Delhi govt introduces booklet on Ambedkar in school curriculum

The Delhi government introduced a booklet on the life and works of B R Ambedkar in the curriculum for classes 6 to 8 on Friday.

Launching the booklet on Ambedkar's 64th death anniversary, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal hoped that private schools will also incorporate it in their curriculum.

"By describing Ambedkar just as a leader of Dalits, people have belittled his contribution to the society," the CM said.

"Only a few people know that he contributed to the formation of the Reserve Bank of India, granting women equal rights in the Hindu Code Bill, farmers welfare... We want to tell everything to our children," he said.

While Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel made efforts to unite India, Baba Saheb Ambedkar drafted a constitution to keep India united, Kejriwal added.

"This booklet is just the first draft. We will refine it, include the suggestions of teachers and students. After a few years, we will be able to develop a full syllabus on Ambedkar, which can be taught in every school of the country," he said.

Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who also holds the education portfolio, said Ambedkar could not be taught just in the form of a biography.

"We want to take his thoughts and ideas to classrooms. We want every student to correlate with the problems, caste-based discrimination Ambedkar faced in his early life so that they do not allow a repeat of it with anyone in the future," he said.

Delhi's Social Welfare Minister Rajendra Pal Gautam said, "Only a few of us know that Reserve Bank of India was founded in 1934 based on one of the research papers -- 'The Problem of Rupee in India and its Solutions' -- written by Ambedkar. Nobel laureate Amartya Sen considers Ambedkar as his guru in Economics."