NAGPUR: Chief Justice of India Bhushan Gavai on Saturday credited his rise from a semi-slum school in Maharashtra’s Amravati to the country’s highest judicial office, the transformative legacy of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, and the Constitution. “If there was no Dr Ambedkar and no Constitution, I would not be in Chief Justice’s chair,” he said at the Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar College diamond jubilee celebrations in Deekshabhoomi. He said his visit to Deekshabhoomi was not as a guest but as “a son of the soil”.Standing alongside CM Devendra Fadnavis, senior judges Shree Chandrashekhar, Nitin Sambre, Anil Kilor, Anil Pansare, Prafulla Khubalkar, Abhay Mantri, the CJI said: “This is not a ceremonial visit. It’s deeply personal. I have a lifelong emotional connect with this place.”Praising Ambedkar’s choice of Buddhism over other religions, Gavai said, “Despite offers to embrace Islam and Christianity, Babasaheb chose Buddhism because it ensures equality for all.” He cited the 1981 silver jubilee of the Buddhist movement when ex-governor and his late father R S Gavai brought Dr Ambedkar’s ashes to Nagpur. “I remember the massive procession. My father carried the ashes on his head. It was a defining moment,” hesaid.The CJI also reflected on the Ambedkar college’s early struggles when staff salaries were unpaid, and operations ran out of a temporary structure. “My father and Dadasaheb Kumbhare sought help from Manoharbhai Patel in Gondia, who agreed to support on the condition they’d have meals with him at his home one day,” he said, praising such sacrifices that built the institution “brick by brick”.He lauded the college’s evolution into a NAAC-accredited institution. Highlighting women’s empowerment as a true tribute to Dr Ambedkar’s vision, Gavai noted that 80% of today’s achievers here are girls. “Ambedkar always said the progress of a society is reflected by the progress of its women,” he added.