Ambedkar, Dr Bhim Rao

(1891–1956) Thinker, writer, and
social activist whose worldview always
reflected his birth as a Mahar, a caste of
untouchables in the state of
Maharashtra. Ambedkar’s father had
joined the British army, which brought
the family enough social mobility for
Bhim Rao to get an education: a B.A. in
Bombay, an M.A. and Ph.D. from
Columbia University in New York City,
and a D.Sc. from London University. He
also passed the British bar exam.
Ambedkar spent his life fighting for the
rights of the untouchable classes,
through both political lobbying and
social action. In 1932, through his
efforts, untouchables were given a separate electorate as a minority group.
Mohandas Gandhi was bitterly opposed
to removing untouchables from the
larger Hindu body politic and began a
fast unto death. In the end Ambedkar
relented, but for the rest of his life he
maintained that Gandhi had used the
untouchables as pawns in India’s political struggles with Britain. Ambedkar
claimed that for untouchables there was
no material difference between
Gandhi’s practices and traditional caste
Hinduism, because rather than having
any real political power, the untouchables had to continue relying on the
“goodwill” of Hindus to look after their
needs. Ambedkar played an important
role in the formation of the Republic of
India, including being called upon to
author its constitution, but social
inequality continued to rankle him. In
1956 he and many of his followers formally converted to Buddhism as a way
to leave the caste system behind. These
“neo-Buddhists” still exist, and despite
their relatively small numbers, their militancy makes them an important group.