Ambedkar Jayanti or Bhim Jayanti is an annual festival observed on 14 April to commemorate the memory of B. R. Ambedkar, Indian polymath, the father of the Constitution of India and civil rights activist. It marks Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar's birthday who was born on 14 April 1891. Since 2015 it has been observed as an official public holiday throughout India. Ambedkar Jayanti is celebrated not just in India rather all around the world. on the occasion of his 125th birth anniversary, at Parliament House, in New Delhi on April 14, 2016. Ambedkar Jayanti processions are carried out by his followers at Chaitya Bhoomi in Mumbai and Deeksha Bhoomi in Nagpur. It is a customary for senior national figures, such as the President, Prime Minister and leaders of major political parties, to pay homage at the statue of Ambedkar at the Parliament of India in New Delhi. It is celebrated throughout the world especially by dalits, adivasi, labour workers, women and also those who embraced Buddhism after his example. In India, large numbers of people visit local statues commemorating Ambedkar in procession with lot of fanfare. In 2020, first Online Ambedkar Jayanti celebrated in the world.
Background
Babasaheb Ambedkar's first birthday was publicly celebrated on 14 April 1928 in Pune, by Janardan Sadashiv Ranpise, who was an Ambedkarite and social activist. He started the tradition of Babasaheb's birth anniversary or Ambedkar Jayanti. Ambedkar passed his matriculation in 1907. Then, he pursued BA honours in economics and political science from Elphinstone college. He enrolled in Columbia University, New York for the Masters of Arts and got his PhD in economics in 1927. In 1916, he took the admission for the Bar Course at Gray’s Inn along with this he also did another doctoral thesis in economics from the London School of Economics. Ambedkar was master in 64 subjects and was proficient in 11 languages.
Tributes
Indian Post issued stamps dedicated to Ambedkar's birthday in 1966, 1973, 1991, 2001, and 2013, and featured him on other stamps in 2009, 2015, 2016, and 2017. On 14 April 1990, Ambedkar was bestowed with Bharat Ratna award. The same year his life size portrait was also unveiled in the Central Hall of Parliament. The period from 14 April 1990 — 14 April 1991 was observed as "Year of Social Justice" in the memory of Babasaheb. Government of India Issued 10 Rupees and 125 Rupees coins in 2015 to mark the 125 Birth Anniversary in the honor of Ambedkar. On 14 April 2015, a Google Doodle was published for Ambedkar's 124th birthday. The doodle was featured in India, Argentina, Chile, Ireland, Peru, Poland, Sweden and the United Kingdom. The United Nations celebrated Ambedkar Jayanti in 2016, 2017 and 2018. In 2017, As per Government of Maharashtra 14 April is observed as Knowledge Day in memory of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar. In 2017, on the occasion of Dr. Ambedkar Jayanti, Twitter launched Dr. Ambedkar emoji as a tribute to the legend. On 6 April, 2020, in Canada, it was decided to observe Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Birthday as 'Equality Day'. The decision was taken by the Council of the City of Burnaby, Canada.
