Mumbai (PTI): Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty were trading higher in early trade on Thursday, mirroring a rally in global equity markets with fresh foreign fund inflows also adding to the optimistic trend.

The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 284.49 points to hit its 52-week high of 85,470.96 in early trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty went up by 83.35 points to 26,136 -- its 52-week peak.

From the Sensex firms, Adani Ports, Reliance Industries, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, Axis Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra and Power Grid were among the gainers.

However, HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra, ICICI Bank and Maruti were among the laggards.

In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi, Japan's Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index were trading higher. The Kospi and the Nikkei 225 index were trading over 3 per cent higher.

US markets ended in positive territory on Wednesday.

"Global markets continue to offer a steady and supportive backdrop for India, with no fresh negative triggers emerging overnight. US equities ended firmly in the green, led by a sharp rebound in technology shares after Nvidia's strong earnings guidance reignited optimism across AI and semiconductor-linked sectors. All three major indices — the S&P 500, Dow Jones, and Nasdaq — posted healthy gains," Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm, said.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) turned buyers on Wednesday. They bought equities worth Rs 1,580.72 crore in the previous trade, according to exchange data. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) also bought stocks worth Rs 1,360.27 crore on Wednesday.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, climbed 0.27 per cent to USD 63.68 per barrel.

On Wednesday, the Sensex jumped 513.45 points or 0.61 per cent to settle at 85,186.47. The Nifty climbed 142.60 points or 0.55 per cent to 26,052.65.

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Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (PTI): 'Jai Bhim': These two words have come to symbolise the awakening and empowerment of the Dalit community in independent India, but not many people know how it originated.

The slogan, which also encapsulates the immense reverence in which Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar is held, was first raised at the Makranpur Parishad, a conference organised at Makranpur village in Kannad teshil of today's Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district in Maharashtra.

Ambedkar, the chief architect of India's Constitution, died on December 6, 1956.

Bhausaheb More, the first president of the Scheduled Castes Federation of Marathwada, organised the first Makranpur Parishad on December 30, 1938.

Dr Ambedkar spoke at the conference and asked the people not to support the princely state of Hyderabad under which much of central Maharashtra then fell, said Assistant Commissioner of Police Pravin More, Bhausaheb's son.

"When Bhausaheb stood up to speak, he said every community has its own deity and they greet each other using the name of that deity. Dr Ambedkar showed us the path of progress, and he is like God to us. So henceforth, we should say 'Jai Bhim' while meeting each other. The people responded enthusiastically. A resolution accepting 'Jai Bhim' as the community's slogan was also passed," More told PTI.

"My father came in contact with Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar in his early years. Bhausaheb was aware of the atrocities the Nizam state committed on Dalits. He told Ambedkar about these atrocities, including the pressure to convert. Dr Ambedkar was strongly against these atrocities, and he decided to attend the 1938 conference," he said.

As Ambedkar was against the princely states, he was banned from giving speeches in the Hyderabad state but was allowed to travel through its territories. The Shivna river formed the border between Hyderabad and British India. Makranpur was chosen as the venue for the first conference because it was on the banks of Shivna but lay in the British territory, ACP More said.

The stage made of bricks, from where Dr Ambedkar addressed the conference, still stands. The conference is organised on December 30 every year to carry forward Ambedkar's thought, and the tradition was not discontinued even in 1972 when Maharashtra experienced one of the worst droughts in it history.

"My grandmother pledged her jewellery for the conference expenses. People from Khandesh, Vidarbha and Marathwada attended it. Despite a ban imposed by the Nizam's police, Ambedkar's followers crossed the river to attend the event," said ACP More.

"This is the 87th year of Makranpur Parishad. We have deliberately retained the venue as it helps spread Ambedkar's thought in rural areas," he added.