BR Ambedkar birth anniversary: 14 books on his struggle for the dignity of India’s most downtrodden

BR Ambedkar (1891-1956) was the first Dalit to be formally educated to the highest level, gaining his PhDs from the Columbia University and London School of Economics in 1927 and 1932, respectively. He was also the first Indian to pursue a doctorate in economics abroad.

Despite building an international reputation as a lawyer, Ambedkar waged a singular and lonely battle for years against India’s Brahminical and higher-caste political establishment. This included Mahatma Gandhi, who resisted Ambedkar’s effort to formalise and codify a separate identity for “lower-caste” Hindus. Nonetheless, Ambedkar became Law Minister in the first government of independent India, and chairman of the committee which drafted the Indian Constitution. In the final stages of his life, Ambedkar distanced himself from politics and converted to Buddhism in 1956, shortly before he died.

He was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award, in 1990.

Here are fourteen books (including two for young readers) about the people’s leader who revolutionised Indian politics in order to ensure dignity for some of the poorest and worst oppressed sections of the country’s population.

Dr Ambedkar and Untouchability: Analysing and Fighting Caste, Christophe Jaffrelot

Jaffrelot’s book focuses on the three key areas that are central to a full understanding of India’s pioneering Dalit: Ambedkar as...

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