EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is from a series of Questions answered by Shekhar Bodhakar
If anything, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar is grossly UNDERRATED.
Your question implies that you are:
EITHER
A scholar/historian who is a specialist on Dr. Ambedkar and have wrongly reached a conclusion that Dr. Ambedkar is over-rated.
OR
You want to mislead people that Dr. Ambedkar is overrated (most probably because you could be considering yourself as belonging to a so called ‘high caste’).
What is it about Dr. Ambedkar that you find so overrated?
Is it his Academic qualifications, intelligence, ethics and wisdom that is overrated or is it that he was also one of the greatest humanitarians the world has witnessed, at least in modern history?
Combine this with the fact that he came from the most humble background with an almost impossible task of rising to the heights that he did, eventually coming to be known as the chief “architect and author” of the Indian Constitution, a symbol of knowledge and a champion of human rights.
Following pictures are from Columbia University’s official website:

Columbia University officially recognizes Dr. B R Ambedkar as founding father of modern India. For playing his part in authoring the Indian constitution.

VIDEO: NDTV Poll, The greatest Indian (edited but nothing added).
MY QUESTION :
In the WHOLE of Indian history, how many out of the countless millions of Indians, with all odds stacked against them, have done/ achieved anything comparable to what Dr. B.R. Ambedkar achieved in his lifetime?
I am not elaborating on his achievements because the internet is already flooded with these by some brilliant minds. Read : Shekhar Bodhakar’s answer to How many degrees did Dr. B R Ambedkar earn?
FOR THIS REASON ALONE : Rising from the so called untouchable community, Dr. Ambedkar even surpassed Ashoka-the-Great in his greatness.
Emperor Ashoka, beside his belief and the will to bring positive changes in his kingdom, had access to all that was required to fulfill his dreams, whilst the compassionate ‘Untouchable’ Dr. Ambedkar only had his personal qualities to rely upon and the most fantastic dream of equality, liberty, fraternity and justice for all.
Ambedkar-the-great is the most UNDER rated ‘great’ in history !! WHY?
It seems that some people have made it their mission to downgrade Dr. Ambedkar or even wipe his name from school history books In India. Shekhar Bodhakar’s answer to Was Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar poor in English?
NOTE:
There are only four personalities associated with Indian history who are commonly referred to as “great” by the historians (They all begin with the letter ‘A’. This does not mean that I agree they were all great).
- Alexander the great (most overrated).
- Ashoka the great.
- Akbar the great.
- Ambedkar the great (most underrated).
And Ambedkar the great, in my eyes, being the greatest of all.
Discover the Secrets about Indian independence that the privileged dominant classes in India will never reveal to the world in Shekhar Bodhakar’s answer to What was the contribution of Dr B.R. Ambedkar in the Indian freedom struggle?
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Also read:
- Five facts that will completely change your perception about Dr B. R. Ambedkar?
- Answer to Which caste do people with the surname “Ambedkar” belong to?
Author of this article Shekhar Bodhakar is a London based Anti-Caste activist. He is the Composer of Buddhatāla and has also worked as Head of Mathematics department in a London college in the past.

DISCLAIMER: The views expressed in this article are the personal views of the author and not necessarily the views of “Voice of Dissent”