On April 14, 2008 falls the 117th birth anniversary of Babasaheb Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar .

AMBEDKAR believed in a democratic system of government and power to the people had been a
major concern for him. He was very clear that unless citizens have power in their own hands,
there could be no democracy. That is why he says that democracy rests on four premises, where
the citizen remains at the centre:
The individual is an end in itself.
The individual has certain inalienable rights, which must be guaranteed to him by the
Constitution.
The individual shall not be required to relinquish any of his constitutional rights as a price of
any privilege.
The state shall not delegate power to private persons to govern others.
The core of Dr Ambedkars political thinking is contained in two of his statements: (1) rights are
protected not by law but by the social and moral conscience of society; and (2) a democratic
form of government presupposes a democratic form of society
Ambedkar knew that mere adoption of a democratic system of government in the Constitution
would not be sufficient. Equality in society, equality before law and administration,
constitutional morality, lack of tyranny of the majority and developing public conscience are
conditions for the success of democracy in India. The foremost condition for democracy, in
Ambedkars opinion, is equality in society as equality is the foundation stone where the notions
of liberty and fraternity develop. He remarked that equality is the original notion and respect for
human personality is a reflection of it.

Aung San Suu Kyi, (Burmese: ; MLCTS: aung hcan: cu. krany, /asn.suti/, Burmese pronunciation: [
s s t]; born 19 June 1945) is a Burmese social
democratic stateswoman, politician, diplomat and author who serves as the First and incumbent State
Counsellor and Leader of the National League for Democracy. She is also the first female Minister of Foreign
Affairsof Myanmar and the Minister of President's Office in President Htin Kyaw's Cabinet, and from 2012 to
2016 was a Pyithu Hluttaw MPfor Kawhmu Township.
The youngest daughter of Aung San, Father of the Nation of modern-day Myanmar, and Khin Kyi, Aung San
Suu Kyi was born inRangoon, British Burma. After graduating from the University of Delhi in 1964 and
the University of Oxford in 1968, she worked at theUnited Nations for three years. She married Michael Aris in
1972, and gave birth to two children. Aung San Suu Kyi rose to prominence in the 1988 Uprisings, and became
the General Secretary of the newly formed National League for Democracy (NLD). In the 1990 elections, NLD
won 81% of the seats in Parliament, but the results were nullified, as the military refused to hand over power,
resulting in an international outcry. She had, however, already been detained under house arrest before the
elections. She remained under house arrest for almost 15 of the 21 years from 1989 to 2010, becoming one of
the world's most prominent political prisoners.
Her party boycotted the 2010 elections, resulting in a decisive victory for the military-backed Union Solidarity
and Development Party. Aung San Suu Kyi became a Pyithu Hluttaw MP while her party won 43 of the 45
vacant seats in the 2012 by-elections. In the 2015 elections, her party won a landslide victory, taking 86% of
the seats in the Assembly of the Union well more than the 67 percentsupermajority needed to ensure that its
preferred candidates were elected President and Second Vice President in the Presidential Electoral College.
Although she was prohibited from becoming the President due to a clause in the constitution her late
husband and children are foreign citizens she assumed the newly created role of State Counsellor, a role
akin to a Prime Minister or a head of government.
Aung San Suu Kyi has gained international acclaim, having received many honours, including the: Rafto
Prize, Sakharov Prize, Nobel Peace Prize, Jawaharlal Nehru Award, Order of Australia, US Congressional Gold
Medal, and Presidential Medal of Freedom. She is an honorary citizen of many countries, including Canada,
and was an honorary member of Nelson Mandela's Elders.