Buddha and His Dhamma, Ambedkar died in his sleep on 6 December 1956 at his home in Delhi. Since then December 6th is observed as Dr. Ambedkar Mahaparinirvan Diwas. Babasaheb was and continues to be an inspiration to many and here are 3 key life lessons everyone can learn from Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. 

Soon a televised show by &TV titled Ek Mahanayak – Dr. B.R. Ambedkar on the life story of Babasaheb will be seen for the first time in the Hindi GEC. The show is produced by Smruti Sushilkumar Shinde’s SOBO Films and will go on air on December 17th, 2019 at 8:30 pm, every Monday to Friday. 

1. “Be Educated, Be Organised and Be Agitated” – Education is one the keys to success. Babasaheb was a prolific student who did not let anything, or anyone come in the way to educate himself well and in fact, was the first-ever person from a disadvantageous segment to finish college. He held doctorates in economics from both Columbia University and the London School of Economics. He gained a reputation as a scholar for his research in law, economics, and political science. Being an outstanding legal and constitutional expert, Dr. Ambedkar was entrusted with the role of drafting the constitution of India. 

2. “I measure the progress of a community by the degree of progress which women have achieved.” – Babasaheb used education as his tool to the forefront of the cause of liberty, equality, and fraternity. He strongly believed that the only way the society can progress is through empowering women. He, therefore, strongly endorsed women’s right to high education and employment. Not only that he also authored several books and led movements to secure human rights. He spoke for the empowerment of all women and during the freedom struggle, he launched a movement against women's oppression. He advocated maternity benefits over 100 years ago, much before Independence. Not only, he was the first person in India to talk about maternity leave, but he was also the first person to raise voice for ‘equal pay for equal work’ for all. 

3. “Life should be great rather than long” – It is generally believed that everyone has a temporary existence and have one life to live and what we make of this life defines our purpose and path. A purpose brings with it a sense of responsibility to know there is something bigger than your being. Most successful people live their lives with purpose, which makes them stay focused and determined. The young Ambedkar was not allowed to sit in the same classroom and drink water from the same well. But that did not deter him from his purpose to get educated and use this education to bring about a change he wanted to see, thereby leading him to become one of the extraordinary leaders of our times.