Ramabai Ambedkar’s death anniversary: Dr BR Ambedkar’s wife Ramabai Bhimrao Ambedkar is fondly remembered as Ramai or Mata Ram. Ramabai was known for her humility, resilience and compassion. Very few people know that Babasaheb Ambedkar’s life was greatly influenced by him. Ramabai assisted the father of the Indian Constitution in pursuing higher education abroad and supported his efforts for social justice.
On the occasion of Ramabai’s death anniversary, here are some lesser known facts about her:
- Ramabai was born in 1898 in a poor Dalit family. She was the second daughter of Bhiku Dhatre Valangkar, a labourer. From the port of Dabhol, his father used to take baskets of fish to the market.
- Ramabai had lost both her parents in her life. She and her three siblings were raised by her uncles in Mumbai.
- In 1906, she married Babasaheb Ambedkar at Byculla. Ramabai was nine years old when she married Babasaheb who was then 15 years old. While Ramabai used to call her husband ‘saheb’, her husband used to call her ‘Ramu’.
- Ramabai supported BR Ambedkar’s ambitions and encouraged him to pursue higher education abroad.
- When Ambedkar was abroad for his studies, Ramabai faced difficulties, but this did not stop him from encouraging him to pursue his goals. Ramabai used to make cow dung cakes and carried them on her head, so that they could be used as cheap domestic fuel.
- Babasaheb Ambedkar and Ramabai had a daughter, Indu, and four sons – Yashwant, Gangadhar, Ramesh and Rajaratna. Yashwant was the only child to survive till adulthood.
- Ramabai breathed her last on 26 May 1935 after a long illness.
- BR Ambedkar acknowledged his influence on his life through his book Thoughts on Pakistan. On his beloved wife, he recalled her “goodness of heart, nobility of her mind and purity of her character and calm patience and readiness to endure”.
read all breaking news , today’s fresh news And IPL 2022 Live Updates Here.