President Ram Nath Kovind said that the real success lay in building society and the nation according to the values and ideals of Babasaheb Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar.

The President came by a special train to the state capital on Monday and was speaking at a function after laying the foundation stone for Bharat Ratna Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar Memorial and Cultural Centre, proposed to come up in Aishbagh area of Lucknow. “We have made progress to fulfill the dream of Dr Ambedkar in this direction but we still have to go further. Dr Ambedkar said that every government work was to serve for the welfare of the people and I think the present government is doing it efficiently. Today our legal system is progressing on the path suggested by Babasaheb on many issues like succession and share of women in ancestral property.  From this it is clear that Babasaheb's visionary thinking was far ahead of his time,” the President said

“Babasaheb was in favour of the important role of women in the making of modern India. He was always active in providing equal rights to women. In our Constitution drafted by Babasaheb, equal rights have been provided to women in every field, including voting rights, from the very beginning," he said.

Speaking about Dr Ambedkar and his attachment with Lord Buddha, Kovind said that Babasaheb spread the Buddhist thoughts.

“At the core of this effort is reflected his objective of taking Indian values like compassion, fraternity, non-violence, equality and mutual respect to the masses and to realise the ideal of social justice. The thoughts of Lord Buddha have such a deep impact on the soil of India that even the imperialists who did not understand the importance of Indian culture had to adopt the cultural dimensions associated with Lord Buddha,” he said.

The President said, “The architecture of the dome at Rashtrapathi Bhawan was copied from Sanchi stupa. Four things have been most important in Babasaheb's vision -- morality, equality, self-respect and Indianness. The glimpse of these four ideals and values of life is visible in Babasaheb's thoughts and works.”

“Apart from being the architect of Indian Constitution, there is a mark of Dr Ambedkar's contribution on all the fields like our banking, irrigation, electricity system, labour management system, revenue sharing system, education system etc. Dr Ambedkar was not only an educationist, economist, jurist, politician, journalist, sociologist and social reformer; he also made his invaluable contribution in culture, religion and spirituality,” President Kovind said..

“Important places associated with Babasaheb have been developed as pilgrimage sites by the Government of India. His birthplace in Mhow, Diksha bhoomi in Nagpur, Parinirvana sthal in Delhi, Chaitya-bhoomi in Mumbai and Ambedkar Memorial Home in London have been kept in the category of pilgrimage sites. Now the Ambedkar International Centre in Delhi is spreading the thoughts of the great leader in the global arena. Babasaheb also had a special relationship with the city of Lucknow, due to which Lucknow is also called 'Sneh bhoomi' of Babasaheb,” the President said.

Earlier, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath welcomed President Ram Nath Kovind and First Lady Savita Kovind at the Lok Bhawan in Lucknow and the event was attended by Governor Anandiben Patel, Deputy CM Chief Ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Dinesh Sharma, Tourism and Culture Affairs Minister Neelkanth Tiwari and Bharatiya Janata Party state president Swatantra Dev Singh.

In his address, the chief minister said, “We all remember Babasaheb as the architect of the Constitution and his name is taken with respect not only in India but wherever justice comes for the downtrodden and the backward. On this very day, 93 years back, Babasaheb started the weekly newspaper Samta in 1928. He has always worked for the betterment of the Indian society and the proposed state-of-the-art museum and cultural centre will carry forward the memories and principles of Dr Ambedkar.”

The President arrived in Lucknow from Kanpur by a special train on Monday morning for a two-day visit and left for Delhi on Tuesday evening.