68th Pariniravana Commemoration in Ambedkar Hall West London

December 15, 2024

181

THE ASIAN INDEPENDENT UK-

*Rich Speeches and Floral Tributes* were made to mark 68th Pariniravana Divas on 5th December 2024 by the followers of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar in Ambedkar Hall West London. The event commenced with lighting the candels by Cllr Yvonne Johnson, the Worshipful Mayor of London Borough of Ealing. Amongst those who addressed the gathering and paid homage were Jagdish Parmar, In. Principal, T & TV Sarvajanik High School Surat, Gujarat, Dr Shrikant Borkar, Harbans Lal Midha, Oviya Thangaraj, Jagdish Gaware, Mohinder Kaur Midha, the former Mayor of Ealing and C Gautam. The event was anchored by Dr Harbans Virdee, President of Buddha Dhamma Association and the International Coordinator of Federation of Ambedkarite and Buddhist Organisations UK. Jagdish Parmar spoke in Hindi.

*SOAS Scholar, Oviya Thangaraj* addressed as follows:

As someone from Tamil Nadu who does not know Hindi, I express my apologies for speaking in English. First and foremost, I am deeply grateful to Babasaheb Ambedkar for his immense efforts and selfless dedication to uplifting marginalized communities. I often wonder how many generations it would have taken for us to even become aware of the existence of prestigious institutions like the London School of Economics or to imagine studying abroad if Babasaheb had not paved the way by pursuing education in such places. His unwavering commitment to education, despite the social injustices he faced, inspires us to persist in our educational journeys in the pursuit of justice and truth.

Ambedkar’s contributions to improving the condition of women in India, across all caste categories—especially working-class women—must be remembered with profound gratitude. He was perhaps the only leader of his time who truly understood how social conditions and structural inequalities adversely affected women’s health. His advocacy for maternity benefits for mine workers and emphasis on the necessity of family planning were ground-breaking. Babasaheb even relinquished his power and position in the Indian government when the assembly refused to pass the Hindu Code Bill, a progressive legislation that would have granted Hindu women their rightful entitlements.

In the end everyone enjoyed the meal offered by Amarjit Virdee Ji in memory of his beloved daughter, Baljit who left us two years ago.

*On Pariniravana Divas*, in the morning, Mr Vikram His Excellency High Commissioner of India made Floral Tributes to the Babasaheb’s statues at The Ambedkar Museum in London.

In the afternoon as every year Mr Sujit Gosh, the deputy High Commissioner led the floral tribute. A large numbers of followers and admirers together with students and very much distinguished guests such as Cllr Sunil Chopra and Ravi Sharma also made floral tributes with Executive Office Bearers of Federation of Ambedkarite and Buddhist Organisations UK.

A welcome address was made by Mr Deepak Choudhary followed by national anthem and brief documentary of Babasaheb. The commemorative homage was made by Ram Pal Rahi President of FABO UK, C Gautam and His Excellency, Mr Sujit Gosh.

We are thankful to the staff of the High Commission to extend the facilities in the heart of London.

(The photographs were provided by the Courtesy of Adnan Ghor)