 Film director and writer Shyam Binigal is a man who has wrestled with complex historical and social issues with the defties. But even a man of his vast experience felt he was wading in deep waters when he wanted to tell the story of India's birth. The crucial moments when constitution was written. Long years ago, we made a twist with destiny. It felt that it probably would be a good idea to have a series on the making of the Indian constitution. The story behind how the democratic constitution of India was created, with all the people who are involved in the creation of that, because I jumped at it because I said it would probably make an exciting programme. He wanted to explore the personality and the psyche of the man who shaped the document that today dictates each citizen's life in India. Dr Bhimraav Ramji Ambedkar or Babasaheb Ambedkar, as he is popularly called now, was a towering personality who steered the constituent assembly that wrote the central law book of India and left a huge footprint on India as a nation. When offered, Shyam Behnikal accepted this challenging assignment with his customary zeal to tell the untold stories behind the epic historical events. This assembly resolves honourable doctor B. R. Ambedkar, we appointed those for the motion say aye. The motion is adopted. When a group of interpretive formers began fighting the British colonisers and trying to rest India free from a coercive foreign rule of more than 100 years, there was one man who did something even more revolutionary. If trying to eject the British was a courageous task that only a brave heart could undertake, fighting the caste system was akin to finding a pervasive ghost. Only a maverick would do that. The founding fathers of the first Indian government picked just this eclectic figure to take up the task of writing the constitution of India. It also shows how Gandhi thought because he said none of the other people would have the vision and the far sightedness of a person like Ambedkar. Ambedkar was a multi-layered personality, an active social reformer, a practicing lawyer, a grassroots politician, and a thought leader. But this did not make the battle of consensus and law making any easier for him. The series scriptwriter Shama Zedhi dived into historical documents and extensive cash of contemporaneous records to capture the inch by inch fight by Ambedkar to shape a visionary and a reformist constitution that India has today. Ambedkar had been to an American university, so his ideas were much more modern and only now you realize, you know, he was ahead of his time and now people are appreciating what he was trying to say then. Portraying a real person, that too a well-recognized figure for whom their strong public opinions is a tough task for any actor, Sachin Khedikar, a mainstream artist from Hindi film industry in Mumbai, felt the challenge from the onset. As actor, it was a huge responsibility. I had that pressure of being at my best. Mr. President sir, I am surprised at this statement of Mr. Tyagi. Rights of minorities should be absolute rights. It was a project which was very challenging because there were over 152 characters. When it came to the costumes for Ambedkar, one could see what costumes he was wearing when. One could see that he went out of his way to dress very formally. He wore lots of suits when he went out in a formal space. Mr. President sir, coming as I do from a community that has produced Dr. Ambedkar, I feel proud that his capacity has been recognized now, not only by the Harijans, but by all communities that inhabit India. I had worked with Mr. Banagal, so I knew his style, quest for authenticity and his own approach to this entire document and the making of the constitution. I'm quite convinced that given time and circumstances, nothing in the world will prevent this country from becoming one. Our constitution has a wonderful preamble. The way it starts is saying that we are one, all of us, this great diversity of this country. Now, this is something that is so beautifully drafted. We the people of India, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a sovereign democratic republic and to secure to all its citizens justice, social, economic and political. The set was probably as authentic, the 300 members where we are speaking there and it's about 10 minute odd speech and when he says humbly that this is our document we are presenting to ourselves, it's a great moment of pride for him and the entire nation and his entire happiness or a sense of fulfillment comes into that speech and I really think that is by far my good performances. That's not to say, but I'm really overwhelmed, it gives me goosebumps every time I see those scenes. Equality of status and of opportunity. Since he was the editor or the main person who put the constitution together, he was the chairman of the committee. He had to make the concluding remarks and what he said is still true. I think that's a classic speech. This 26th day of November 1949, do hereby adopt, enact and give to ourselves this constitution. To give voice to the voiceless is an aspect of genuine democracy and that was something he was very aware of. The whole idea was that everybody has equal rights. Indian constitution is designed in that fashion. You know Mukanayak in Marathi, there's a whole lot of connotations to that word. I can be his voice is what Mukanayak is all about. Ambedkar had constantly in his mind and he actually created avenues to hear people. As Ambedkar set out to make sure that the constitution speaks for the silent, Ambedkar too faced resistance and reticence from his colleagues. Ambedkar was like a bitter dose that worked to cure years of bias and prejudice that had piled up in the Indian ecosystem. He made a frontal attack on the caste system in his first draft of laws. This rattled even senior and seasoned leaders, but they were unable to sway Ambedkar from his quest. And if his colleagues tried harder, Ambedkar was ready with his dreaded resignation letter. This interaction between Sardar Patel, the first Home Minister of India and Ambedkar, the first Law Minister of India, speaks for itself. What is this? There's no one else in the whole of India who can give proof to our constitution. Even his father used to say the same. But where do you believe him, Mr. Patel? Gandhi, I had the courage to give my resignation letter. At least give me a chance to be with you once, Mr. Patel. Then we'll see how we can move forward. And this won't be done without protection. If you still think I'm a coward, then I've kept my resignation letter ready. You can take it yourself. I'm a very stubborn person, Mr. Ambedkar. But I'm not a fool. I'm a farmer. I can tell you by looking at it that tomorrow I'll get a good result. That serious scheme, the all-inclusiveness of those leaders, is something which is extremely powerful and endearing. Unless and until they all come together, they would have never created this document. It's impossible. Today, Ambedkar is loved or hated, and mistakenly remembered, largely for introducing reservation quotas in education and jobs. But in fact, Ambedkar was a great believer in merit and had suggested reservation only for a period of first 10 years. Reservation he demanded was until they would be equal to the others, meaning in terms of opportunities. If the opportunities given to them would be equal to others, that's when reservations must stop. He was thinking in terms of an egalitarian society. He was not using this as loaves and fishes to bribe people. Floundering in the darkness of Dalit discrimination, Ambedkar's belief in merit was like a torchlight for his followers. Sumit Samos was born in a small village in the tribal district of Koraput in Odisha. Ambedkar helped Sumit not only to become an articulate ambassador for Dalit rights, but also a youth icon, who voices his messages packaged within rap songs. Basis of my rap is Ambedkar. I'm just paraphrasing Ambedkar in different ways in whatever I sing. The ideas that I use in my songs are mostly based on Ambedkar. And Ambedkar is someone who brings out a lot of emotions, especially for the Dalits of this country, who look up to him as someone who has given them a new lease of life. Tell me if there's anything else left for me, that's all I have to say, even after I die, I have to live. So strong was Ambedkar's belief in education as a means to rid discrimination that he asked the Dalit community to focus single-mindedly on getting schooled. He also told Dalits that education is a weapon. With education, you can transform the society. He says education is like the milk of the Tigris. You know, you'll roar. That will make you conscious. And it is all because of Ambedkar, of that one line, okay, educate, agitate and organize. I think Ambedkar is a global thought leader because you see, let's say, like I take inspiration from Malcolm X or Martin Luther King and they spoke against some kind of a segregation in the society. I would put Ambedkar even in a higher pedestal. Ambedkar is a message. It's for billion, like 1.2 billion of Indians. So I think he would be at the top most global thought leaders. Right after independence, when it came to the question of making laws about electoral system, Gandhi and Ambedkar had a fiery clash. Ambedkar wanted a separate electorate for the depressed classes, but Gandhi refused to divide the Indian society on caste basis and went on a fast unto death to protest against Ambedkar's suggestion. Why are you asking for a separate electoral system for the green people? My suggestion is that every time we make such decisions that only the green candidates will be elected. Even if they are not elected by any means, even the rest of the seats will have the right to be in the same position as any Indian. I need some time to think, Gandhi. Ambedkar may have won or lost many small skirmishes, but in securing the legal rights of backward classes in the constitution and in locking the barn doors against prejudice and discrimination, Ambedkar made a historic contribution to India and all its citizens. Social conscience is the only safeguard of all rights, fundamental or non-fundamental. In article 14, 15, 16, 17, he speaks about, you cannot be discriminated on the basis of caste, religion. And I think that is what has changed after Ambedkar, which was not there before Ambedkar. Muk Nayak was not just the name of a journal that Ambedkar published in order to convey his ideas on empowerment. Muk Nayak, a man who strives and speaks for the silent, was the central theme of his life. Ambedkar drafted the Hindu Code Bill that tried to bring in equal rights for women in inheritance, maintenance, divorce and remarriage. Way ahead of his times, he strongly fought for reforms in women-related laws and even resigned from his cabinet post as law minister. When he was not able to persuade the Indian parliament to accept what may have seemed revolutionary ideas to lawmakers of that time. The women's issue is why he left the government. Basically, he wanted all the pro-women aspects to come in, which the reactionaries were not willing to admit. But the women were very supportive and they all wanted, you know, to be able to make a decision. Marriage, women and men are both in-laws. And both have equal rights and equal interests in their respective lives. This issue should be in the fundamental rights. It should be. But where will men go? I would immediately write a letter to the committee. Then we'll see, who will be the one to support us in this matter? Ambedkar was a very modern man. He was a very contemporary modern human being. He started in politics as a leader of his particular community. But he outgrew that only somebody who had educated himself, who had become a very contemporary modern world citizen. The classic quality of Ambedkar. He wanted a right to marriage as a fundamental right. It's still not there, but this is what he had wanted. And he in fact even wanted illegitimate children to have rights on property, which was not given in the constitution. I propose that there should be no difference between legitimate and illegitimate children as far as laws of inheritance are concerned. But will we not question the culture of marriage? For that matter all the personal laws are not in our purview here. This is about children and their rights. And you, Divan Sahab, are a learned man. And you know what Shakespeare says about this question of legitimate and illegitimate. Shakespeare's answer becomes a bit difficult. So let's vote on this. Those in favour of Dr. Ambedkar's proposal, please raise your hands. In six directions, only three directions. From Hindu code build to all inclusiveness of women, which we are still struggling for is I think ahead of time. And a great respect for women. I mean it would only come out of that. Guinea Mahi, a new voice of Dalit pop in the country, is a YouTube sensation with close to 100,000 followers. Quoting freely from Ambedkar's speeches, Guinea's songs talk of a place where the sun shines equally for all. Identity and empowerment are integral ideas behind Guinea's lyrics and music. Most of these are shaped by Ambedkar's thought and his work. She says very few people know that it was Ambedkar who set out key labour laws detailing rights of employees and critical issues like eight-hour work shift, medical leave, minimum wages and equal pay for equal work. There was a time when men could work and women couldn't. When the ladies started working, there was a time when men would give more money and the ladies would get less. But Dr. Ambedkar finished this. The citizens, men and women, equally have the right to an adequate means of livelihood. That there is equal pay for equal work for both men and women. He looked into the future to create what is essentially an egalitarian constitution. If you look at our constitution and compared with a lot of constitutions of that period, you'll find how remarkable it is. Many young artists across India are investing their creative energies in spreading the seeds sown by Dr. Ambedkar. Artists like Mari Selvaraj, Ravi Kumar Anand, Meena Kandasamy, Sukirtarani and Palaanimuthu Sivakami from Tamil Nadu, Aravind Malagatti, Siddha Lingaia, Chandrasekhar Bhandari, Koti Ganahalli Ramayya from Karnataka, Aruna Gokulamanda, Gogo Shamala, Jupaka Shubhadra from Telangana, Dr. C.S. Chandrika, Vigila Chirappad from Kerala have been taking the thoughts of Dr. Ambedkar to farthest corners of India. In a time when it's difficult to get endorsement from young millennials, Dr. Ambedkar is a figure that is invoking renewed admiration and adulation. During his lifetime and even many years after India's independence, the contributions of Dr. Ambedkar did not get the spotlight they deserved. Now in recent years, government of India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has paid unique homage to Dr. B. R. Ambedkar. Our government is trying to reach more and more people with their thoughts, especially young generation, to know about them, to pay attention to them. And therefore, in this government, the important places are being developed in the form of Tirtha. Dive him! Dive him! Dive him! Dive him! Ambedkar's Shiksha Bhoomi Memorial in London salutes the places where he as a student honed his ideas of an equitable polity. Diksha Bhoomi Memorial in Nagpur pays respect to the place where he launched social reforms. Mahapari Nirwana Memorial in Delhi, where Dr. Ambedkar died and Chaitya Bhoomi Memorial in Mumbai, where he was cremated, have become venerated spots to revisit Dr. Ambedkar's enlightened writing and exemplary life.