Even as intellectuals, Dalit leaders and various political parties observed the BR Ambedkar Jayanti on Thursday as usual, Dalits and tribal farmers of Kushmal village under Khariar block observed the day in a special way as they heard the Constitution maker’s name for the first time.
They along with their children gathered at the village school and paid profound tributes to the great leader. The elders called the day a memorable one because they heard about Ambedkar for the first time in their lives.
“We had heard about Gandhi and Nehru but not about a Ambedkar,” said the elders. The schoolchildren, teachers and the Sarpanch of Birighat gram panchayat spoke elaborately about the life and works of Ambedkar and parents listen to them attentively.
A forum called Ekalavya was formed by the villagers and it was decided that the forum would organise regular meetings and festivals of children every year where the children would speak on different subjects and the parents would listen.
Among others, Birighat Sarpanch Suratha Sagaria, Ajit Panda, Tapan Dash, Khirasindhu Sagaria, Sashibhushan Sagaria, Head Master and Assistant teachers of the Kushmal Primary School spoke.