Little known facts about Dr  Ambedkar on his birth anniversary

New Delhi: From being the architect of Indian constitution to the first Law minister of independent India, Dr Bheem Rao Ambdekar worked against social discrimination till his last breath. He may have been famous as one of the architects of the Indian constitution but his contribution in the field of economics, dam technology and labour reforms are rather little known.

On his 125^th birth anniversary, the newztrack.com brings you some little known facts Dr Ambedkar.

Born in 1891 in Mhow of Madhya Pradesh, Ambedkar was 14^th child of his parents.

• His father and grandfather were employed in the British East India Company’s army.
• He had opposed Article 370, which gave a special status to the north Indian state Jammu and Kashmir.
• Ambedkar was the first Indian to pursue an economics doctorate degree from abroad.
• Ambedkar suffered from a severe case of diabetes in later years of his life.
• He played a crucial role in establishment of large dam technology in India.
• He contributed in setting up of Damodar, Hirakud and Sone river dam projects.
• In 1952, Ambedkar contested first Lok Sabha election from Bombay North and lost to Congress candidate Naryan Kajrolkar.
• Ambedkar’s autobiography named ‘Waiting for a Visa’ which he wrote during 1935-36 is used as a text book in the Columbia University.
• At the 7th Session of Indian Labour conference, Ambedkar changed the working hours in India from 14 hours to 8 hours.
• Ambedkar played a key role in establishment of Reserve Bank of India in 1935. It was formed based on the guidelines provided by Dr. Ambedkar. His book ‘The Problem of the Rupee-Its Origin and Its Solution’ was widely referred during the formation of RBI.
• Way back in the year 1955 Ambedkar had suggested the divison of both Madhya Pradesh and Bihar for better governance. The states were bifurcated 45 years later and in the year 2000 states of Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand were formed.