Justice Gavai said it was an honour for him to be invited to Columbia Law School
Senior Supreme Court judge Justice Bhushan Ramakrishna Gavai, in a historic moment, paid tribute to Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar at the Columbia Law School in the US on Tuesday, March 26.
At the event, Justice Gavai expressed his gratitude and said, "It is an honour for me to be invited to Columbia Law School. I was particularly interested in visiting Columbia University, as this University has a special place in the heart of Indians."
The event was a significant milestone for Justice Gavai, who is from the Scheduled Caste community and is set to become the Chief Justice of India in a year. He will be the second person from the community to become the Chief Justice.
Dr Ambedkar earned his Master's degree in 1915 and a PhD in 1916 from Columbia University, before going to London for further studies.
Spoking about the special connection between Columbia University and India, Justice Gavai said, "Dr BR Ambedkar, considered the chief architect of the Indian Constitution, pursued his MA and PhD at Columbia. In his honour, a bust is installed in a library at Columbia University. As I said on January 28, 2024 - the beginning of the diamond jubilee of the Supreme Court of India, it is only because of Dr Ambedkar and the Constitution of India that I have reached this position. I have been told there is also a BR Ambedkar Chair at Columbia Law School."
Columbia University installed a bronze bust of Dr Ambedkar on the third floor of the University's Lehman Social Sciences Library. The bronze bust, sculpted by Mumbai's Vinay Brahmesh Wagh, was presented to the Southern Asian Institute on October 24, 1991. Later, the wooden pedestal to support the statue was donated by the Society of the Ambedkarites of New York and New Jersey. The statue was installed in the Lehman Library in 1995.