Puffin Lives: B.R. Ambedkar

Born in April 1891into a poor Mahar family, Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar was a victim of caste discrimination for most of his early life. And while India struggled against the oppressions of British Raj, Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, popularly known as Babasaheb, continued his struggle against the oppressions of the Indian caste system, the social discriminations against Dalits in India. He struggled so the underprivileged sections of Indian society could enjoy equal political rights and be treated with equal respect. An Indian jurist, politician, philosopher, anthropologist, historian and economist, Babasaheb was one of the earliest Dalit’s to earn a college degree. He grew to be the principal architect of Indian constitution. He published journals, periodicals, and launched active movements for social and political freedom for India’s Dalit community. Ambedkar, in the later years of his life, turned to Buddhism, preached it and finally made a formal conversion. This book explores the life and times of the independent India’s first law minister who fought against the discriminations inflicted by his own countrymen, who lived his life acting only in the interest of people. Payal Kapadia is the author of the very popular Wisha Wozzawriter published by Puffin in 2012. She lives in Bombay.