Prakash Yashwant Ambedkar (born 10 May 1954), popularly known as Balasaheb Ambedkar, is an Indian politician, writer and lawyer.[2] He is the president of political party called Vanchit Bahujan Aaghadi.[3] He is a three-time Member of Parliament (MP).[4] He was a member of the 12th and 13th Lok Sabha of India[5] and twice represented the Lok Sabha constituency of Akola, Maharashtra.[5] He has served in both houses of the Indian Parliament.[3][5]
Prakash Ambedkar | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha | |
| In office 10 October 1999 – 6 February 2004 | |
| Succeeded by | Sanjay Shamrao Dhotre |
| Constituency | Akola |
| In office 10 March 1998 – 26 April 1999 | |
| Preceded by | Pandurang Pundalik Fundkar |
| Constituency | Akola |
| Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha | |
| In office 18 September 1990 – 17 September 1996 | |
| Constituency | Maharashtra |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 10 May 1954 Bombay, Bombay State, India |
| Political party |
|
| Spouse |
Anjali Ambedkar (m. 1993) |
| Children | Sujat Ambedkar (son) |
| Parents |
|
| Relatives | See Ambedkar family |
| Residence(s) | • 129, Rajgruha, Hindu colony, Dadar, Mumbai, Maharashtra • B-17, Patil Heritage Bhosale Nagar, Pune, Maharashtra • Akola, Maharashtra |
| Education | Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of Laws |
| Alma mater | St. Stanislaus High School Siddharth College of Law, Mumbai |
| Profession | Advocate, Politician, Social worker |
| Website | PrakashAmbedkar on Facebook |
| Nickname | Balasaheb Ambedkar |
| Source: [[1]] | |
Personal life
editPrakash Ambedkar is the grandson of Indian politician Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, and Ramabai.[6] His father's name is Yashwant Ambedkar (Bhaiyasaheb) and mother's name is Meera. The Ambedkar family are followers of Buddhism.[7] He has two younger brothers Bhimrao & Anandraj and a sister Ramabai who is married to Anand Teltumbde. Prakash Ambedkar is married to Anjali Maydeo and they have a son named Sujat.[8]
Activities
edit
Prakash Ambedkar has organised mass rallies at the national level, including in response to the Riddles march case, Rohith Vemula suicide case, Ambedkar Bhavan demolition case, Una flogging incident and 2018 Bhima Koregaon violence case.[9][10]
Prakash Ambedkar is noted for having designed the political strategy known as the Akola Pattern of political organising to appeal to all excluded masses, including Dalits, Muslims and other excluded peoples.[11][12] The Akola Pattern is named after the Akola district of Maharashtra where Prakash Ambedkar's political party is based.[11]
In 2017, together with his son Sujat, Prakash Ambedkar relaunched Prabuddh Bharat (Enlightened India), the newspaper his grandfather Dr. B. R. Ambedkar founded in 1956.[13] Prakash Ambedkar has also been working to archive editions of the original Prabuddh Bharat from the 1950s, after copies were lost in the controversial demolition of the Buddha Bhushan printing press in 2016.[13]
Prakash Ambedkar has also worked to preserve his grandfather's legacy as architect of the Indian Constitution and has been quoted as saying "The country will survive only if the Constitution survives."[14]
Prakash Ambedkar attracted controversy and criticism after he threatened the Times Now anchor Anand Narsimhan to physically harm the anchor by saying that he would think what he could do to him if the governance gets changed.[15][16]
In June 2023, Ambedkar defended the historical significance of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb's 50-year rule, urging people not to resort to abuse. Ambedkar made this statement while visiting the Aurangzeb memorial in Khuldabad, Aurangabad District. His visit coincided with arrests and clashes in the state related to social media posts praising Aurangzeb. Ambedkar questioned the notion of erasing history and asked, "What's wrong with visiting the Aurangzeb memorial? He was a Mughal emperor who ruled here for 50 years."[17][18]
References
edit- ^ "Welcome to Maharashtra Political Parties.in". www.maharashtrapoliticalparties.in. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
- ^ Chitnis, Purva (15 June 2024). "After poll drubbing that saw Dalits 'shift to Congress', Prakash Ambedkar's VBA has tough road ahead". ThePrint. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
- ^ a b Biographical Sketch of Member of 13th Lok Sabha
- ^ Prakash Ambedkar son of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar | Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar
- ^ a b c "Lok Sabha". Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
- ^ Biswas, Soutik (10 April 2023). "BR Ambedkar: The unknown details of how he piloted Indian constitution". BBC.
- ^ "Vemula's mom, brother embrace Buddhism on Ambedkar Jayanti". The Times of India. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
- ^ "होम मिनिस्टर प्रा. अंजली मायदेव : महिला आघाडीची जबाबदारी". divyamarathi (in Marathi). Retrieved 10 October 2018.
- ^ "जानें महाराष्ट्र बंद का आह्वान करने वाले प्रकाश अंबेडकर कौन हैं?". Zee News Hindi. 3 January 2018. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
- ^ "दोषियों पर अगर नहीं होगी कार्रवाई, तो हिंदुओं में भी पैदा होंगे हाफिज सईद : प्रकाश अंबेडकर". www.navodayatimes.in (in Hindi). Retrieved 10 October 2018.
- ^ a b Kamble, Swati (21 May 2019). "Despite political setbacks in India, Dalit voices grow stronger". The Conversation.
- ^ Wankhede, Harish S. (1 January 2019). "Prakash Ambedkar and the Future of Dalit Politics in Maharashtra". The Wire.
- ^ a b Shantha, Sukanya (16 April 2018). "Ambedkar's Newspaper 'Prabuddh Bharat' is Back in a New Avatar". The Wire.
- ^ "India survives, if Constitution survives: Prakash Ambedkar". Deccan Herald. 30 March 2018.
- ^ "Hum Tumhari ***** Maarenge!!! This is how grandson of Dr BR Ambedkar has openly threatened Times Now Senior Editor Anand Narasimhan on camera". Nagpur Today. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
- ^ "Bhima-Koregaon arrests: Prakash Ambedkar threatens Times Now Senior Editor Anand Narasimhan - WATCH". Times Now. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
- ^ "Instead of abusing Aurangzeb, we should be aware of history: Prakash Ambedkar". The Indian Express. 17 June 2023. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
- ^ Banerjee, Shoumojit (20 June 2023). "Uddhav downplays ally Prakash Ambedkar's tributes at Aurangzeb's tomb". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 29 October 2023.