NEW DELHI: Paying tributes to Bhim Rao Ambedkar on his birth anniversary, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday that it is due to his inspiration that the country is today dedicated to realising the dream of social justice.

His principles and ideas will strengthen and speed up the building of an 'aatmanirbhar' (self-reliant) and developed India, Modi said on X.

Ambedkar is recognised for his lifelong struggle for the empowerment of Scheduled Castes and his key role in drafting the Constitution.

Born in a Dalit family in 1891, he was a brilliant student who went on to study in foreign countries. The discrimination he suffered in Indian society turned him into a committed social reformer.

He was India's first law minister. He died in 1956.