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Today is Ambedkar Jayanti.

Every year on April 14, cities and towns across Maharashtra and many other parts of India turn blue. Roads are filled with processions, blue flags, drums, songs and portraits of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. For many observers, Ambedkar Jayanti is simply a large public celebration. But it is one of the most important democratic and secular forms of public expression in modern Maharashtra.

Unlike many public celebrations in India that are centred on religion, Ambedkar Jayanti is organised around the memory of a modern thinker who stood for equality, justice, education and dignity. The celebration honours Ambedkar not as a religious figure, but as the architect of the Constitution and as a leader who fought against caste oppression. In that sense, Ambedkar Jayanti has created a different language of public celebration.

For Dalit people, the procession is not merely a festive event. It is a claim to visibility and dignity in a society where they have often been denied both. The streets, which historically belonged more easily to dominant castes and communities, are transformed on Ambedkar Jayanti into spaces where those belonging to Dalit communities can gather proudly and publicly.

The most striking image of the day is the well-organised procession. Thousands of people dressed in white, carrying blue flags and portraits of Ambedkar, move through the city. There is music, dancing and celebration,........

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