A true tribute to B.R. Ambedkar lies not merely in statues and ceremonies but in ensuring that every child knows why he matters to India, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has said while directing the State to take the necessary steps to introduce appropriate lessons on the leader’s contributions in its social science curriculum.
Justice L. Victoria Gowri said: “In a country which takes pride in being the largest democracy in the world, it is deeply unfortunate that many young minds are not taught, with sufficient seriousness and depth, about the life and contributions of the Father of our Constitution”.
Ambedkar sowed the seeds of democratic modernity in this country. He was not merely the Chairman of the Drafting Committee. He was a jurist of formidable intellect, an economist of rare distinction, a social reformer of unmatched courage, and a nation-builder who transformed centuries of civilisational pain into constitutional hope, the court noted.
“The tragedy of our times lies in the shrinking of such a towering national figure into the cramped confines of caste-based perception. The larger-than-life personality of Ambedkar is too often reduced to a sectional emblem, when in truth he belongs to the whole nation. He belongs equally to every classroom, every court, every institution of public learning, and every citizen who values dignity under law,” the court observed.
