Discovering Babasaheb

This Dalit history month—which also marks the 134" birth anniversary of Dr B. R. Ambedkar, we recount four momentous incidents from his life

- Ashok Mahadevan and Sushan Shetty

He towers above us, forever frozen in stone, a bespectacled man in a suit, the index finger of his right-hand pointing forward, his left arm holding a book close to his heart. Statues similar to this one are dotted all across India. Indeed, there are almost certainly more of them than that of any other figure, not excepting even Gandhiji.

Yet, if Dr B. R. Ambedkar has passed into legend for the Dalits among us, he remains, for too many others, a shadowy or much misunderstood figure. But the amazing life and trenchant teachings of this great Indian still hold valuable lessons for everyone.

TURNING POINT

The tall, stout young man with a receding hairline and scholarly mien, stood in Baroda railway station wondering what to do. He had just been appointed military secretary to the Maharaja of Baroda, and although orders had been issued for him to be met at the station, nobody had shown up.

The reason was obvious. During the four years, Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar had studied in New York in London, on a Baroda government scholarship, it hadn’t mattered at all who he was. But now he had returned home, and in the India of 1917, it mattered a great deal. His academic accomplishments couldn’t undo the incontrovertible fact that he was an Untouchable.

Given his appearance, it wouldn’t have been difficult for the 26-year-old Ambedkar to pretend to be a Brahmin and check into a Hindu hotel. But his identity was bound to be discovered before too long, and the consequences could be dire.

Could he stay with one of the Indian students from Baroda he’d known in New York? Ambedkar wondered. But how could he be sure that they wouldn’t be embarrassed at an Untouchable entering their home?