Ambedkar Memorial Day - Dalit

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Ambedkar Jayanti, Memorial Day

***** Location: India
***** Season: Spring (April 14)
***** Category: Observance

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Explanation

Ambedkar is revered as God in Maharastra.
Ambedkar Jayanti is celebrated with great pomp and devotion.

Kala Ramesh

Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar
(April 14, 1891 - December 6, 1956),
chief architect of the Indian Constitution, first Union Law minister of India and founder of Neo-Buddhism.

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14th of April is the day on which Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar had born. He was the man who wrote more than 90% of the Indian constitution and is called as father of 'Indian Constitution'. He fought for the upliftment of the Dalits (outcasts, untouchables).

Many people worship him like God. He played a crucial role in the achievement of the Indian Independence. He was one of the highly educated people in India, in those days. Hence was given the responsibility of writing the constitution.
http://www.punediary.com/html/jayanti.html

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Wikipedia LINKS

Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B.R._Ambedkar


Dalit (untouchables)
Dalit is a designation for a group of people traditionally regarded as "untouchable". Dalits are a mixed population, consisting of numerous castes from all over South Asia; they speak a variety of languages and practice a multitude of religions.

While the discrimination based on caste system (not the caste system itself) has been abolished under the Indian constitution, there still is discrimination and prejudice against Dalits in South Asia. Since India's independence, significant steps have been taken to provide opportunities in jobs and education. Many social organisations too have proactively promoted better conditions for Dalits through improved education, health and employment.

There are many different names proposed for defining this group of people including Panchamas (5th varna), and Asprushya (untouchables).

The word "Dalit"
comes from the Sanskrit, and means "ground", "suppressed", "crushed", or "broken to pieces". It was first used by Jyotirao Phule in the nineteenth century, in the context of the oppression faced by the erstwhile "untouchable" castes of the twice-born Hindus.

According to Victor Premasagar, the term expresses their "weakness, poverty and humiliation at the hands of the upper castes in the Indian society."

Mohandas Gandhi coined the word Harijan, translated roughly as "Children of God", to identify the former Untouchables. The terms "Scheduled castes and scheduled tribes" (SC/ST) are the official terms used in Indian government documents to identify former "untouchables" and tribes. However, in 2008 the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, noticing that "Dalit" was used interchangeably with the official term "scheduled castes", called the term "unconstitutional" and asked state governments to end its use. After the order, the Chhattisgarh government ended the official use of the word "Dalit".

"Adi Dravida", "Adi Karnataka","Adi Andhra" and "Adi-Dharmi" are words used in the states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Punjab respectively, to identify people of former "untouchable" castes in official documents. These words, particularly the prefix of "Adi", denote the aboriginal inhabitants of the land.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalit_(outcaste)

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Worldwide use


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Things found on the way


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HAIKU

dalits:
holding their heads high
look up to Ambedkar

Kala Ramesh

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spring sunshine--
Dalits have laboured for eons
let them labour more

Shared by Manu Kant
Joys of Japan, February 2012



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Related words

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