President recalls Ambedkar’s contribution to education, says Nov 7 should be observed as Students’ Day
President Ram Nath Kovind said on Saturday that November 7 should be celebrated across the country as Student’s Day to commemorate BR Ambedkar’s contributions to education and his dedication to this area.
The president also said that any program associated with BR Ambedkar is an inspiration to realize the vision of a compassionate and egalitarian society.
He spoke after performing pooja from Ambedkar’s urn and paying floral tribute to Lord Buddha at Ambadawe, the ancestral village of the Father of the Constitution, in Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra.
“November 7 is celebrated as student day in schools in Maharashtra to commemorate the day Babasaheb Ambedkar enrolled in a school in 1900. This initiative should be repeated across the country,” he said.
He said that the village of Ambadawe is known as the “Sphurti bhumi” (Land of Inspiration), which is a fitting tribute to Ambedkar who has contributed immensely in various fields with full energy.
“According to the ideal of the ‘sphurti bhumi’, in every village there should be a social system based on the values of harmony, compassion and equality cherished by Babasaheb,” Kovind said.
The president further said he was delighted to see that the Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DICCI) has taken several initiatives to make Ambadawe self-reliant. He praised the DICCI for providing assistance to villagers affected by the ‘Nisarga’ Cyclone in June 2020.
He expressed confidence that the collective efforts to empower people by promoting small businesses in villages “would be transformative and bring substantial change to the lives of villagers.”
“Babasaheb advocated self-employment and had set up a consultancy in stock trading. He had submitted a memorandum to then Viceroy Linlithgow in 1942 (he had served as Governor-General and Viceroy of India from 1936 to 1943) demanding the participation of the underprivileged in CPWD tenders. But because of his social and political responsibilities, Ambedkar was unable to devote time to entrepreneurship,” the president said.
