The Consulate General of India, Sydney organised the celebrations of 125th Birth Anniversary of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, an Indian Economist, Politician and social reformer, who was the main architect of the Constitution of India.
He was also India’s first Minister of Law & Justice, and was posthumously awarded India’s highest civilian award ‘Bharat Ratna’ in 1990.
The celebration was organised by India's Consul General in Sydney Mr Vanlal Vawvna.
It began with an audio clip from Dr Ambedkar's speech in 1946 where he urged all the Political parties of India to come together for Freedom.
Dr Harinath OAM and chair person of Multicultural NSW delivered an insightful life sketch of Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar and mentioned how he converted to Buddhism in 1950.
Dr Harinath informed the rapt audience about how Dr Ambedkar changed his surname from Satpal to Ambedkar on the advise of his teacher.
The status of the so called "dalits" was such in those times that Dr Ambedkar could not get drinking water in his school till he stepped out and a Brahmin boy poured water into his cupped palms.
Rajni Luthra Editor In Chief of The Indian Link spoke passionately about, "The other man with rounded glasses." A scholar who possessed 55,000 books and a feminist and true Nation Builder.
Rajni said even as some so called 'Dalits" have emerged as authors, politicians and academics we have miles to go before caste is annihilated in India.
Another speaker on the occasion was Dr Kama Maclean well known for her Historical Studies and research of Indo Australian relations. She summed it up by saying that a great personality of Dr Ambedkar cannot be summed up in just one word as a lawyer, an academic, an activist or architect of the Indian Constitution. Indeed Dr Ambedkar was an Instituion in himself.
Dr Maclean was delighted with the information about a bust of Dr Ambedkar soon to be established in University of Western Sydney.
It is considered as a defining event for India that UN for the first time celebrated Baba Saheb Ambekar's birth anniversary as a symbol of social justice. Even as the UN celebrated B.R. Ambedkar's 125th birth anniversary and examined the relevance of his legacy for developing global goals, It heard a request to declare April 14, the birthday of the crusader against discrimination, as "International Equality Day" Today everyone seems to claim a piece of this great man.
