(210) Life Skills Lab Rr

2) Draw Piaget’s model of cognitive development on a chart and paste pictures of cognitive development of a child from childhood to adulthood on the basis of various stages of Piaget’s model.

Much of modern cognitive theory, including its relationship to socialization, stems from the work of the Swiss psychologist, Jean Piaget. In the 1920s Piaget observed children reasoning and understanding differently, depending on their age. He proposed that all children progress through a series of cognitive stages of development, just as they progress through a series of physical stages of development. According to Piaget, the rate at which children pass through these cognitive stages may vary, but they eventually pass through all of them in the same order.

Piaget introduced several other important concepts. According to Piaget, cognitive development occurs from two processes: adaptation and equilibrium. Adaptation involves the child's changing to meet situational demands. Adaptation involves two sub‐processes: assimilation and accommodation. Assimilation is the application of previous concepts to new concepts. An example is the child who refers to a whale as a “fish.” Accommodation is the altering of previous concepts in the face of new information. An example is the child who discovers that some creatures living in the ocean are not fish, and then correctly refers to a whale as a “mammal.” Equilibrium is the search for “balance” between self and the world, and involves the matching of the child's adaptive functioning to situational demands. Equilibrium keeps the infant moving along the developmental pathway, allowing him or her to make increasingly effective adaptations.

A brief summary of Piaget's four stages of cognitive development appears in Table  1.

3) Draw Big 5 Personality model on a chart and analyse the personalities of the following on the basis of various traits they show:

1) Find out various skills required to display a balanced-self determined behaviour. How is life skill related to your day-to-day life? Explain with examples.

Life SkillsAlso see: Social Skills.

The term ‘Life Skills’ refers to the skills usually associated with managing and

living a better quality of life, they help us to accomplish our ambitions and live

to our full potential.

There is no definitive list of life skills, certain skills may be more or less

relevant to you depending on your life circumstances, your culture, beliefs,

age, geographic location etc.

Perhaps the most important life skill is the ability to learn.  By learning new skills we increase our understanding of the world around us and equip ourselves with the tools we need to live a more productive and fulfilling life.  Life skills are not always taught directly but often learned indirectly through experience and practice.

See our pages: What is Learning?  and Lifelong Learning for more information.

SkillsYouNeed provides informative pages and discussion about the life skills important for personal development.  We hope that you find what you are looking for and can develop your knowledge of life skills.

Communication SkillsCommunication itself is a complex subject, you may want to start by reading our page – What is Communication?

Interpersonal Skills are the skills we use when dealing with other people, for example we use both verbal and non-verbal communication techniques when engaged in face-to-face communications. 

Listening skills are paramount to understanding and empathising with others, do you listen effectively?  Do you fully understand the message being conveyed?  Effective listening skills together with techniques such as clarification and reflection can help prevent misunderstanding. We can all work on improving our Interpersonal Communication Skills.

Our Interpersonal Skills library includes pages to help you develop: Listening Skills and Active Listening, Verbal Communication, Building Rapport and Effective Speaking.

Also read about the importance of Non-verbal Communication and develop your skills inClarification and Reflection.

There are potentially many barriers to communication in any communication situation - these barriers can hinder the communication process. It is therefore essential for a strong communicator to be aware of such barriers and find ways to communicate and work around them.

See our pages: Barriers to Effective Communication and Communicating in Difficult Situations for more information.

Learning how to effectively negotiate in a variety of situations has obvious advantages to your life.  Negotiation is about being assertive, avoiding conflict or argument, and, where possible, working towards an outcome best suited to all parties involved (Win-Win situation).

We have sections on Negotiation and Assertiveness.

Much emphasis is given to problem-solving and decision-making in the modern workplace – these skills are also very desirable in our day-to-day lives.  Learn some techniques to help solve problems and make decisions.

See our pages on Problem Solving and Decision Making.

Personal Skills

Personal Skills are the essential life skills we need to help maintain a healthy

body and mind.

We are what we eat. We are all aware of the benefits of a healthy diet, our pages on nutrition can help you understand why our diet is so important. Discover our easy-to-follow articles:What is Protein?, What is Fat?, What are Carbohydrates? to learn more about the basic food groups. Our page: Stress, Nutrition and Dietexplains some ways that stress can be managed through what we eat, and when we eat it.

How we manage and cope with emotions – Anger and Stress can both be detrimental to our communication skills but also to our health. Learning about anger and stress, recognising what may trigger them (in ourselves and others), what the symptoms are and how to control or manage such emotions can greatly enhance our the quality of our lives, we have sections on anger including pages: What is Anger? and Anger Management.

Managing Stress is another key modern life skill, you'll find an introduction to stress on our What is Stress? page and then a series of further pages designed to help you avoid, reduce and manage the stress in your life: Avoiding Stress, Stress in the Workplace and Dealing with Stress. Find other ways to help you cope with stress, try reading our pages on Time Management and Minimising Distractions so you can make the most of your time.

Many people battle with low self-esteem and confidence which can cause stress and prevent us from reaching our full potential. Our pages: Improving Self-Esteem and Building Confidence provide practical ways to overcome these issues. Improved confidence and self-esteem are also linked with how we present ourselves to others see: Personal Presentation and Personal Appearance.

For most people, most of the time, aggressive behaviour is uncommon.  Nevertheless many people have experienced some kind of aggressive behaviour in themselves or others at some point during their lives.  By recognising the triggers and symptoms of aggression we can adopt communication strategies that can help to reduce or avoid aggressive behaviour.

See our pages on Aggression for more information

LiteracyCommunication is a key life skill but it is not always an Interpersonal Skill.  Many of us communicate using the written word - through letters, emails, text messages, social network feeds and a host of other methods.  Being able to write clearly and concisely is a very powerful way to communicate, either one-to-one or to a much larger audience.  We provide articles that will help you to improve your written communication and learn or refresh your knowledge on some of the fundamental rules of writing.

Our Writing Skills section has lots of pages with advice to help you improve your writing. Our Study Skills section, not just for students, will help you learn how to learn more effectively.

NumeracyUnderstanding basic numeracy and mathematics makes a huge difference in all aspects of life, it can make you more employable, help you to achieve a greater understanding of the world around you, and save you time and money. We don't all need to be great mathematicians, and we're not all rocket scientists, but an understanding of the basic principles of day-to-day numeracy, arithmetic and maths will help to open many doors.See our Numeracy Skills section for explanation and real-world examples of basic numeracy.

Find more at: http://www.skillsyouneed.com/general/life-skills.html#ixzz30Lcs2EWl

4) Paste pictures of people displaying anger and distress Vs happy faces on a chart. Note down the ways to overcome anger.

The fastest way to change negative feelings is by changing our physical position right away. The easiest way to physically change is by moving our eye position. When we are in a negative state, we are likely looking down. Suddenly looking up (into our visual plane) will interrupt the negative patterns of sinking into the quick sand of bad feelings.Any sudden physical change will do the trick:

Stand up and stretch while letting out an audible sigh. Exaggerate and change your facial expressions. Walk over to a window where there is sunlight. Do 10 jumping jacks. Do a ridiculous dance that pokes fun at you. Massage the back of your neck with one hand while singing happy birthday.

Try this next time you feel a negative or unpleasant thought come up.

5) Discuss "Morality in India" with the help of newspaper cuttings, historical evidence, articles, pictures, etc. State your opinion regarding it.

J. R. D. TATA

J. R. D. TATA 

          Jahangir Ratanji Dadabhoy or JRD Tata (1904-1993) was the one who consolidated and expanded the Tata Empire and also contributed to the country’s economy.

          He was born to Sooni and Ratanji Tata in Paris on 29th July 1904. He grew up in France, studied in France, Japan and England. He briefly served in the French Army.          As per his father’s wish JRD came to India in 1925 and joined the Tata group. In 1938, he became the Chairman of the Tata group at the age of 34. He held this post for the next 50 years. JRD expanded the Tata Empire from 13 companies. Under his guidance Tata Group developed many new and contemporary sectors. He made the Tata’s country’s largest business group with a turnover between $8 to $9 Billions.            JRD played a major role in the development of Indian Aviation. Since early childhood he had a great liking for eroplanes and flying. He was one of the first Indians to obtain commercial pilot’s license in 1929. He established Tata Aviation Service in 1932. This was later changed to Air India.            The secret of his success was his unique way of managing business and handling people. He did not force his views on others nor did he claim to know the best just because he was the head of the organization. He selected very capable people to manage the companies and then never interfered in their work. He was very hard working and put long hours in the office.            JRD had a major hand in our country’s development as he financially helped Dr. Bhabha in setting up his nuclear research. He was also the backbone of many charitable trusts. In spite of the philanthropic work, he wasn’t arrogant, but was rather shy and reticent by nature.            He was honoured with Bharat Ratna in 1992. JRD breathed his last on 29thNovember 1993 in Geneva.Born : July 29, 1904(1904-07-29)

Place : Paris, France

Died : November 29, 1993 (aged 89)

Place : Geneva, Switzerland

Occupation : Industrialist

Spouse : Thelma Vicaji

Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata (July 29, 1904–November 29, 1993) was a pioneer aviator and important businessman of

India. He was one of the few people who were awarded Bharat Ratna during their life time. He was a member of the Parsi-

Zoroastrian community of India.

Early life -

Born in Paris on July 29, 1904, Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata was the second child of Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata and his

French wife Suzanne Briere . Established in 1859, the Tata Group was already India's biggest business conglomerate when

Tata became its fourth chairman in 1938. He was then just 34 years old.

Under his leadership, the Tata assets climbed from Rs 62 crore (Rs 620 million) in 1939 to over Rs 10,000 crore (Rs 100

billion) in 1990.

In 1939 the group included fourteen companies with sales of Rs 280 crore (Rs 2.80 billion); in 1993, the year of his death,

sales were Rs 15,000 crore (Rs 150 billion) contributed by over fifty large manufacturing companies, besides innumerable

holding, investment, subsidiaries and associate concerns, making it India's biggest business group.

Diversification of Tata Group -

During the last half of the twentieth century Tata entered several new businesses, many of them unconventional, and

produced a vast range of products -- from airlines to hotels, trucks to locomotives, soda ash and other heavy chemicals to

pharmaceuticals and financial services, tea and air conditioning to lipsticks and cologne.

The group seemed to make everything and do everything. One of Tata's earliest achievements was to cajole ten rival cement

companies to merge and form the Associated Cement Companies, run by the Tatas.

JRD strengthened existing businesses such as steel, power and hotels. At the same time, the group lost interest in some of its

older core businesses.

As an industrialist, JRD Tata is credited with placing the Tata Group on the international map. As an aviator and pioneer

flier, he brought commercial aviation to India.

As a patron of the arts, he was revered by India's artists, sculptors and performing artists; under JRD's tutelage, the Tatas

became the biggest buyers, promoters and supporters of the art world in India.

And as a philanthropist, he was respected for keeping alive and building up the tremendously active Tata charitable trusts.

Against all Odds -

His achievements have to be seen through the lens of India's economic and political history. Under British colonial rule until

1947, India was strait-jacketed by a foreign exchange crunch for almost forty years after independence, which gravely

limited industrial entrepreneurship.

From 1964 to 1991 severe government controls on big business further curbed the growth of the Tata Group. Analysing his

own performance, JRD Tata insisted that his only real contribution to the group of companies was Air-India. For the rest, he

generously gave credit to his executives.

Any chronicle of the Tata Group's growth therefore has to take the contribution of these larger than life men into account.

JRD's story is, in many ways, as much theirs as his own. Yet, it would be a mistake to under-assess JRD's role. As one of the

senior Tata executives, Darbari Seth, once said, 'Mr Tata was able to harness a team of individualistic executives,

capitalizing upon their strengths, downplaying their differences and deficiencies; all by the sheer weight of his leadership.'

A Leader and Motivator -

Leadership, according to JRD meant motivating others. 'As chairman, my main responsibility is to inspire respect.'

Sometimes referred to as the 'chairmen's chairman,' JRD adopted a management by consensus style: 'When a number of

persons are involved I am definitely a consensus man,' he once said, adding: 'but that does not mean that I do not disagree or

that I do not express my views. Basically it is a question of having to deal with individual men heading different enterprises.

You have to adapt yourself to their ways and deal accordingly and draw out the best in each man. If I have any merit it is

getting on with individuals according to their ways and characteristics. In fifty years I have dealt with a hundred top directors

and I have got on with all of them. At times it involves suppressing yourself. It is painful but necessary. To be a leader you

have got to lead human beings with affection.'

Be that as it may, Tata spotted talent easily. And once he was confident that a manager would perform, he gave him a long

rope. If they wanted to be on their own, like Sumant Moolgaokar, he left them to it. If they occasionally wanted a shoulder to

cry on, like Darbari Seth, JRD was there.

The supportive climate he built developed entrepreneurs such as Sir Homi Mody, Sir Ardeshir Dalal, Sir Jehangir Ghandy,

Russi Mody, Sumant Moolgaokar and Darbari Seth, and others who created billions in wealth for the group and the country.

It was an environment where scientists of international repute such as Homi Bhabha, leading lawyers such as J D Choksi and

Nani Palkhivala, and economists such as John Matthai, A D Shroff, D R Pendse and Freddie Mehta could flourish.

This attitude contrasted sharply with the prevailing management styles of other Indian business leaders. Large Indian

companies tend to fall into three categories: public sector ones run by the government, multinational affiliates, and those

promoted by family dynasties. While the Tata Group firmly remained a family concern -- to date, four out of its five

chairman have been Tatas -- JRD's professionalism stood out from the crowd.

Moreover, in most of the family firms, the top management tended to belong to the same community as the promoter family.

With the Tatas, it was different: only merit counted.

Tata's role model in management was the British civil service. How was it, he wondered 'that a young Briton straight from

college, could come to a foreign country and administer various departments with such distinction?'

The Tata Group faced a constant shortage of managers, and JRD carried out many experiments to expand and improve the

pool of talent. His first attempt -- the formation of the Superior Staff Recruiting Committee -- failed when none of the

recruits stayed with the corporation.

Eventually he formed the Tata Administrative Service and the Tata Management Training Centre at Pune. This commitment

to professionalism served the group well. In 1971, for example, when the coal industry was nationalised, Mohan

Kumaramangalam, the then industry minister, left Tata Steel's coal mines untouched on the ground that these efficiently run

mines would provide a model for the nationalised mines.

Professionalism -

JRD's respect for his managers bound the group. 'I am a firm believer that the disintegration of the Tata Group is impossible,'

he once declared.

Most business groups have disintegrated or drifted apart because of family ownership and management, with rival family

members wanting to go their own way. In contrast, the Tata Group companies are run by professionals who firmly believe in

the trusteeship concept laid down by J N Tata as also by Mahatma Gandhi.

A university dropout, JRD was something of a self-taught technocrat, and died long before the phrase 'war for talent' was

coined. Yet, almost every senior Tata director from the 1930s onwards held a degree from a foreign university. Tata

willingly financed bright young boys who wanted to go abroad for further education.

He was also a vital bridge between the scientific establishment and the government through his founding of the Tata Institute

of Fundamental Research, and as the longest serving member of the Atomic Energy Commission.

Tata's personal interest in technology, combined with India's isolation in the 1950s and 1960s, spurred several group

companies, particularly Tata Steel and Tata Chemicals, to innovate in their fields. At Tata Steel, a Research and Control

Laboratory had been opened in 1937, and its researchers developed an extensive variety of special steels for applications as

varied as parachute harnesses and razor blades.

The lab also developed a high-tensile alloy steel -- Tiscrom -- which made it possible for the Howrah Bridge in Calcutta to

be built entirely from Indian materials. Another corrosion resistant, low-alloy high-yield strength steel -- Tiscor -- was used

for the manufacture of all-metal steel coaches on the Indian railways.

Quality First -

According to JRD, quality had to match innovation. He intensely disliked the laid-back Indian attitude, and much of his

fabled short temper was triggered by the carelessness of others. He stressed: 'If you want excellence, you must aim at

perfection. I know that aiming at perfection has its drawbacks. It makes you go into detail that you can avoid. It takes a lot of

energy out of you but that's the only way you finally actually achieve excellence. So in that sense, being finicky is essential.

A company, which uses the name Tata, shares a tradition. The symbol 'T' has to be a symbol of quality.'

The achievements of the Tata Group would not have been possible without the support of its workforce. Before JRD took

over, the labour situation at key Tata plants was frequently tense despite the fact that management had poured millions into

subsidised housing for workers, offered free medical and hospital treatment, as well as free education and was miles ahead of

government legislation in terms of labour practices.

For example, Tata Steel pioneered the eight-hour day in 1912, long before the principle had been accepted in the United

States or Europe (Britain introduced the twelve-hour day in 1911).

Tata Steel introduced leave with pay in 1920, and in India this was established by law in 1945. Tata Steel set up a provident

fund in 1920, which was not legalised until 1952.

Tata asked the question: if the workers were being treated exceptionally well, why were they frequently discontented and

mistrustful and hostile towards the company?

Benign Boss -

According to Tata, the crux of any successful labour policy lay in making workers feel wanted. One of the inherent

drawbacks of modern industry with its large and concentrated labour forces was that each man felt 'that instead of being a

valued member of a friendly and human organisation, he was a mere cog in a soulless machine.' 'Because of this, a worker's

attitude towards management becomes one of indifference, mistrust and coldness often tinged with hostility. He is easily led

to feeling himself the victim of callous and unfair treatment and little is needed to make him look upon his employers as his

enemies and break out into open conflict.'

Tata Steel became one of the earliest companies in India to have a dedicated human resources department. Expressing

surprise that the company had functioned for so long without one, Tata commented: 'If our operations required the

employment of, say, 30,000 machine tools, we would undoubtedly have a special staff or department to look after them, to

keep them in repair, replace them when necessary, maintain their efficiency, protect them from damage, etc.'

'But when employing 30,000 human beings each with a mind and soul of his own, we seem to have assumed that they would

look after themselves and that there was no need for a separate organisation to deal with the human problems involved.'

Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata died in Geneva on November 29, 1993. Few addressed him using his full name, with which

he was born; he was simply 'JRD' to the world, and 'Jeh' to his friends.

JRD was India's most well known industrialist, widely respected for his enormous contribution to the development of Indian

industry and aviation in particular.

Tata headed India's largest industrial conglomerate with uncommon success. But this was only one aspect of his life. He was

also a man of great sensitivity and was pained by the poverty he saw around him and sought vigorously to alleviate it.

He also was a philanthropist who wanted India to be a happy country and did all he could to make it so; a patron of the

sciences and the arts; and a man with a passion for literature, fast cars, skiing, and flying.

Chairmen of the Tata Group

Jamsetji Tata • Dorabji Tata • Nowroji Saklatwala • J. R. D. Tata • Ratan Tata

Entrepreneurs & PersonalitiesDhirubhai Ambani

Dhirubhai Ambani : The Reliant Ruler

Born in the village in Saurashtra (Gujarat), village in Saurashtra (Gujarat), Founder Chairman,

Reliance Industries Limited, Founder Chairman, Reliance Industries Limited. Reliance Group,

with interests in textiles, petrochemicals, petroleum, oil and gas, financial services, insurance,

power, telecom and infocom, is India's largest business house with total sales of Rs 62,000 crore

(US$ 13.2 billion), net profits of Rs 4,400 crore (US$ 950 million) and cash flow of over Rs 6,800

crore (US$ 1.5 billion).

Dhirajlal Hirachand Ambai ( ‘Dhirubhai’ is a nickname ) came from a tiny village that is not even a

dot on the political map of Gujarat. But Chorwad, in Junagadh district, today remembers that its

most famous scion born- was the progeny of a humble school teacher, and that he could not go in

for higher education simply because there was no money in the family kitty.

There are scores of rags to-riches stories in every society, but there is only one on Dhirubhai.

Dhirubhai earned quite handsomely in the yarn business and graduated from a yarn trader to a

mill owner in 1966 by setting up a mall textile mill at Naroda, near Ahmedabad and then his tryst

with success followed. \ A man far ahead of his times, Dhirubhai Ambani epitomised the dauntless

entrepreneurial spirit. From a humble beginning, he went on to create an enviable business

empire within a span of just 25 years. The Rs.60,000 crore Reliance Group is a living testimony to

his effort.

On 6th July’02 this great entrepreneur bid goodbye to the world but has continued to inspire

millions of Indians. 

Conferred the 'Man of the Century' award by Chemtech Foundation and Chemical Engineering

World in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the growth and development of the

chemical industry in India, November 2000.

Thrice (2000, 1998 and 1996) nominated as one of the 'Power 50 - the most powerful people in

Asia' by Asiaweek magazine.

Awarded the Dean's Medal by The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, for setting an

outstanding example of leadership, June 1998.

Conferred The Economic Times Award for Corporate Excellence for Lifetime Achievement, August

2001

DR. B. R. AMBEDKAR

DR. B. R. AMBEDKAR

            From the depths of a life of humiliation, an untouchable arose to touch the skies. He was Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar.            Bhimrao was born in ‘mahar’ caste, which was considered as untouchable. This fourteenth child of Ramji Sakpal and Bhimabai was Born on 14th April 1891. He lost his mother when he was five. From a very young age, he experienced the humiliating treatment meted out to the untouchables. in the school he had to sit away from other children. If he drank water from a common well, he would be beaten up. Innumerable such experiences made him better towards the religion.            Later his family moved to Bombay where he attended high school. He was married to Ramabai when he was 17 years old. Maharaja of Baroda granted him scholarship to study in the degree college and also further helped him to go U.S. of America for higher studies. After studying various subjected like political science, social science, economics, ethics etc, he returned with a doctorate in 1917.

            In spite of such high education, he received the same treatment. In 1920 he went to London to study law and set up law practice on returning back. Then he began working towards the betterment of his people. He addressed their gathering, made them aware of their rights and he fought for them. British government granted separate electorate for the Harijans, but Gandhiji oppesed it fearing that it could separate them from the Hindus, but he agreed to reserve seats for Harijans in the Legislature.            Dr. Ambedkar was appointed as the first Law Minister of independent India. He was the chairman of the committee, wich prepared the Constitution of India. He is called the ‘Father of Indian Constitution’.            Dr. Ambedkar resigned from the post of Minister in 1951. In 1956 he accepted Buddhism along with his wife and many followers. He has written many books like ‘Untouchables’, ‘Buddha and Karl Marx’, Buddha and his gospel’ etc. he died in his sleep on 10th December 1956.

b) Dr. BabaSaheb Ambedkar – A multifaceted personality

Dr. BabaSaheb Ambedkar – A multifaceted personality

                Eight years ago, on a visit to my village with my family, I spotted a statue of a person right in the centre of the village. He was wearing spectacles and was dressed in a suit. I wondered who he was. I looked down at the inscription on the pedestal of the statue. It read “Dr. B.R. Ambedkar”.

That was the very first time I came across Dr. Babsaheb Ambedkar.

Casteism(and untouchability) has been around for thousands of years. People have tried to rebel but none have succeeded in doing so as successfully as Dr. Baba Saheb Ambedkar. He did so not through ‘fear’ but by appealing to the inner conscience of people. True, it did take time for it settle in the hearts but, the wait was more than worth the blood-shed had a feud taken place.

            History has given us many leaders but only a few have managed to shake the very foundations and be successful. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar is definitely one of them.

            His page on Wikipedia lists him as an Indian Jurist, political leader, philosopher, thinker, anthropologist, historian, orator, prolific writer, economist, scholar, editor, a revolutionary and one of the founding fathers of independent India. That’s enough proof to tell you that he is a multi-faceted personality.

            He is a combination of the best. He has a will of iron like Sardar Vallabhai Patel(The iron man) combined with the power of pushing people into action like Mahatma Gandhi. He fought for his people and not once did he back down and ask himself why he was doing what he was doing. Many people think serving the society as a burden, not him. He believed that serving the people around him was his responsibility.

            Prejudice surprised him. As a child, he didn’t understand why it even existed. How was he different from the others? Why shouldn’t he be treated equally like the others? Why won’t people understand that he was no different from them?

            His childhood is filled with memories that showed him, how deep casteism had dug into the Indian hearts. It was etched into their hearts as though someone/something had soldered it there. Right from not being able to drink water because he wasn’t allowed to touch the water-cups to being shunned by the station master because he was an untouchable.

We might read about those incidents and feel sorry for him. But, in reality, these were the incidents that helped realization dawn on him and mature faster. He realized just how cruel the Hindu idealogy of ‘untouchability’ was.

These incidents didn’t deter him. They didn’t trouble him as they would have troubled others. If anything, they just doubled his determination to put an end to this practice.

He was curious and tried asking others “why?” but their answers never seemed to satisfy him.

It was this endless thirst for knowledge that persuaded him to become what he did. If there was one thing that persuaded him in completing his education, it was the hope that at the end, he’d have answers.

                        His parents played a really important role in his upbringing. Had his father not realized the importance of education, I doubt it if he would have even thought about sending his son, Bhimrao Ramji to school. He even shifted his house to Mumbai on the advice of Bhimrao’s teacher to give him a better education at the Elphinstone High School. He managed to keep his scores and grades high despite the cruel treatment that he was meted out to by his class-mates. In a particular incident, he wasn’t allowed to write on the blackboard because his classmates thought that their lunch-boxes, which were stacked on the other side of the black board would get ‘polluted’.

            He was identified by some organizations who were interested in improving the standards of the society. When he passed his matriculation exam, a big party was held to congratulate on his achievement of being the first to pass this exam from his society.

            Though Bhimrao Ramji was 17 years then and an educated person, he could not voice his opinions against child marriage. He was married to Ramabai a nine-year old girl from the neighbouring town of Dapoli.

            People who take full advantages of the opportunities given to them are the ones who turn out to be most successful. Bhimrao Ramji understood this ‘truth’ of life pretty early in his life and when a chance to go abroad for higher studies came about, he accepted it. This was possible through a scheme of the Maharaja of Baroda, Sayajirao Gaekwad II, which gave a scholarship to some outstanding scholars to study in the United States of America.

            This was a very important stage in Bhimrao Ramji’s life. He went to study at the well-known Columbia University, New York. After years of facing unrelented prejudice in India, he welcomed the

freedom and equality he experienced in the United States. Though racism wasn’t extinct, the life he led there was refreshing. No one discriminated him. It was as though he had landed in a land of utopia. It was probably from here that Bhimrao Ramji mustered up the courage to fight casteism in India. He envisioned the life he led in the US for every Indian Dalit.

            While in the university, he could have done anything. There was no one to tell him to do anything but, he chose to study. Eighteen hours a day. This led him to complete his Ph.D. thesis in just 3 years and he received an M.A in two years.

            He then went to the London School of Economics but as fate would have it, his scholarship expired and he had to come back to the state of Baroda.

            He was offered a high post in the Civil Services and held a doctorate. These were despicable days. He once again faced the discrimination because of his caste. No one handed him files or papers, even the peon threw them onto this desk. This gives us an idea of how ‘untouchability’ had become a part of everyone’s heart.

            He had enough of the treatment he was being given here and decided to quit. He managed to obtain the job of a professor of political economy in the Sydenham college of Commerce and Economics, Bombay. He still had this urging desire in him to continue his higher studies. He went to England in 1920 at his own expenses. In the next three years, he managed to get numerous awards and qualified as a Barrister-at-Law.

            He returned to his mother land at the ripe age of 23. He knew however that nothing had changed around him. People didn’t care what his qualifications there. They refused to see the light of the day and continued to treat him as an ‘untouchable’.

            It was then that Bhimrao Ramji felt that the time to do something about it had finally come about. Even though his qualifications meant nothing to other people, he was well respected within the Dalit community. He had received the best education any Dalit in those times could get and hence had the potential to be the leader of the Dalit community.

            He started voicing his opinions and things that he felt should be reformed. One of them was the separate electoral system for the Dalits and other lower castes. He also favored providing reservations for the Dalit and other minority communities. 

            Some incidents have shown his true fearlessness. He believed that justice doesn’t come on it’s own, people must try and secure it for themselves.

            Even though the legislature allowed everyone to use public water, wells and tanks, dalits were still afraid to use them. One such was the Mahad(Raigad, Maharashtra) municipality tank which had opened four years ago but not one ‘untouchable’ had drunk from it. Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar led a peaceful procession to the Chowdar tank and became the first ‘untouchable’ to drink from it. This action provided the necessary courage that other’s needed and they drank from it as well.

            He believed in setting an example for others.

                        He was glorified as a hero by thousands of his followers on his return from Bombay after the separate electoral system had been granted.

            However, Mahatma Gandhi opposed it. He believed the Harijans(children of god – Untouchables) and Hindus would never reconcile if this idea went forward. He believed that Hinduism would change and leave the bad practices behind. He began a fast-unto-death.

            Only Babasaheb had a say in this matter. At first, he refused Gandhiji’s plea saying that he was doing what was best for his people but, as the matter prolonged and Gadhiji’s health began failing, he visited him. In subsequent visits and numerous talks, Gandhiji had finally managed to convince Babasaheb Ambedkar that Hinduism would change and leave it’s bad practices behind. Instead of separate electorates, more representation was to be given to the depreesed classes.

            The period between 1935 and 1950 was his prime-life. He was appointed the Principle of the Government Law college, Bombay.

            During the Second World War, he was appointed as the Labour Minister. However, he remained in touch with who he was. He didn’t turn corrupt. He said that he was born poor and his attitude towards people never changed and never would change.

            Dr. B.R. Ambedkar is best known as one of the founding fathers of the constitution.

            All his study in law, economics, and politics made him the best man available for this job. He had to make a constitution for the World’s largest democracy. He stood up to the job and did all the research he could on the constitutions of other countries and a deep knowledge of the law. He had to face this burden alone, he alone could do justice to this task. He didn’t back down by the sheer enormity of the task, instead, he faced it. Head on.

            He said that “Hinduism has only given us insults, misery, and humiliation.” At a Dalit conference in 1935, he said “We have not been able to secure the barest of human rights….I am born a Hindu. I couldn’t help it, but I solemnly assure you that I will not die a Hindu.”After attending a Buddhist Conference in Srilanka, a few years after the independence, he announced that all ‘oppressed’ people should embrace Buddhism as the way of life. He also said that he was going to devote the rest of his lie to the revival of Buddhism in India.

            For the next 5 years, he carried on a relentless fight against caste discrimination. The battle was half-won when the constitution prohibited the practice of untouchability in India, However, Ambedkar knew that it would take a long-time before it managed to get through the heart of every Indian.

            He embraced Buddhism in 1956 at a public ceremony. He became one with nature just 7 weeks later….

That was the end of the life of one of the most charismatic leaders in the History of India.

            He was one of those who changed the course of history, moved and shook the world. He showed the path the people should follow and occupied a million hearts. People like him don’t come about often but, when they do, they leave such a lasting effect that persists for ages to come. Few people on Earth have managed to cause a paradigm shift like Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar. Even fewer have managed to do it with his tenacity. He was a true leader.

            Men like Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar are immortal. They continue to live long after they become one with nature. His memory continues to live in the Dalits who till this date, respect him with all their heart. The coming generations will continue to respect him and cherish his memory.

DR. S. RADHAKRISHNAN

DR. S. RADHAKRISHNAN 

             Dr. S. Radhakrishnan (1888-1985) was a great thinker who gave the Hindu philosophy its rightful peace in the world. He was born on 5th September 1888 at Tiruttani near Chennai. His childhood was spent at Tiruttani and Tirupathi. He completed his M.A. from Madras University. As it was diffirent for his father S. Veeraswami to support his studies, Radhakrishnan completed most of his education on scholarships.             He was married at the age of 16 to Sivakamuamma. He accepted lecturership of Madras Presidency College of worked on Hindu philosophy. He wrote articles in reputed journals and also a book on philosophy. The Vice Chancellor of Calcutta university appointed him to the prestigious George V professor of Philosophy Chair.            In 1923 his book ‘Indian Philosophy’ was highly acclaimed as a philosophical classic and a literary masterpiece. He was called to the Oxford University to deliver Upton Lectures, and then was offered an invitation to head the Department of Comparative Religion, at Oxford.           Then he was elected Vice Chancellor of the Andhra University in 1931 and then was invited to the Banaras Hindu University.           In the independent India he was requested to head the University Education Commission. His suggestions formed the base of education system in India. Then in 1949 he went to Russia as our Ambassador. He helped to strengthen the ties between the two countries.           In 1952 he was elected Vice President of India. He was honoured with Bharat Ratna in 1954. His wife passed away in 1956. They had a son and five daughters.           Then he was elected the second President of India in 1962. He had to face many trying situations like the Indo-China war, Pt. Nehru’s death, and a war against Pakistan. But he guided our refused to continue for another term and accepted retirement.

             He died on 17th April 1975. His birth date 5th September is celebrated as ‘Teacher’s Day’ in our country.