Addressing a function, organised by Dr B R Ambedkar Education Society to mark the inauguration of a building housing the Siddharth Law College and Ambedkar Institute of Law and Management, the President stressed the need for educating Dalits and the deprived classes and said it was high time these backward classes were encouraged to take the IAS examinations in great number.

Referring to a recent survey in Maharashtra, he said about 50 per cent of the Dalits, particularly those from landless families, had reached a stage beyond matriculation, while a meagre five per cent from the affluent Dalit families had crossed the matriculation stage.

``It is time those engaged in conducting such surveys update the facts and figures to ascertain how many Dalits are lagging behind themembers belonging to the affluent class, both from the high-caste and deprived classes, in education as well as employment'', he said.

Describing Babasaheb Ambedkar as a ``social rebel and political fighter'', Narayanan exhorted the people to imbibe the constitutional morality propagated by the Father of the Constitution. He said Ambedkar stood for a united India and strived for a harmonious society throughout his life.

He complimented Ambedkar Education Society for spreading legal literacy by establishing law colleges in the state. ``This is the shining example of carrying out judicial activism outside the law courts'', he observed.