launched a movement against it.On December 25th 1927, he launched a Satyagraha in Mahad town of Maharastra for the water rights of Dalits and against the Manu Smriti. He burnt Manu Smriti terming it a document of discrimination with a number of his supporters.
It was of great courage to do so in the den of violent Chitpawan Brahmins in Maharastra. He fought for the rights of Dalits and had a broader vision for his community. His main concern was to ensure fare participation of Dalits in political life of the country and he succeeded in getting separate electorate for them, which he had to withdraw to save the life of Gandhi in 1932 known as Poona Pact.
Then as constitutionalist when he drafted constitution and later worked very hard to ensure fare deal for women in the Hindu Code Bill. In the last phase of his life when Babe Saheb embraced Buddhism, his main concern was providing a political alternative to Dalits. It is also interesting to note that B.R.Ambedkar was a humanist to the core of his heart. Even when his so called followers have converted him as a caste man or narrowly interpreted his ideologies and perception, Ambedkar could be termed an international humanist. Poor Dalits who consider him his emancipator. Ambedkar is a uniting factor for Dalits. No Doubt that he has became an icon from North to south from Hindiland to the Southern Tamilnadu.
Dalit Movement in Tamil Nadu
The Dalit movement in Tamil Nadu has long and chequered history. Iyothee Thass, Erattaimalai Srinivasan, M.C.Rajah, N.Sivaraj and L.Elayaperumal Vai. Balasundaram were some of the stalwarts associated with the movement at various stages. The founder of the Self- Respect