Dr BR Ambedkar believed that education, which is also a prerequisite for every contemporary social movement because it calls for concerted effort, is the most efficient means of bringing about desired social change. (HT Archives)

India observes Mahaparinirvan Divas on December 6 in memory of Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar. On 14 April 1891, BR Ambedkar, the man who drafted the Indian Constitution, also known as the Father of the Constitution, was born. Fondly known as Babasaheb, he fought to abolish the social evil of untouchability, promote gender equality and work for the economic and social upliftment of Dalits across the country. He was also one of the seven members of the committee that drafted the Indian Constitution after independence. Here are some of his inspiring quotes to honour his memory and defend the principles he fervently believed in on the anniversary of his death. (Also read: ‘Statue of Equality’: Tallest statue of Ambedkar outside India unveiled in US)

Inspiring Quotes by Dr BR Ambedkar

"Equality may be a fiction but nonetheless one must accept it as a governing principle." - BR Ambedkar.

"Law and order are the medicine of the body politic and when the body politic gets sick, medicine must be administered."- BR Ambedkar

"I do not want that our loyalty as Indians should be in the slightest way affected by any competitive loyalty whether that loyalty arises out of our religion, out of our culture or out of our language. I want all people to be Indians first, Indian last and nothing else but Indians."- BR Ambedkar

"Men are mortal. So are ideas. An idea needs propagation as much as a plant needs watering. Otherwise, both will wither and die."

"Caste is not a physical object like a wall of bricks or a line of barbed wire which prevents the Hindus from co-mingling and which has, therefore, to be pulled down. Caste is a notion; it is a state of the mind." - BR Ambedkar.

“A great man is different from an eminent one in that he is ready to be the servant of society.”- BR Ambedkar.

"I measure the progress of a community by the degree of progress which women have achieved."- BR Ambedkar.

“Cultivation of mind should be the ultimate aim of human existence”.- BR Ambedkar.

“If I find the constitution being misused, I shall be the first to burn it.”- BR Ambedkar.

"History shows that where ethics and economics come in conflict, victory is always with economics. Vested interests have never been known to have willingly divested themselves unless there was sufficient force to compel them."- BR Ambedkar.