The High Commission of India and Gray’s Inn in London, one of the iconic Inns of Court professional associations for barristers and judges, organised a special event commemorating the enduring legacy of Baba Saheb B.R. Ambedkar last week.
Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai delivered the keynote address, ‘The Living Document: 75 Years of the Constitution of India, and the Enduring Relevance of Dr Ambedkar’, at the historic venue where the chief architect of the Constitution of India was Called to the Bar in 1922.
Gavai said: “Standing here at this historic institution, I am reminded of the enduring legacy Dr B.R. Ambedkar left behind, not only in the legal field but in the very fabric of Indian democracy.
“I was born 1960, almost four years after Dr Ambedkar left us; I was born as a citizen of India and not as an untouchable. Dr Ambedkar’s presence was always felt in my home, from a young age I would hear stories of his courage, his intellect, his relentless pursuit of equality. Those stories became a part of my values, my outlook and my purpose.
“As we mark 75 years of this remarkable living and dynamic document, I can confidently affirm that it is the foresight and vision of Dr B.R. Ambedkar that has enabled the Constitution to endure and stand the test of time.”
India’s Law and Justice Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal shared some personal insights from Dr Ambedkar’s life as a young student of law in London.
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“The adoption of our Constitution in January 1950 was when our democracy came into force. It is hard to imagine how India would have looked without the Constitution that Baba Saheb Ambedkar gave us,” said Indian High Commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami.
Lady Justice Geraldine Andrews, the Treasurer of the Inn, opened Thursday's proceedings by referencing the portrait of Dr Ambedkar installed at one of the rooms two years ago and Lady Arden, former justice of the UK Supreme Court and chair of the proceedings, called for greater exchanges between India and the UK in the legal arena.
