(Asian independent)
Across the globe, the Dr. Ambedkar Jayanti is being celebrated as the Dr. Ambedkar Equality Day and the month of April, as the Dalit History Month.
In Canada, the April 14, 2025 was proclaimed as the Dr. Ambedkar Equality Day by:
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The Province of British Columbia
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City of Surrey
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City of Vancouver
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City of Burlington
The Province of British Columbia and the City of Burlington also proclaimed April as the Dalit History Month.
What is the significance of these proclamations, one may ask?
The proclamations serve as tools for profiling and promoting the significance of the legends and the causes the community organizations are mandated for. There is usually a well researched process that guides in making the proclamations, declarations, or statements.
Baba Sahib Dr. Ambedkar, rightfully regarded as the Father of Indian Constitution, has now emerged as a global icon. His belief in values of liberty, equality, and fraternity, enabled the various drafting sub-committees to think through freely and democratically when proposing the content for the constitution.
Many activities are taking place this month to celebrate the legacy of Baba Sahib Dr. Ambedkar.
On April 14, a group of patrons of Dr. Ambedkar visited Simon Fraser University to garland the Bust of Baba Sahib Dr. Ambedkar at the Burnaby Campus. The Bust of Dr. Ambedkar was installed with the coordination efforts of the Chetna Association of Canada in 2004!
On April 15, Chetna Association of Canada hosted a celebration at the Dr. Ambedkar Room, Surrey Center Library. Simran Kranti, an artist, read the land acknowledgement and Mohan Banga, a Buddhist and meditation teacher, recited and explained Panchsheel.
Special guest for the occasion was Mayor Brenda Locke who presented the proclamation to the members of Chetna Association or Canada. The local MLA, Amna Shah, sent written greetings for the occasion which was read before the audience.
Dr. Satwinder Bains and Jaswinder Dilawari were recognized at this event. 
Dr. Bains is retiring from University of the Fraser Valley and has been a great champion and supporter of the anti-caste movement in Canada. Dilawari is a businessman and founder of Canada Tabloid, a magazine that has served Canadians for the past eleven years.
The Surrey Libraries Board Chair, Dr. Balbir Gurm, welcomed the guests to the library and described the values and contributions of Dr. Ambedkar.
In her message, Mayor Locke shared her learnings of Baba Sahib Dr. Ambedkar and the conditions of caste discrimination he lived in. Mayor Locke affirmed by saying, “Surrey has no place for discrimination.”
Acharya Dwvedi of the Hindi Literary Society was a keynote speaker, who described why some of the discrimination practices continue in India. He also acknowledged many of the contributions of Dr. Ambedkar in addressing the practice of untouchability.
Dr. Anne Murphy of the history department at University of British Columbia shared updates on the Caste in Canada project and the next steps that are being explored.
Surinder Sandhu, assistant secretary of Chetna, thanked the guests and concluded the event.
Refreshments were provided courtesy of the Canadian Folk Art and Culture Exchange (C FACE) Society.
For the Dalit History Month Celebrations, Chetna is planning on staging plays at a local school and hosting lectures by Dr. Vivek Kumar of Jwaharlal Nehru University. The first lecture will be on April 30th at the Harbour Center Campus of Simon Fraser University, and the second lecture will be hosted on May 1 at the Burnaby Campus of Simon Fraser University.
