Ambedkar birth anniversary: Politicians compete to claim inheritance to his legacy

To protest caste system, Rohith Vemula's family embraces Buddhism

On his 125th birth anniversary, political parties and leaders competed on Thursday to claim to be the true inheritors of the legacy of B R Ambedkar and to abuse the rest as charlatans.

If Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanded that the Congress repent for “undermining Ambedkar’s legacy”, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati launched her party’s election campaign for the 2017 Uttar Pradesh polls and termed the Dalit outreach of Modi and Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi as “eyewash”.

Read more from our special coverage on "B R AMBEDKAR"

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• Will work with India to realise Ambedkars vision of social, economic equality: UN

The PM visited Ambedkar’s birthplace in Mhow, Madhya Pradesh. He said India's development won't happen through five or 50 cities --- the foundation of villages will have to be strengthened. And, reiterated his commitment to double farmers' income by 2022.

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao laid the foundation stone for a 125-ft statue of Ambedkar near the Hussain Sagar lake in Hyderabad. Even the United Nations commemorated the anniversary.

In Mumbai, amid the countrywide melee of competing claims, the mother and brother of Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula, who committed suicide at Hyderabad Central University in January, sparking strong protests from dalits across the country, embraced Buddhism. Rohith’s mother, Radhika, and brother Raja Vemula, were given deeksha at a function in Dadar in the presence of Ambedkar’s grandson, Prakash.

Ambedkar, to protest the discrimination of Dalits by upper castes, had converted to Buddhism at Nagpur in 1956, shortly before he passed away.

“My brother Rohith was a Buddhist at heart although he did not convert. He took his own life as he was discriminated because he was a Dalit. We are against the caste system in Hinduism and have, therefore, decided to embrace Buddhism, which does not have such an oppressive system of castes. We want azadi (freedom) from the caste system,” said Rohith’s brother.

In Lucknow, BSP chief Mayawati defended putting up her statues beside those of mentor Kanshi Ram at various memorials her government built over 2007-12. She said it was done to honour the wishes of her mentor but her party would now concentrate on development, not on building memorials if voted to power.

She also dismissed the ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ controversy. She said: "We in BSP say Jai Bheem and Jai Bharat. Some say Jai Hind. It's not necessary to chant Bharat Mata Ki Jai, for which the BJP is making a big hue and cry."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi visiting the Bhim Birthplace (Bhim Janma Bhoomi) Memorial on B R Ambedkar's 125th birth anniversary in Mhow, Madhya Pradesh. Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shivraj Singh Chouhan is also seen

The PM visited Ambedkar’s birthplace in Mhow, Madhya Pradesh. He said India's development won't happen through five or 50 cities --- the foundation of villages will have to be strengthened. And, reiterated his commitment to double farmers' income by 2022.

In Mumbai, at a conference on maritime development, the PM said: "Many of us may not know that Babasaheb (Ambedkar) created two powerful institutions related to water, navigation and power. They are the Central Waterways, Irrigation and Navigation Commission and the Central Technical Power Board."

In Bengaluru, former Karnataka chief minister B S Yeddyurappa assumed charge as state BJP President and set an ambitious target of having an absolute majority, by winning 150 seats in the 224-member House in the 2018 Assembly polls.