Delivering a paper on ‘Life of Dr B R Ambedkar’ at the 119th birth anniversary celebrations of Dr B R Ambedkar, organised by Zilla Panchayat, District administration, Mangalore City Corporation at Town Hall Mangalore on Wednesday, he said that Ambedkar was the leader of the entire nation.
“The Constitution written by Dr B R Ambedkar ensures freedom and equality for all individuals. The superiority of our Constitution makes it necessary for every individual to study it like any religious holy books,” said Dr Dharma.
He lamented that while Dr B R Ambedkar should have been revered in Dakshina Kannada district which has large number of Dalits, Minorities and backward classes, birth anniversary celebration of Dr B R Ambedkar has become a celebration for particular castes while it should have been celebrated like national festival. He opined that the birth of many groups and organisations in the name of Ambedkar is also a disaster.
“As long as a person is not respected for his personality and his service, society can never change and if the society does not change enjoying true sense of freedom is also impossible. While most of the problems of the country are still unattended, practice of untouchability in this modern society is not justified,” Dr Dharma added.
Earlier inaugurating the programme, District-in-Charge Minister Krishna J Palemar said that a sum of Rs 238 crore has been sanctioned for Social Welfare Department in the budget and a sum of Rs 20 crore has been released to build Babu Jagjivan Ram memorial building. “Revolution can be brought about by following the principles of Dr B R Ambedkar. If the schemes and programmes meant for the poor reaches the genuine beneficiaries, then a true revolution can be possible,” he said.
MLA U T Khader said that Ambedkar did not want the upliftment of only Dalits but he strived for welfare and growth of all people irrespective of caste, creed and religion. MLA Yogish Bhat presided over the programme. Deputy Commissioner V Ponnuraj, Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat CEO Shivashankar, MCC Commissioner Dr K N Vijayprakash, Mayor Rajani Dugganna, Deputy Mayor Rajendra among others were present.
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