Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar (Vol. 17 Part-II): Socio-Political, Religious Activities

Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar (1891-1956) was a scholar, social reformer, powerful advocate for Dalits and women, chairman of the Constituent Assembly of India, and the country’s first law minister.

In 1976, the government of Maharashtra set up the Babasaheb Ambedkar Source Material Publication Committee to compile his work. The Committee consisted of the state’s then education minister and noted scholars and writers. In 1978, when Vasant Moon (Dalit activist, author and Officer on Special Duty) joined the Committee, it decided to publish his unpublished writings too.

The state’s Education Department started to publish a 22-volume series titled Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar: Writings and Speeches in 1979.  The series was re-printed by the Dr. Ambedkar Foundation, an autonomous body under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, in January 2014.

This second part of the 17th volume in the series was edited by Hari Narake, N.G. Kamble, Dr. M. L. Kasare and Ashok Godghate. It features a diverse range of materials authored by Ambedkar including letters and articles, and carries transcripts from newspaper reports on Ambedkar and his work. They cover his thoughts on education, untouchability, democracy as well as the institutions and organisations initiated by him.

This 573-page document is divided into four sections: Articles, messages, prefaces etc. (Section I); Dr. B. R. Ambedkar on cabinet mission and transfer of power (Section II); On building of nation and its democracy (Section III); and Institutions, organisations and their constitutions (Section IV). It also contains 13 appendices.

Section I

This section comprises several articles by Dr. Ambedkar commenting on priesthood and religious authority as well as his views on reforming the educational institutions in the Bombay Presidency and beyond. Writing on the former, he states how the Brahmin priestly class wields the weapon of ostracism to get people to follow draconian rules. He talks of “a great necessity for effective legislation against superstitious practices” that find support in the priest and prey on the vulnerable. In another piece, Babasaheb investigates the question put to him by the editor of ‘Chittra’: Is Gandhi a Mahatma?

On being asked by the organisers of the magazine Maratha Mandir for a message, Ambedkar writes that every backward community wishing to avoid suppression must focus on politics and education. However, he also writes that the Marathas have been the middle class of India and as such must beware its faults, that is, the lack of either aristocratic generosity or the idealism of the lower classes.

Section II

This section primarily features correspondence between Dr. Ambedkar and representatives of the British government. Many of the pieces carried concern the Cabinet Mission which deliberated the transfer of governing powers from Britain to India. In a letter addressed to Lord Wavell, the then Governor General of India, Dr. Ambedkar reiterates his refusal to join discussions and suggests a substitute. He also voices his concerns over the “extreme inadequacy of the representation given to the Scheduled Castes in His Majesty’s Government’s proposals for the reconstitution of the Executive Council.”

A news report from the Bombay Chronicle from July 1946 quotes Ambedkar’s response to the results of the latest general elections: “We are fighting for our liberty, for our very existence. We, a large community, have been denied elementary justice for decades. We have been maltreated, our just demands bruised aside with contempt.”

Section III

The third section of this volume compiles articles that present Dr. Ambedkar’s views on democracy and nation-building. In a piece appearing in the Bombay Sentinel on January 31, 1938, he speaks on the Bombay Municipal Corporation choosing to not adopt adult franchise in the upcoming municipal elections. Ambedkar writes, “Whatever the policy of the Congress government, I and my party, representing the most downtrodden strata of society, will join and further any movement that can secure adult franchise for the city.”

He also shares his views on the Hindu-Muslim issues prevalent in the country including how complicated partition would be considering the heterogenous nature of the subcontinent’s demography. He says, “No matter how the national boundaries are chopped and changed, a large number of Non-Muslims will remain in Pakistan and an equally large number of Muslims will remain in India. Consequently, the attempt to shift boundaries merely to include more of one’s fellow members is, I think, utterly misdirected.”

Section IV

The fourth section of this book provides details about various organisations and institutions founded or supported by Dr. Ambedkar. These include the Bahishkrit Hitkarni Sabha, the Depressed Classes Institute, the Independent Labour Party, the People’s Education Society, the All India Scheduled Castes Federation, and the Buddhist Society of India.

Focus by Sakshi Purandare.