Chief minister honors Ambedkar

By Rajnandini Ghosh

About 200 people gathered in front of the Vidhan Soudha state legislature on Tuesday morning, when Karnataka Chief Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda came to observe the 55th anniversary of the death of Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar. The crowd cheered as the chief minister draped Dr. Ambedkar’s statue with a garland.

Ambedkar, popularly known as Babasaheb, was a multifaceted man. He was a jurist, political leader, economist, scholar, and revolutionary—one man with many roles.

Ambedkar was a strong opponent of the caste system and converted to Buddhism shortly before his death, inspiring many "Untouchables" to follow in his footsteps.

It was, therefore, not surprising that the event to honor his death anniversary was coorganized by the Maha Bodhi Society. A Buddhist monk inaugurated the event by chanting Buddhist sloka chants in Pali.

The chief minister did not have much to say to the crowd gathered outside the legislature. He obliged the media with some photographs and left soon after.