Young Ambedkar

Introduction

In this article we will discuss Ambedkar life world which emphasis on his young life, college education and contemporary India of early 20th century. Christophe Jaffrelot, the renowned French sociologist, wonders how Ambedkar, in spite of having several disadvantages in life, could overcome them and become the tallest leader of India. Jaffrelot writes:

Ambedkar was the first Untouchable leader of India. In this capacity, he is almost an enigma: how did he drag himself away from his social background to acquire this standing and become a genuine statesman? We cannot, here, content ourselves with a psychological explanation by emphasizing the exceptional features of his personality. Certainly, he had the advantage of an extraordinary mind and an iron will: he could channel all his energy in the service of a wider project and his determination never failed him. But such an idiosyncrasy alone does not account for his career. As usual in such cases, an element of chance must be factored in too, but it does not explain everything either. (Jaffrelot 2005: 8)

It is not so easy to understand in the face of many adversities Ambedkar rose to power to become the greatest leader of Dalits in post-independent India. Whatever success he had in his later phase of life can be ascribed to the making of the young Ambedkar. What was the young Ambedkar like? What kind of youth was he? What kind of society did he have to face during his growing years? What were his social experiences? These and many other questions will be addressed while talking about the young Ambedkar.

 

Ambedkar’s Young Life

Soon after Bhimrao passed his matriculation examination in 1907, several marriage proposals came his way. As it was customary in India in those days to organize marriage early for children, Ambedkar’s father, Subedar Ramji, also wanted his young son to settle down in life. After a few marriage proposals failed, Bhimrao was married to Rami was was nine years old then. Ambedkar was just 17. Rami, later renamed Ramabai, was gentle, sober and devoted girl. She came of a good but poor family. Her father Bhiku Walangkar worked as a porter at Dapoli. Ramabai was his second daughter. By the time Ramabai got married to Ambedkar, she had already lost both her parents. She was also related to Gopal Baba Walangkar, a cotemporary of Jotirao Phule and himself a social reformer. While Ambedkar pursued his education and career, Ramabai always stood by him. Staying behind the scene, she worked hard and saw to it Ambedkar achieved his goal. The couple had four children. Due to ill health she passed away early. After her death Ambedkar married a young Brahmin named Savitabai.

Though Ambedkar was well prepared for his marriage at a young age, given his father’s poor economic conditions it would not be organized on a grand scale. The marriage was celebrated following traditional ceremonies. As Ambedkar’s father could not get a decent place for marriage, it was organized in an open shed of the Byculla Market in Bombay. After the day’s market was over, at night the bridegroom and his party were lodged in one spacious corner of the open shed and the other corner was occupied by the bride and her relatives. “Small gutters of dirty water flowed underneath their feet. The little stone-platforms in the market served them as benches, and the whole market place served as a marriage hall.” Nevertheless the people who joined the marriage party enjoyed the marriage feast and festivities.

Soon after marriage, Ambedkar was admitted to Elphinstone College in Bombay. With this started Ambedkar’s new life. He tried to balance his family life with his education.

 

Ambedkar’s College Education

Encouraged by his father, Ambedkar started studying at Elphinstone College in earnest. Being admitted to college in spite of being an Untouchable was a boon for him. He saw many opportunities ahead. Though he worked hard to do well in the examinations, he could not succeed in the first year because of ill-health. In the following years, putting in twice as much effort, he worked very hard to pass the examinations. After passing the Inter Arts Examination, he found that his father had no money to send him for further studies. In that critical time, a social reformer, K.A. Keluskar, who loved Ambedkar, came forward to help him. Keluskar approached the Maharaja of Baroda, Sayajirao Gaekwad, who had announced a few days earlier in a meeting held at Town Hall in Bombay that he would help any worthy Untouchable to get higher education. When Ambedkar went to see the Maharaja, he was asked some questions. Being satisfied with Ambedkar’s answers, he granted Ambedkar a scholarship of Rs. 25 per month. Thus, Ambedkar’s monetary problems were solved, at least for the time being.

At Elphinstone College, Professor Muller also helped Ambedkar. He lent him books and gave him clothes. He also advised him to complete his education in spite of hardships. There were few other teachers too who appreciated Ambedkar’s efforts and encouraged him to study well. But Ambedkar, as his in school time, faced caste discriminations. For example, the Brahmin college hotel keeper would not serve him tea or water fearing pollution. Some of his classmates also deliberately insulted him. Whenever Ambedkar faced caste discriminations, he felt restless. But he was determined to achieve his goal. So he concentrated on his studies. Dhananjay Keer, Ambedkar’s biographer, writes how reading was the greatest joy of his life.

Bhimrao Ambedkar studied now with a view to passing the examination. But reading was the greatest joy of his life. It was directed to some purpose in life. It was his aim to arm himself with every possible missile, make himself master of a repository of knowledge and develop the power of his mind to prepare himself for the higher attainments and the new life that was to open the portals and possibilities of a great career. (Keer 2016: 22)

About this time Subedar Ramji moved into the Improvement Trust Chawl No. 1 at Parel, Bombay. The family occupied room numbers 50 and 51, one opposite the other on the second floor of the building. Ambedkar used room number 50 mostly for his study and the other room was used for households purposes. Ambedkar studied very hard while his father helped him to get all the essentials for his study. In 1912 Ambedkar passed his B.A. examination from Bombay University without any class or distinction. In graduation, economics and political science were his special subjects whereas English and Persian were his language subjects. It was during this time that his first son Yashwant was born. Ambedkar’s family members and relations celebrated these two occasions with great pomp and joy.

After his graduation, Ambedkar had to go to Baroda and serve the Maharaja as part of his agreement. Ambedkar’s father did not approve of this decision. He perhaps wanted Ambedkar to get a government job and live an independent life. As a freedom-loving person, he did not want his son to be subservient to anyone. But Ambedkar had to honor the agreement. Ambedkar was appointed to the post of lieutenant in the Baroda State Forces. Ambedkar had no choice but to take up the post and do his duties sincerely. But Keer thinks that Ambedkar’s decision to go to Baroda had a larger purpose. He writes:

This acceptance of a post on the part of Bhimrao Ambedkar might be a shrewd step probably taken with full knowledge of the unbearable situation that might have come in the smooth working of Bhimrao as a Government official in British India where offices were mostly manned by the orthodox Hindu upper classes. (Keer 2016: 24)

The new employment opportunities opened up by the colonial British government, especially after the introduction of English language in 1835, were grabbed largely by upper castes who were already on top of the traditional Indian social structure. In other words, people who had earlier studied Sanskrit or Persian, now began to avail themselves of the benefits of English education. Thus, the upper castes who had easy access to higher education in the new dispensation also obtained higher positions in the British administration. The lower castes, on the other hand, could not reap much benefit from the British educational policy. Ambedkar’s acceptance of a job in the court of the Maharaja of Baroda thus had a deeper reason.

But Ambedkar found it difficult to stay in Baroda for long. Working amidst upper caste men, he faced caste discriminations at every level. Those were the days when the idea of pollution was deeply entrenched in the minds of upper caste Hindus and Ambedkar was humiliated even by his lowest subordinates. The idea of pollution by touch was so strong among the upper castes the even the peons in his office would toss office files at his desk instead of handing them over. Carpets from the office space were removed lest they would be polluted. Most of all, when he was looking for a residence in Baroda, he could not find a decent place to live in. Finally, Pandit Atma Ram, an Arya Samaji, allowed him to stay with him. However, this did not solve his problem. The oppressive social environment always disturbed his mental peace.

He had decided to quit the job at the earliest. He had served in the court of the Maharaja of Baroda for not more than 15 days when he received a telegram towards the end of January 1913 about his father’s serious illness in Bombay. Ambedkar left Baroda immediately to look after his father and lost his train. Next day when he reached Bombay he could not endure the sight of his dying father. When his father saw him, his feeble hands moved on to his back to pet him and he suddenly breathed his last. For Ambedkar, that day, 2 February 1913, was the saddest day in his life. Ramji was as if waiting for his loved son to tell him about taking greater responsibility in his life. Ambedkar was devastated. No words of consolation would calm him.

His father’s death was a big shock to Ambedkar. Ramji had sacrificed everything to provide education to his son and had incurred debts. It was unfortunate that he passed away before he could see his son’s advancement in education and career. Time plays an important role in everybody’s life. This is what Kaushal K. Goyal, Ambedkar’s other biographer, writes about the aftermath of Ramji’s death:

Circumstances play an important role in the lives of human beings. Had Bhim’s father not been critically ill, Bhim would not have left the employment of the Baroda state. What would have been the ultimate destiny of Bhim Rao Ambedkar, if this had not happened is a matter of speculation. In all probability, he would have continued to serve the state of Baroda and might have slowly arisen to occupy perhaps the highest possible office viz., the Prime Minister of the state. However, those were the days when even this attainment was beyond the wildest dreams of an untouchable. But Bhim was destined to play a much more important role in the history of his country and leave an indelible mark on the memory of its people. (Goyal 2016: 27-8)

Goyal is right in his view because Ambedkar later played an important role to shape the destiny of his country. It is therefore important that we look at the happenings of the early twentieth century and know how Ambedkar participated in them.

 

Ambedkar And The India Of The Early Twentieth Century

As India’s freedom movement took a definite shape in the early twentieth century, the British Government tried to suppress rights of Indians. This led to further discontent and political unrest in the country. In Ambedkar’s home state alone, several political leaders were prosecuted under the colonial laws. Bal Gangadhar Tilak was deported to Mandalay and the Savarkar brothers were transported to Andamans. Besides, several other leaders were sent to jails and some faced death sentences.

Such state repression must have agitated Ambedkar’s mind, because the repercussions of these events were seen on Ambedkar’s patriotic mind later when he wrote his thesis, “The Evaluation of Provincial Finance in British India” where he condemned the repressive measures taken by the British administration in India. He also condemned some of the legislative measures, the famous being Morley-Minto Reforms Act of 1909 and the Indian Press Act of 1910. Without any fear, he stated that instead of advancing education, favoring Swadeshi and respecting Indian nationalism, the British bureaucracy in India, by passing these laws was working against everything that would hamper Indian society to grow.

The young Ambedkar left bitter about the British ruling India with an iron hand. Repressive measures taken by the colonial government made Ambedkar realize that as a conscious citizen of the country he should influence the day-to-day functioning of the British Government by writing petitions and letting them know about his opinions.

The next important step to occur in Ambedkar’s life would be his going abroad to get higher education which would help him prepare better for defending the rights of the lower castes who were then at the receiving end of the Indian society’s idiosyncrasies.