Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (1891-1956)


Dr. Ambedkar was born in the military town of Mhow in Madhya Pradesh; for much more on his background and work, see *the Ambedkar project at CU*
Sayaji Rao III, Gaekwar of Baroda, who gave Dr. Ambedkar the scholarship that enabled him to go to Columbia
A rare photo of Dr. Ambedkar from his years as a grad student at Columbia, 1913-16
The raja of Kolhapur, an early and most valuable supporter of Ambedkar's work
Such an evocative photo-- amidst his cherished books, standing stiffly and reluctantly, forced to be garlanded, forced to be photographed
Modern paintings of some of the major events in his life
Dr. Ambedkar helped to get the Ashokan/Sanchi (Buddhist) chakra, rather than the Gandhian spinning wheel, adopted as the national symbol; and the lion capital too of course
When Dr. Ambedkar finally embraced Buddhism, for symbolic reasons he held his great conversion ceremony at Nagpur; the site is now marked by a *Sanchi*-like stupa
Echoes of the Great Stupa at Sanchi can also be seen in his tomb, or "samadhi," in Bombay
Statues and other images of him nowadays appear all over the place: some examples collected by one modern scholar
In modern religious art, Dr. Ambedkar is often semi-merged with the Buddha
More modern images
Jabbar Patel's 1998 film was held up by the Government of India for years before finally being approved for release
In his legacy: an emphasis on self-help, and education; and some Gandhian techniques too



 
 == INDIAN ROUTES index == sitemap == Glossary == FWP's main page ==