B. R. Ambedkar
Indian jurist, economist, and social reformer (1891–1956)
Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (14 April 1891 – 6 December 1956) was an Indian jurist, economist, social reformer and politician who chaired the committee that drafted the Constitution of India based on the debates of the Constituent Assembly of India and the first draft of Sir Benegal Narsing Rau. Ambedkar served as Law and Justice minister in the first cabinet of Jawaharlal Nehru. He later renounced Hinduism and converted to Buddhism, inspiring the Dalit Buddhist movement.
After graduating from Elphinstone College, University of Bombay, Ambedkar studied economics at Columbia University and the London School of Economics, receiving doctorates in 1927 and 1923, respectively, and was among a handful of Indian students to have done so at either institution in the 1920s. During his time at Columbia University, Ambedkar came under the influence of John Dewey and his philosophy of pragmatism. He also trained in the law at Gray's Inn, London. In his early career, he was an economist, professor, and lawyer. His later life was marked by his political activities; he became involved in campaigning and negotiations for partition, publishing journals, advocating political rights and social freedom for Dalits, and contributing to the establishment of the state of India. In 1956, he converted to Buddhism, initiating mass conversions of Dalits.
In 1990, the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award, was posthumously conferred on Ambedkar.
“B. R. Ambedkar” enters the record as indian jurist, economist, and social reformer (1891–1956). Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Ambedkar, Indian and jurist can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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Biographical claims are most persuasive when dates, appointments and relationships can be traced to records created close to the events described. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 20, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q231690. VIAF identifies the subject as 44331988. The Library of Congress control number is n50051293. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1891, 1956, 1927 and 1923.
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This entry incorporates text from “B. R. Ambedkar” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.