B. R. Ambedkar

B. R. Ambedkar led a satyagraha at Mahad, Maharashtra, to assert the right of Dalits to use the public water tank. The protest challenged caste-based segregation and resulted in a legal victory affirming equal access to public resources.

Ambedkar negotiated the Poona Pact with Mahatma Gandhi, agreeing to a joint electorate for Dalits instead of separate electorates. The pact reserved seats for Dalits in provincial legislatures, but Ambedkar later criticized it as a compromise.

Ambedkar was appointed Chairman of the Drafting Committee of the Indian Constitution. He oversaw the drafting of the constitution, which abolished untouchability, guaranteed fundamental rights, and established a secular democratic republic.

Ambedkar converted to Buddhism in a public ceremony in Nagpur, along with hundreds of thousands of Dalit followers. He rejected Hinduism as inherently casteist and embraced Buddhism as a religion of equality.