A brief review of Dr B. R. Ambedkar’s early career
as a scholar and as an activist from 1913 to 1923 with particular reference to
his stay in London during July 1920-April 1923
(Originally published in the webzine The Beacon as Portrait of a Scholar and Activist: Ambedkar as a Young Man; December 30, 2018)
The years 1913 through 1923 represent a very significant part of Ambedkar’s early career both as a scholar and as a social activist. While these years shaped his mind during his youthful and impressionable age, their impact must have lasted through the rest of his life. The period may be considered in four segments as below:
The years 1913 through 1923 represent a very significant part of Ambedkar’s early career both as a scholar and as a social activist. While these years shaped his mind during his youthful and impressionable age, their impact must have lasted through the rest of his life. The period may be considered in four segments as below:
■ New York (July 21, 1913-May 1916)
 |
| Dr Ambedkar as a young student |
Ambedkar received his MA at Columbia on
June 2, 1915 for his thesis, Administration
of Finances of the East India Company. Just a year after in 1916 at the age
of twenty six he submitted his PhD dissertation to Columbia titled National Dividend: A Historical and
Analytical Study under the guidance of Prof Edwin Seligman. The dissertation was later
published as The Evolution of Provincial
Finance in British India. At this juncture an ambitious thought of
pursuing fresh academic studies at the London University crossed Ambedkar’s
mind. However since the Baroda scholarship was expiring on 14 June 1916, he
applied to the Maharaja of Baroda for a two-year extension which he hoped he
would utilise to pursue his education in London. The Maharaja however turned
down his request but subsequently granted it for an extension of a lesser
period of one year after Ambedkar reapplied, this time supported by a strong
letter of recommendation by his doctoral advisor, Professor Edwin Seligman.
Ambedkar’s almost three-year stay in US
was his first exposure to the free society in the Western world which laid
premium on ability, liberty, hard work and power of knowledge. Columbia
University which was in its Golden Age at the time gave him an opportunity to
be in close contact with the top-ranking academic luminaries who were all
prominent American thinkers of the early twentieth century. Of them philosopher
John Dewey, anthropologist AA Goldenweiser and economist Edwin Seligman
happened to be his teachers at the university, Professor Seligman being his
doctoral supervisor. Ambedkar’s years in America may be said to have laid basis
for his unwavering belief in representative democratic institutions which
served as a backdrop to his work during the rest of his life.
■ London (June
1916- July 27, 1917)
(ONE YEAR & ONE MONTH)
 |
| Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad (1863-1939) |
Ambedkar, aged twenty five, got admitted
to the world-known London School of Economics and Political Science in October
1916 and to the Bar-at-Law at Grey’s inn in November the same year. In view of
his PhD at Columbia and the recommendation from Prof. Seligman, Ambedkar was
granted a special permission to appear directly for MSc without having to
undertake BSc. The university senate passed a resolution to that effect on 18
December 1916.
No sooner had Ambedkar begun his study
in London with full vigour and enthusiasm than the date of expiry of his
one-year extension of scholarship approached and once again he had to solicit
the Baroda State authorities to grant him another extension. The request this
time was firmly turned down by the authorities and the Maharaja himself, and
Ambedkar was instructed to return to India and join in the Baroda State
administration as per the scholarship agreement.
Totally disturbed and left with no
choice but to return to India, Ambedkar applied to authorities of both the London
University and the Grey’s Inn to condone the interruption in his studies and
allow him an extended period of time to fulfil the requirements of the
respective courses. To his relief, both institutions sympathetically considered
Ambedkar’s request and granted him allowance in time. The London University
allowed him an extension of four years beginning from October 1917.
■ India (August
21, 1917- July 5, 1920)
(TWO YEARS & ELEVEN MONTHS)
Ambedkar began his journey home on July
27, 1917, reaching Bombay on August 21, 1917. In keeping with the terms of his
scholarship agreement which required him to be in the service of the Baroda
State for the following ten years, Ambedkar went to Baroda and joined the state
administration as Maharaja’s Military Secretary on 31 Aug 1917.
Despite Ambedkar’s distinguished
academic record and a highly respectable position in the administration, the
office staff was far from being civil to him. They kept him at a distance and
literally used to fling the office files at him to avoid any kind of physical
contact. In the officer’s club too, the caste Hindu members were less than
friendly and resented his participation in any games. Finding a simple place to
stay became an ordeal and when Ambedkar somehow managed to find quarters in a
Parsi boarding house under an assumed name, the relief proved to be too
short-lived. Ambedkar had to vacate the place right away when a group of Parsis
discovered his identity and accosted him with lathis, asking him to leave the
place immediately and even threatening to kill him. The hostile atmosphere at
Baroda left him with no choice but to resign the job and return to Mumbai
(November 1917).
Following sundry jobs and occupations
which somehow helped him to make a living in Mumbai, Ambedkar settled to a
one-year position as Professor of Political Economy at Sydenham College,
Mumbai, on a salary of Rs 450 per month. He held this job for over a year from
November 11, 1918 to March 11, 1920.
With a relatively comfortable job at hand, Ambedkar now eagerly looked forward to his departure to London to complete the academic studies he had embarked upon at the London School. He had now no scholarship to support him during his impending stay in London and had therefore to build up his own savings from the college salary. As a result he became a stickler for a frugal way of life and had instructed his wife accordingly. Ramabai had only a smattering of education and while proud of her husband’s intellect, she was more of a dedicated home maker with normal expectations of a woman of her kind. Ambedkar’s unstoppable passion for learning did not enamour her which often led to the arguments and bitterness between the two. It was a sad moment for her when Ambedkar told her that he held a two-year job tenure and planned to return to London to complete his studies.
With a relatively comfortable job at hand, Ambedkar now eagerly looked forward to his departure to London to complete the academic studies he had embarked upon at the London School. He had now no scholarship to support him during his impending stay in London and had therefore to build up his own savings from the college salary. As a result he became a stickler for a frugal way of life and had instructed his wife accordingly. Ramabai had only a smattering of education and while proud of her husband’s intellect, she was more of a dedicated home maker with normal expectations of a woman of her kind. Ambedkar’s unstoppable passion for learning did not enamour her which often led to the arguments and bitterness between the two. It was a sad moment for her when Ambedkar told her that he held a two-year job tenure and planned to return to London to complete his studies.
Planning his finances for the London
trip and simultaneously providing for family expenses back home during his stay
abroad proved formidably difficult for Ambedkar. He received Rs 1500 from Shahu
Maharaj of Kolhapur, whom he had recently come to know, and saved £ 950 from
his personal income of which he set aside £ 500 for the London trip and stay.
He left for London on July 5, 1920.
The intervening stay in India played a
very significant role in shaping Ambedkar’s public career which was then in its
formative phase. Three important developments during this period that indicated
Ambedkar’s potential as a future leader of Dalits may be identified as below:
● Testimony before
the Southborough Committee (January 27, 1919): The
Southborough Franchise Committee was appointed in the wake of declaration by
Edwin Montagu (August 20, 1917) regarding the gradual introduction of the
‘responsible Government in India’. The Committee toured India and interviewed
several prominent public figures representing different community interests
during 1918-19 with a view to devising an ‘appropriate’ franchise system for
India under the Montford Reforms.
Disillusioned with the position taken by
the caste Hindu leaders on matters of representation of untouchables in the
proposed legislature, Ambedkar was determined to see that the Committee agrees
to hear in this regard the untouchable leadership as well. With this goal in
mind, he entered into a correspondence with the Governor, apparently convinced
him of this view and earned for
himself an invitation to testify to the Committee.1
This incident was Ambedkar’s first foray
into the public life. It shows Ambedkar to be a man of courage of convictions,
with an ability to take up a cause and fight for it on behalf of the sufferers.
 |
| Opening page of the inaugural issue of Mooknayak |
● Shahu Maharaj’s
historic prophecy on Ambedkar as a future leader of Untouchables (March 21,
1920):
Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj (1874-1922) who ruled the princely state of Kolhpur
from 1900 till his death in 1922, was a publicly acknowledged for his admirable
efforts for the uplift of the untouchables.
He probably met Ambedkar around 1919 and became his instant admirer and supporter.3
A speech delivered by Dr Ambedkar on
March 21, 1920, as a president of a
conference of untouchables at Mangaon near Kolhapur, impressed Shahu Maharaj to
such an extent that he did not hesitate declaring the 29 year old Ambedkar as
the ‘saviour’ of India’s untouchables. There is little doubt that this was a
historic prophecy in view of the legendary stature that Ambedkar attained as a leader of India’s
Dalits over next 35 years. In fact as a chief architect of India’s
constitution, as India’s first law minister and as a pioneer of the Hindu Code
Bill, Dr Ambedkar’s stature went beyond the confines of Dalit issues.
■ London (July
1920-April 3, 1923)
(TWO
YEARS & EIGHT MONTHS)
 |
| The house on King Henry’s Road, North West London' which formed Ambedkar's residence while student at LSE |
Utterly engrossed in research and racing
against time to complete it, Ambedkar would not rely only on library resources
and kept buying books whenever he chanced upon them. Thus he seems to have
purchased all annual reports published by the East India Company from 1700 to
1858 as well as reports published by the British Government thereafter till
1920. Ambedkar paid a whopping price in rupees for these purchases. He had not
budgeted for this kind of unforeseen expenditure on books. As a result in the
following months the financial distress became even worse and Ambedkar had to
further economise on his already very meagre living expenses. He began taking
just a cup of tea and a few bread slices as his daily meal followed by a normal
meal once in two or three days. To save money, he put off buying other things
and would rather walk to places than take a bus. To save money on ironing, he
would carefully fold the clothes and place them under the mattress, a secret of
his neat appearance he would not
share with his mates.7
 |
| Ambedkar with his classmates and teachers at LSE |
In a
letter to Shri Shahu Maharaj on September 4, 1921, Ambedkar writes to him about
the difficult financial condition he was passing through and requests the
Maharaja to ‘enable me to tide over my difficulties’.8 Ambedkar said
while he
was sorry that he was constrained to approach the Maharaja for this purpose, he
was doing so since he knew the Maharaja regarded him (Ambedkar) as his friend.
Ambedkar further said his financial difficulties arose mainly owing to the fall
of the Indian rupee against the pound and requested the Maharaja to spare him
£200 by way of loan half of which he intended to use to pay for his law fees
and the remaining for his return passage to India. He promised the Maharaja to
repay the amount with interest on his return to India. For a man who had an
unyielding sense of self-respect that Ambedkar was, this must have been an
agonising moment.
In November 1921, Ramabai , Ambedkar’s
wife, wrote to him that the savings he had left with her had all been used up
and she needed money to buy medicines for the children who had taken ill. This
was an additional stress on Ambedkar who however managed to send her Rs 100
with a small comforting note not to lose her mind, and wait for a brighter
future. Ambedkar’s elder brother, Balaram, who had a stable job at the
Municipal Water Works came to know of the stringent conditions of the Ambedkar
family and decided to [ii]stay
with the family as a support for some time. This was a matter of relief for Ambedkar when he came to know about it
later.9
Ambedkar did not allow these stresses
and strains to affect his studies and research in an adverse way. In fact the
arduous financial conditions coupled with limited time at his disposal drove
him to undertake his academic pursuits with more vigour. As soon as he arrived
in London, he paid his MSc fees and procured the student’s pass, simultaneously
registering at Grey’s inn.
Ambedkar had a frantic daily schedule.
The four famous libraries of London- London University General Library,
Goldsmith’s Library of Economic Literature, British Museum Library and the
India Office Library- became his daily places of visit where he would spend
most of his day and read voraciously toward the completion of his courses. He
would rise at 6 am and after the breakfast the landlady provided immediately
head for one of the libraries where most often he would be the first person to
enter as also the last one to leave. In the evening at 6 pm after the library
had closed he would have a short walk and dinner only to start at 8 pm his next
reading session which would often continue into the early hours next morning.
As a result, Ambedkar carried a very
respectable image as a student in London in the eyes of his landlady, her
family and fellow Indian students. Unlike other students, Ambedkar spent little
time in mind-distracting activities. As
a married householder with two children, he felt responsible for his behaviour
and was completely wedded to his
studies.10
 |
| The Problem of the Rupee, Ambedkar's magnum opus |
These were certainly very momentous
accomplishments for Ambedkar but it is amazing to see they did not stop him
from still further academic pursuits. He decided to undertake during the
following four to five months required by the University to examine his thesis
and award the degree, a doctoral programme at the renowned Bonn University.
Thus it is clear that the second stay at London despite the financial
stringency and frugality, and mental and physical strain that it had placed on
him, had not even slightly dimmed Ambedkar’s thirst for learning.
In a CV written in German and submitted
to the University, Ambedkar seems to have registered for three semesters as a
doctoral student through the introduction by Prof. Hermann Jacobi, a renowned
Indologist of his times. While the topic of his dissertation is not clear,
judging from Prof. Jacobi’s recommendation and the learned books replete with
scriptural references he wrote later in life, he most probably wanted to take
up Indology as his area of research.11.
 |
| Prof. Edwin Cannan, renowned economist and Ambedkar's doctoral supervisor at LSE |
The
Problem of the Rupee
is regarded as Ambedkar’s magnum opus. It offers an excellent exposition of the
evolution of India’s currency and deals with the problem of the choice of an
appropriate currency for India. He vehemently criticised the exponents of the
Gold Exchange Standard in favour of the Gold Standard as the appropriate
currency for India. This brought him into a conflict with John Meynard Keynes,
often regarded as the greatest among the twentieth century economists.
Ambedkar’s dissertation was later published by Messrs. P. S. King & Son,
Ltd., London in December 1923, with a foreword by Prof. Cannan.
Unlike his first stay abroad in US and
UK from July 1913 to July 1917 as a student of the Columbia University and
briefly, of the London School, Ambedkar’s second stay in London was politically
more significant for him. This is because the second stay came on the close
heels of his foray into India’s public life while he was in India from August
1917 to July 1920. It was during this interlude in his studies that he had
testified to the Southborough Committee, started the publication of the Mook Nayak and most importantly been
hailed by Shahu Maharaj as a ‘saviour’ of Dalits. It was also during this
period that Ambedkar faced more blatantly the humiliation and caste
discrimination at the hands of the caste Hindus despite his high academic
distinctions. These incidents during the
intervening period probably hardened Ambedkar’s resolve to take up the Dalit
cause and dedicate the rest of his life to building up a strong Dalit movement.
The betterment of Dalits and the
quintessential importance of a powerful Dalit movement toward this goal thus
seem to be at the top of Ambedkar’s mind during the second stay and despite his
frantic academic schedule during this period, he did not lose this perspective
which served as a backdrop to his work. In a letter to Shahu Maharaj dated
February 3, 1921 - written from his residence at King Henry’s Road, now being
developed into an Ambedkar Memorial- Ambedkar informs him about his meeting
with Edwin Montagu, the then Secretary of State for India.
In this letter Ambedkar expresses his
distress that when the Montagu-Chelmsford reforms were open for public
discussion, the non-Brahmin movement lacked a good exponent of its cause. As a
result, he says, the non-Brahmin movement was represented as nothing but an
anti-Brahmin movement before the British Government. Since the Reforms were a
fait accompli, Ambedkar knew that few people would be bothered about the number
or nature of factions in India prevailing then. Yet he takes pain in this
letter to state that ‘I take every opportunity possible to put every important
English man I meet into a right frame of mind regarding the inter-relations of
social and political problems in India’. With regard to his meeting with
Montagu, Ambedkar says he had to some extent ‘disillusioned’ the Secretary of
State as regards the position of moderates in India and feels that he (Montagu)
would not now speak ‘so
despisingly’ about the non-Brahmin movement.12
In the same letter, Ambedkar relates an
incident which shows his infallible love for learning and a total dedication to
the work at hand. Ambedkar states the Secretary of State called him again after
their first meeting and advised him to return to India as a member of the
Bombay Legislative Council. Montagu advised Ambedkar to negotiate with the
Viceroy and the Governor of Bombay for the larger representation for the
Depressed Classes as a member of the Council. Ambedkar told the Secretary of
State that ‘he did not come to him with a personal grievance but that I was
representing a cause’. Ambedkar says that while this was ‘tempting’, he could
not leave his studies half-finished for the sake of a place in the Council. He
further says,‘ I am not wedded to personal glory and although I have given up a
chance of doing social service to my people, I hope…to be better prepared in
order that I may do greater service.’ Ambedkar also had plans to be in touch
with the Labour Party and suggested the Maharaja to see Colonel Wedgewood and
Ben Spoor, the Labour leaders who were sympathetic to Indian aspirations and
were on India’s tour then. Ambedkar also made friends with the editor of the
London Times and convinced him to write an article on the education of the Depressed Classes.13
It was during this time that Mook Nayak,
the fortnightly he had started in January
1920, was closed down (1923).14 The
publication of Mook Nayak was a definite hallmark in Ambedkar’s career. The
journal had received help from Shahu Maharaj but needed a sustained spirited
leadership to assure its continuity. However Ambedkar left the country in July
1920- just within six months after the fortnightly was started-entrusting the
responsibility of the journal in the hands of his associates. The fragile
finances of the journal were a constant cause of worry for him and in one of
his letters home, he expressed his anguish over his break with the journal. The
economic adversities and the absence of an adequately able and responsible
leadership finally took a toll on the journal and the publication was
eventually closed. The closure of the journal was a deeply disturbing blow to
Ambedkar. Four years later in 1927, he gave vent to his feelings then. He wrote
in Bahishkrit Bharat.
‘The present writer (Ambedkar) regrets
that his aspirations (expressed in the first issue of Mook Nayak) were not
adequately fulfilled. It is not his fault, however. Right since the inception
of the journal, the writer had realised that a social venture of this nature
could be sustained only through an independent supportive income-yielding
activity. For him it was to be his legal practice. He therefore went to England
to be called to the bar so as to be duly qualified to practice at home. He entrusted the charge in the hands of his
colleagues during his absence, hoping to return to see a thriving journal. But
to his utter misfortune, the hope was
shattered even before he had landed on the home soil’.15
It is thus clear that while Ambedkar was
grossly absorbed in penning abstract works of research in mainstream economics
which had little to do with Dalit issues, he did not lose the sight of the
raison d’etre of all his endeavour: to develop a strong movement of Dalits that
would enable them to earn their rightful place in the society. It became his
life mission.
In
conclusion
The ten-year period (1913-23) surveyed
above may be said to be the most significant part of Ambedkar’s life. It can be
said to have laid basis for his career in later years as both a leader and a
scholar. His years abroad during this period not only exposed him to the norms
and values of a free prosperous society of the West, they offered him an
opportunity to read and study at the world-known centres of learning and an
association with the best of minds there. These opportunities could not have
come at a better time of his life. He was just twenty-two when he entered the
portals of the Columbia University in 1913 and thirty-two when he returned home
in 1933 with two doctorates and a barrister’s degree. These were outstanding
qualifications by any standard, and while Ambedkar would have been a legend on
the contemporary Indian political scenario even without them, they at once
added awe and aura to his personality. They probably instilled in him a
confidence that enabled him to confront an array of prominent figures who
dominated India’s political scene in the subsequent years.
The interlude in his studies when he
spent around three years in India must have been an eye-opener even for
Ambedkar. The unbelievable humiliation he suffered despite his brilliant academic
record at the hands of the caste Hindus whether as an employee of the Baroda
State or as a teacher at the Sydenham College or simply as a resident of the
Parsee boarding house was something that even he did not imagine. These
incidents must have once again rudely awakened him to the hardened and callous
nature of the caste system and to the overbearing importance of a powerful
movement against it. The graphic metaphor of his of the caste system being a
multi-storeyed building without stairs which he famously used in the very first
issue of Mook Nayak16
was befittingly true of his own life.
The whole period of ten years is a
witness to the making of a scholar-activist in Ambedkar in his youthful days.
Often during his second stay in London, he went hungry; yet his energies
remained phenomenal. Ambedkar during all these years was fired with an
insatiable ambition and craving for learning. Behind these aspirations however
there was an indomitable spirit that committed him to his Mahar brethren. He
set aside all the attractions of youth and concentrated on his studies finally
obtaining in an amazingly short period the highest academic qualifications from
the world-renowned centres of learning.
Above all Ambedkar emerges out of these
years as a man of deep courage of convictions. This is clear time and again
during this period. He went ahead with his admission to the London School,
bothering little about the continuity of his Baroda State scholarship. He was
racing against time when he joined the Bonn University to prepare for a third
doctorate to put to use just a four-month period till he awaited the approval
of his dissertation in London. He saw to it that he testified to the
Southborough Committee on behalf of untouchables in the face of caste Hindu
reformers who wanted the representation to themselves alone. He founded Mook
Nayak despite its poor finances. Lastly, disturbed as he was, he refused to
change his conclusions in his DSc
dissertation at the behest of his examiners at the London School. This
strain of his character is seen almost throughout his life (possibly with the
exception of the Poona Pact when he was pressured to move back some distance).
The
period saw an ordinary youth that Ambedkar was turn into a scholar of a very
high order.17 It is safe to say that the impact of those years was
very strong and lingered through the rest of his life in some way or the
other.
References
1. Changdeo Bhavanrao
Khairmode, Da. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar
(in Marathi) Vol 1, 1992, p. 245.
2. Mook Nayak, 31
January 1920 (First issue), Da. Babasaheb
Ambedkaranche Bahishkrit Bharat ani Mook Nayak, (in Marathi) Vol 2, p. 346
3. Dr. Jaysinghrao
Pawar, (Ed), Rajarshree Shahu Smarak
Granth (in Marathi), Maharashtra Itihas Prabodhini, Kolhapur, 2001, p. 96.
4. Dhananjay Keer, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar: Life and Mission,
Popular Prakashan, Mumbai, 2009, p. 45.
5. Narendra Jadhav, Ambedkar: Awakening India’s Social
Conscience, Konark Publishers Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, 2014 p 49.
6. As quoted by Keer, p.
45.
7. Khairmode, p. 270.
8. Pawar, p. 925.
9. Khairmode, p. 270.
10. Khairmode, p. 267.
11.Maren
Bellwinkel-Schempp, Dr. Ambedkar Studies
in Heidelberg in A Timeline of Dr. B.
R. Ambedkar’s Life by Frances W. Prichett (www.columbia.edu)
12. Pawar, p. 922.
13. Pawar, p. 923.
14. Dr. Gangadhar
Pantavne, Patrakar Da. Babasaheb Ambedkar,
Pratima Prakashan, Pune, 1996, p. 64.
15. Bahishkrit Bharat,
p. 4. Translation author’s.
16. Mooknayak, 31
January 1920 (First issue), p. 345
17. As quoted by
Khairmode, vol. 1, p. 59.
18. Eleanor Zelliot,
From Untouchable to Dalit, Manohar,
New Delhi, 1996.
19. Jayashree Gokhale, From Concessions to Confrontation,
Popular Prakashan,Mumbai, 1993.
Notes
*This is presumably the
house on King Henry’s Road, North West London where Ambedkar seems to have
shifted on his arrival in London. If true, a correction in the years of
Ambedkar’s stay in the house on the plaque on the house (1920-23 instead of
1921-22) is due since Ambedkar arrived in London in July 1920. It is possible
that the plaque makers based their information about the years of Ambedkar’s
stay in the house on the dates of the submission of his dissertations (M.Sc., June 1921 and D.Sc., October 1922).
The three-storey 2,050
sq ft house was
acquired in August 2015 by the State Government of Maharashtra at an estimated
cost of £ 4 million. A memorial to Dr. Ambedkar now being developed in the six
rooms of the house was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 14,
2015. A part of the house will be reportedly used for accommodating the Indian
students at the London School. Additionally the memorial is expected to include
a library, a conference room and a multi-media facility for projecting archival
audios and videos from Ambedkar’s life.
**a thick and salty meat
extract paste made into a drink by diluting with hot water or milk.
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