Sikkim pays tribute to Dr. Ambedkar

GANGTOK, 14 Apr: “I am very happy to get an opportunity to garland the statue of Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar as he is from among the people who modeled modern India,” shared Governor Shriniwas Patil while addressing the 123rd birth anniversary celebrations of Dr BR Ambedkar at Sikkim Legislative Assembly [SLA] premises today. The Governor was present as the chief guest of the celebration, accompanied by Chief Minister Pawan Chamling.
Just like Mahatma Gandhi and other eminent leaders, Dr Ambedkar is one of the leaders who was responsible for making the India of today, he said.
He further spoke about the life of Dr Ambedkar and added that although he did not meet him in person but he was fortunate to have studied in the same school as him and for having represented the same constituency in the Lok Sabha.
He is the person who showed the way of building India and taking it forward, he stated.
It is good to see that reservation and other rights are being given to the Scheduled Caste people in Sikkim by the State government, which shows that the government is working for the upliftment of the SC community, he added.
Earlier, in his address as the guest of honour, Chief Minister Pawan Chamling, stated that the government has been working towards the upliftment of the SC community and the community has been provided with reservation and other rights and benefits by the government. However, the people need to work together to fight discrimination if they want to move forward in life in this competitive world, he added.
The community should not just be satisfied with the reservations provided to them, but make an effort to move ahead and explore more frontiers.
The government has been laying stress on education for the betterment of the SC community as education in today’s world is very important and so it is now time for the people of the community to start thinking positively and move ahead in the right direction, he said, adding that the programmes and ideology of the Sikkim Democratic Front government has been the upliftment of the SC community.
Speaking on the 11 demands placed by the All Sikkim Scheduled Caste Welfare Association [ASSCWA], the association which organsied today’s programme, he said that all their demands will be placed before the government, looked into and necessary action taken accordingly.
Earlier, seven persons from various sections of the society were felicitated by the ASSCWA for their contributions to society in various fields. The seven people felicitated were Minister TT Bhutia, Dr Pramila Giri, Thaven Nawab, Yakub Biswakarma, Geeta Ruzal, Prakash Sundas and Nikita Cintury.