266 moments, one life

Battle of Koregaon near Pune, fought largely by a Bombay Native Infantry battalion in which many Mahars served

Date carved on the English inscription of the Koregaon obelisk (other sources say it was built in 1819 or 1821)

Jotirao Phule is born

Jotirao and Savitribai Phule start a school for girls in Pune

Ramji Sakpal, Bhimrao's father, joins the Bombay Army at about 18 (approximate date)

Ramji Sakpal marries Bhimabai Murbadkar at Murbad

Jotirao Phule founds the Satyashodhak Samaj (Truth-Seekers' Society)

The Buddhist flag is designed by a committee in Colombo, Ceylon (first flown on Vesak day)

Ramji Sakpal's posting at the Mhow army cantonment begins

Jotirao Phule dies, less than five months before Bhimrao's birth

Bhimrao is born at Mhow, an army cantonment near Indore

Army orders stop the recruitment of Mahars (Ambedkar elsewhere says 'about 1890')

Ramji Sakpal retires from the army; the family moves to Dapoli (some sources say 1894)

The family moves to Satara; Bhimabai Sakpal dies (some sources say 1897)

Ramji Sakpal marries again

Bhimrao joins the first English standard of the Government High School, Satara

The journey to Koregaon (Khatav taluka) described in 'Waiting for a Visa' ('in about 1901')

School closes for M. G. Ranade's death; Bhimrao is in the first standard at Satara

The family leaves Satara for Bombay

The family moves from Satara to Bombay; Bhimrao joins Elphinstone High School

Marriage to Ramabai at the Byculla market, Bombay (some sources say 1907)

Bhimrao marries Ramabai in Bombay (Keer places it after his 1907 matriculation)

Passes the Matriculation Examination from Elphinstone High School (one source says 1908)

Krishnaji Arjun Keluskar gives young Bhimrao his Marathi book on the life of the Buddha

Dada Keluskar gives him his book on the life of the Buddha (Zelliot says 1908)

Enrols at Elphinstone College, Bombay

Passes the BA examination of Bombay University

Son Yashwant is born

Their eldest son, Yashwant, is born

Joins the service of Baroda State (Keer says for about fifteen days)

Death of his father, Ramji Maloji Sakpal, in Bombay

Baroda scholarship of £11.50 a month for three years begins (dates as given by The Beacon)

Signs the Baroda agreement to study at Columbia University

Signs the Baroda State agreement to study at Columbia University

Sails from Bombay for America on the S.S. Sardegna

Arrives in New York in the third week of July

Submits MA thesis 'Administration and Finance of the East India Company'

Passes his MA examination; MA awarded in June 1915 (2 June 1915 in a 1951 career note)

Reads 'Castes in India: Their Mechanism, Genesis and Development' at Alexander Goldenweiser's seminar

Leaves New York and reaches London

Registers at LSE for the MSc (Econ)

Entered in Gray's Inn's Index of Admission

Driven out of a Parsi inn in Baroda after eleven days

'Castes in India' published in the Indian Antiquary

Leaves LSE; University of London allows him to break his studies for up to four years

SS Salsette, carrying his books and papers, is torpedoed and sunk

Reaches Bombay (date given by Aakash Singh Rathore and The Beacon)

Becomes Professor of Political Economy at Sydenham College, Bombay

Gives evidence to the Southborough Committee on the franchise

Gives evidence to the Southborough (Franchise) Committee

First issue of the Marathi paper Mooknayak

Starts the paper Mook Nayak with help from Shahu Maharaj of Kolhapur

Presides over the Depressed Classes conference at Mangaon, attended by Shahu Maharaj

Mangaon conference, Kolhapur State: Shahu Maharaj predicts he will be an all-India leader

Leaves for London again (5 July 1920 according to The Beacon)

Signs his new LSE admission form; living at 95 Brook Green, Hammersmith

Writes from 10 King Henry's Road to apply to study at the University of Bonn

Awarded the MSc (Econ) for 'Provincial Decentralisation of Imperial Finance in British India'

Called to the Bar by Gray's Inn (year given by Gray's Inn via the Supreme Court of India; some records say 1923)

Writes to Seligman that the manuscript of his original thesis was lost at sea in 1917

Submits 'The Problem of the Rupee' for the DSc (Econ)

The Problem of the Rupee is dedicated to the memory of his father and mother

Examiners do not recommend the DSc; he is allowed to resubmit

Gets his licence (sanad) and starts practising as a barrister in Bombay

DSc (Econ) conferred by the University of London

Bahishkrit Hitakarini Sabha founded

PhD thesis published in London as 'The Evolution of Provincial Finance in British India'

Their youngest son, Rajratna, dies in infancy

Letter to Dattoba Powar: 'We have in all buried four precious children'

Sworn in as a nominated member of the Bombay Legislative Council

Mahad: Dr. Ambedkar and the conference drink water from the Chavdar Tank

First issue of the fortnightly Bahishkrit Bharat

Columbia formally confers the PhD (date on his official transcript)

Mahad court grants a temporary injunction barring Untouchables from the tank

Second Mahad conference; the Manusmriti is publicly burned

Mahad sub-judge dissolves the injunction, calling the tank public property

Begins teaching at the Government Law College, Bombay

Depressed Classes Education Society established

First issue of Samata, paper of the Samaj Samata Sangh

Oral evidence before the Simon Commission at Poona

Signs his separate report on the Bombay constitution for the Simon Commission

Kalaram Temple satyagraha conference at Nashik; protest at the gates begins next day

Clash at the Ram Navami chariot procession in Nashik

Presides over the All-India Depressed Classes Congress at Nagpur (8–9 August)

Janata starts in Bombay while he is in London

First Round Table Conference opens in London

His first speech to the full conference

Columbia Alumni News prints his praise of his Columbia classmates and professors

Buys two plots in Dadar and begins building a family home

First meeting with Gandhi, at Mani Bhavan, Bombay

Second Round Table Conference opens; Gandhi attends for the Congress

Gandhi tells the Minorities Committee he will resist separate representation for untouchables 'with my life'

Samata Sainik Dal volunteers manage the arrangements at one of his Bombay meetings

British 'Communal Award' announced (some sources say 16 August)

Gandhi begins his fast in Yerwada jail, Poona

Poona Pact signed

Third Round Table Conference opens

The Dadar house is named Rajgriha, after the ancient Buddhist capital

Babu Hardas L. N. is said to coin the greeting 'Jai Bhim' (other accounts say 1932 or 1938)

Death of Ramabai Ambedkar

Ramabai dies after a long illness

Appointed Principal of the Government Law College, Bombay

Yeola conference: 'I will not die a Hindu'

Yeola conference: Dr. Ambedkar declares he will not die a Hindu

Annihilation of Caste quotes 'Prof. John Dewey, who was my teacher and to whom I owe so much'

Publishes Annihilation of Caste after the Lahore conference is cancelled

Founds the Independent Labour Party

Independent Labour Party wins 15 of the 17 seats it contests in the Bombay elections

Introduces bills to abolish the Khoti system and to reform the Mahar watan

Leads a peasants' march to the Council Hall in Bombay

Speaks against the Industrial Disputes Bill in the Bombay Assembly

One-day protest strike in Bombay against the Bill

Thoughts on Pakistan is published

Thoughts on Pakistan is published, 'Inscribed to the memory of Ramu'

Resolution at Nagpur founds the All India Scheduled Castes Federation

The All-India Scheduled Castes Federation is founded at Nagpur

Joins the Viceroy's Executive Council as Labour Member

First Tripartite Labour Conference meets in Delhi

8⅓ per cent of direct recruitment to central services reserved for Scheduled Castes

Draft constitution of the Samata Sainik Dal, with its deep-blue flag, is sent to Dr. Ambedkar

Chairs the first Calcutta conference on developing the Damodar Valley

Pakistan or the Partition of India (enlarged second edition) is published

What Congress and Gandhi Have Done to the Untouchables is published

People's Education Society is established

Chairs the Cuttack conference on harnessing Orissa's rivers

Indian Labour Conference backs a 48-hour week in factories

Dr. Ambedkar unfurls the Scheduled Castes flag at Nare Park, Bombay

Moves the Factories (Amendment) Bill to cut the week from 54 to 48 hours

Reservation for Scheduled Castes in central services raised to 12½ per cent

Siddharth College opens in Bombay

Elected to the Constituent Assembly by the Bengal legislature

Viceroy accepts the resignations of the Executive Council; his term as Labour Member ends

Who Were the Shudras? is published, inscribed to the memory of Jotiba Phule

Signs the preface of Who Were the Shudras?

Constituent Assembly meets for the first time; Dr. Ambedkar signs the register as a member from Bengal

Constituent Assembly meets

Rajendra Prasad elected President of the Assembly

Objectives Resolution moved

First speech in the Assembly: 'nothing in the world will prevent this country from becoming one'

Dr. Ambedkar's first speech

Objectives Resolution adopted, all members standing

Objectives Resolution adopted

Signs the preface of States and Minorities

Hindu Code Bill is introduced in the central legislature

The Constituent Assembly sets up an ad hoc Flag Committee; Dr. Ambedkar is a member

Rajendra Prasad asks Bombay's Premier B. G. Kher to elect Dr. Ambedkar again

Prasad asks Bombay to re-elect Dr. Ambedkar

Takes his seat again, now as a member from Bombay

Returns as a member from Bombay

The Constituent Assembly adopts the tricolour with the Ashoka Chakra

Becomes Minister of Law in Nehru's first cabinet

Joins independent India's first cabinet as Law Minister

Becomes Law Minister

Assembly appoints the seven-member Drafting Committee

Drafting Committee appointed

Drafting Committee holds its first meeting

Drafting Committee's first meeting

Scrutiny of B. N. Rau's draft begins

Sends the Draft Constitution to the Assembly's President with a covering letter

Draft Constitution submitted

Draft Constitution published in the Gazette of India for public comment

Draft published in the Gazette of India

Explains the Hindu Code Bill; it is sent to a Select Committee

Marries Dr. Sharda Kabir (Savita Ambedkar) at 1 Hardinge Avenue, New Delhi

The Untouchables is inscribed to the saints Nandnar, Ravidas and Chokhamela

Introduces the Draft Constitution in the Assembly

Draft introduced in the Assembly

T. T. Krishnamachari says the burden of drafting 'fell on Dr. Ambedkar'

T. T. Krishnamachari's remark

Second reading begins

Directive Principles explained

Draft article 11 abolishing untouchability (now Article 17) is adopted

Untouchability abolished in the Draft

Equality of opportunity and reservations

Calls draft article 25 (now Article 32) 'the very soul of the Constitution and the very heart of it'

Right to constitutional remedies adopted

'Due process' debate

Amendment procedure and SC/ST lists adopted

Preamble adopted; clause-by-clause reading ends

Preamble adopted

Third reading begins

Closing speech with three warnings for Indian democracy

Closing speech

Constitution adopted by the Constituent Assembly

Constitution adopted

Large protest rally in Delhi against the Hindu Code Bill

Milind College opens in Aurangabad

Processions carry 'blue party flags' to a Federation meeting at Nare Park, Parel

Members sign the handwritten English and Hindi copies

Members sign the Constitution

Constitution comes into force; India becomes a republic

Constitution comes into force

'Buddha and the Future of His Religion' appears in the Maha Bodhi journal, Calcutta

Reaches Colombo; attends the first World Fellowship of Buddhists conference at Kandy (25 May–6 June) as an observer

Dr. Ambedkar attends the first World Fellowship of Buddhists conference in Ceylon, which adopts the Buddhist flag

Hands his resignation to Prime Minister Nehru

Releases his statement explaining the resignation

'Blue star-studded flags of the Federation' at a Shivaji Park rally

Loses the Lok Sabha election in Bombay City North

Files an election petition with Ashoka Mehta

First recorded speech in the Council of States (Rajya Sabha)

Receives an honorary Doctor of Laws (LLD) at Columbia's Commencement

Columbia University awards him an honorary Doctor of Laws

Lecture in Poona on the conditions for democracy

Loses the Bhandara Lok Sabha by-election

All India Radio talk 'My Philosophy of Life': liberty, equality and fraternity, from the Buddha

Purandare's Stadium speech: devotee of the Buddha, Kabir and Phule

Speaks at the World Buddhist conference in Rangoon, Burma, and sets out a plan for reviving Buddhism in India

Installs a Buddha image at a new vihara at Dehu Road near Pune

Hindu Marriage Act passed, the first part of the Hindu Code to become law

Amended Federation constitution: its flag is stars on a triangular blue cloth

Registers the Buddhist Society of India (Bharatiya Bauddha Mahasabha) in Bombay

Signs the preface of Thoughts on Linguistic States

Unpublished preface to The Buddha and His Dhamma thanks his wife for saving his health

Speaks in the Rajya Sabha on the States Reorganisation Bill

BBC talk 'Why I like Buddhism'

Announces that his conversion will take place at Nagpur on Dussehra, 14 October 1956

Scheduled Castes Federation executive decides to form a Republican Party

Dhamma Diksha at Nagpur (Ashoka Vijayadashami): conversion of Dr. and Mrs. Ambedkar and a vast crowd; the 22 vows

Conversion at Nagpur; people arrive carrying Buddhist flags

Speech at Nagpur explaining why he chose Buddhism; another large group converts

Second conversion ceremony at Chanda (today's Chandrapur)

Flies from Patna to Kathmandu for the Fourth World Fellowship of Buddhists conference

King Mahendra of Nepal opens the conference

Speech 'Buddha or Karl Marx' at Kathmandu

Returns to Delhi by air after visiting Varanasi and Buddhist holy places

Completes the manuscript of 'The Buddha or Karl Marx' (date per Columbia timeline)

Last visit to the Rajya Sabha (Council of States)

Dies in his sleep at 26 Alipur Road, Delhi

Dies in his sleep at his Delhi home, 26 Alipur Road

Funeral procession in Bombay and cremation at Dadar Chowpatty; mass conversions at the cremation ground

The Buddha and His Dhamma is published after his death (Siddharth College Publication, Bombay)

The Scheduled Castes Federation is turned into the Republican Party of India, as he had planned

The Buddha and His Dhamma is published in Bombay

The Republican Party of India is formally organised by his followers

Republican Party of India is formally founded, after his death

Chaitya Bhoomi memorial at Dadar inaugurated by Meera Ambedkar (date per Forward Press)

Young Buddhists in Maharashtra form the Dalit Panthers

Dalit Panther launched in Bombay (date given by co-founder J. V. Pawar; others give a later date)

Yashwant Ambedkar dies

Namantar (renaming) movement for Marathwada University begins

Government of Maharashtra begins publishing Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar: Writings and Speeches

Awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour, after his death

Marathwada University renamed Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University

Originals placed in sealed cases

A bronze bust of Dr. Ambedkar is presented to Columbia's Lehman Library

Stupa at Deekshabhoomi, Nagpur, inaugurated by President K. R. Narayanan

President K. R. Narayanan inaugurates the stupa at Deekshabhoomi, Nagpur

Dr. Savita Ambedkar dies in Mumbai, aged 94

26 Alipur Road dedicated to the nation as Dr. Ambedkar's Mahaparinirvan Sthal

26 Alipur Road, Delhi, dedicated to the nation

Government decides to celebrate 26 November every year as Constitution Day

Constitution Day begins

10 King Henry's Road bought on behalf of the Government of Maharashtra

Dr. Ambedkar Memorial at King Henry's Road, London, inaugurated

First observance of his birth anniversary at UN Headquarters, New York

India Post issues stamps showing the Deekshabhoomi stupa

Dr. Ambedkar International Centre opens at 15 Janpath, New Delhi

Dr. Ambedkar National Memorial opens at 26 Alipur Road

British Columbia, Canada, marks Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Equality Day

Seattle becomes the first US city to ban caste discrimination

125-foot statue unveiled beside Hussain Sagar, Hyderabad

19-foot 'Statue of Equality' unveiled in Accokeek, Maryland, USA

'Statue of Social Justice' (125-foot statue on an 81-foot base) unveiled in Vijayawada

New York City proclaims 'Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar Day'

Smart India Hackathon brief SIH26096 (Ministry of Social Justice) calls for a digital archive of his scattered works