We live in a time when the deification of Babasaheb Ambedkar has brought forth devotees who would rather worship him than engage with the sheer force of his ideas and his human aspect. In this scenario, Anand Teltumbde’s reflective biography of Babasaheb breaks new ground, opening up a much-needed space for introspection.
Iconoclast: A Reflective Biography of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, Anand Teltumbde, India Viking, 2024.
The way Iconoclast: A Reflective Biography of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar peels back the layers of hyperbole that vested interests have imposed on Ambedkar, offers readers a chance to discover Babasaheb Ambedkar’s true legacy.
The circumstances under which Teltumbde doggedly worked on the biography – incarceration under the draconian UAPA, compounded by the COVID-19 crisis and a general state of public despondency – speak of the urgency the author accorded to the work.
The biography not only presents an insightful account of Babasaheb; it also serves as an example for biographers on how to depict their heroes with depth and honesty through case studies that future generations could objectively learn from.
In the preface Teltumbde declares disarmingly that he has used the same methodology that Ambedkar followed in presenting his own ‘lord’, the Buddha, in his The Buddha and His Dhamma – namely, the obligation of a disciple to his preceptor.
The book, spanning over 600 pages, is a comprehensive work. It includes a 45-page preface, 60 pages of notes and references, a 35-page long index, and select photographs that enhance the biography.
The narrative, structured as per the historical chronology, divides Ambedkar’s life into seven phases. To this is added an eighth phase: his enduring, posthumous impact – how, as also stated by other scholars, Ambedkar became more powerful after his death than during his lifetime. Initially neglected by the mainstream, he came to be venerated as one of the central figures of the Indian political and social landscape.
The author examines the land struggles sparked by some aspect of Ambedkar’s legacy where his followers were eventually undermined by the ruling class’s co-option strategies. He also looks at instances where Ambedkar’s followers have compromised his legacy for personal gains, leading to the fragmentation of the institutions he painstakingly established. There is a subtle suggestion that this outcome was, to some extent, foreshadowed in Ambedkar’s own life.
Assessing the tangible changes in the lives of Dalits is a significant part of the author’s analysis. He notes that despite Ambedkar’s immense contributions, their condition remains the same vis-à-vis the non-Dalits – a tiny Dalit middle class, like the tip of the iceberg, obscuring an entire structure of hopelessness beneath. Such a candid, introspective and in-depth account of the Dalit movement is rare.
The author also scrutinises the posthumous deification of Ambedkar’s image. He emphasises that while Dalits should revere Ambedkar, they should recognise him as the embodiment of a collective history of their movement – a history that remains unstudied for its ramifications despite a plethora of literature – to which many have contributed and which remains a work in progress.
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The first phase explores Ambedkar’s initial life journey. While the harsh reality of ‘untouchability’ was a fact of daily life for impoverished Dalits, some Dalits gained access to free English education by joining the British army during the colonial period.
Bhimrao benefited from his father’s position as Subedar Major in the army, the highest position an Indian could reach in those days. With it came a stable financial background, English education and a new cultural environment. His father’s decision to settle in Bombay enabled Ambedkar to graduate from Bombay University. Thanks to the urban environment, association with social reformers and a scholarship provided by the princely state of Baroda, a path was created for an ‘Untouchable’ youth to achieve the highest academic qualifications from prestigious universities in the United States of America and England. It transformed an ordinary Mahar lad “Bhiwa” into the formidable Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar.
While charting these fortuitous circumstances, the author also highlights the focused, hard work put in by Ambedkar, which made him a bibliophile for life, moulded his character, thought process and ideological personality, influenced by teachers like John Dewey, James Shotwell, Edwin Seligman, and James Harvey Robinson. The narrative hints that these formative experiences informed many of Ambedkar’s later pivotal decisions and policies.
The second phase charts Ambedkar’s evolution from a highly educated young man to the revered “Babasaheb” (1919-1927). Through meticulous research and newly discovered evidence, Teltumbde provides fresh insights into the establishment of the Excommunicated Benevolent Society, Ambedkar’s testimony before the Southborough Committee, the founding of the Marathi fortnightly newspaper, Muknayak, and his efforts to launch various educational initiatives. This phase highlights the emergence of Ambedkar’s distinct personality, with the author challenging inaccuracies in previous biographies, and offering a nuanced portrayal of Ambedkar’s early public and intellectual life.
For instance, while analysing the Chavdar Tank Satyagraha at Mahad he highlights the ‘upper’ caste community’s fierce opposition and the British administration’s biased stance. However, the author acknowledges the courageous support of a few Brahmin and ‘upper’ caste allies even when the focus is on describing the unwavering determination of the ‘Untouchable’ people willing to make any sacrifice for the cause. By revisiting Ambedkar’s strategic decisions,
Mahad: The Making of the First Dalit Revolt, Anand Teltumbde, Aakar Books, 2016.
Teltumbde offers a fresh perspective on how the satyagraha shaped not only Ambedkar’s leadership but also the foundational ethos of the broader Dalit movement, an aspect outlined in the author’s earlier book, Mahad: The Making of the First Dalit Revolt.
Disillusioned by the entrenched attitudes of caste Hindus in Mahad, Ambedkar began to consider religious conversion as a means of liberation for the ‘Untouchables’ while simultaneously engaging more deeply in the political arena where new opportunities for representation for Dalits were emerging. The author contextualises his pivotal decisions, critically reflecting on Ambedkar’s strategies and actions.
Whether one agrees with Teltumbde’s critique or not, this analysis is an astute examination of the significant dimensions of Dalit emancipation. It is a timely reminder to the activist community that well-defined strategic anchors are a must in the pursuit for social change.
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Ambedkar’s plunge into politics comprises the third phase of his journey in the biography. His legislative struggles in Bombay apart, this phase is dominated by his fierce disagreement with Gandhi at the Round Table Conference, following which Ambedkar emerged as a pan-India leader of Dalits, eclipsing many a provincial leader.
Interestingly, the author makes the point that Ambedkar’s entire battle over the question of representation would have been unnecessary had he not been so fixated on the prevailing first-past-the-post system of election and had instead considered the proportional representation system that guarantees, at least in theory, representation to each person.
The biography also highlights how Ambedkar was taken in by the enhanced quantum of representation of Dalits offered in the Poona Pact, which he later regretted. Ironically, he had to defend the joint electorate system for Dalits during the drafting of the Indian Constitution.
The fourth phase dwells on Ambedkar’s two contradictory approaches: a tryst with class politics through the Independent Labour Party (ILP) that he founded in the wake of the Government of India Act, 1935, to participate in the provincial elections of 1936-37; and the trajectory of a religious conversion movement. Teltumbde comments on the ILP’s electoral success in the 1936 elections, and looks at the favourable public response to Ambedkar’s historic march against the feudal Khoti system in the Konkan region and during the workers’ strike against the Industrial Dispute Act in 1938.
It seems to the author that Ambedkar’s experiment with the caste-class struggle was short-lived. Even though he had serendipitously arrived at the correct answer to the issue of the caste-class struggle in India and, unbeknownst to him, even practised it successfully through the anti-Khoti struggle and workers’ strike, the moment was wasted. Ambedkar soon turned his focus on caste, dissolving the ILP and forming the All India Scheduled Castes Federation (AISCF). He also took the first step towards statecraft, as a member of the Viceroy’s Executive Council.
The rest of the phases dwell on the 1940s and 1950s. In the political eddies that accompanied the transfer of power, Ambedkar again suffered neglect, mainly due to the AISCF’s poor performance in the council elections of February 1946. He managed to get elected to the constituent assembly from Bengal, thanks to Jogendra Nath Mandal, in the face of stiff Congress opposition. But when his seat went to Pakistan under the Mountbatten plan of partition, he was elected to the constituent assembly from Bombay by the Congress and even made the chairman of the important Constitution Drafting Committee. The book dwells on the clandestine manoeuvres behind these crucial developments.
As is well-known, Babasaheb resigned from the Nehru cabinet in 1951 and even burst out against the attribution of having written the Constitution itself. The discussion on the Constitution and Babasaheb is informative.
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This biography fills a significant gap in Ambedkar studies, building upon past efforts to contribute fresh insights and contextual depth. Earlier biographies by Dhananjay Keer, Changdev Khairmode, and B.C. Kamble, although extensive, had limitations that have been acknowledged by serious scholars. Khairmode and Kamble’s work extended to many volumes but often lacked the critical depth necessary for a comprehensive understanding. Recent scholarship by Ashok Gopal, Akash Singh Rathore, Scott Stroud, and Christophe Jaffrelot, which has delved deeply into Ambedkar’s socio-political and ideological dimensions, has been acknowledged in this biography.
Teltumbde’s work, with its multi-faceted portrayal of Babasaheb and bold reflections, is a seminal contribution to Ambedkar studies. Unlike many a previous authors who either glorified Ambedkar or rigidly analysed him within academic constraints, Teltumbde transcends these boundaries. He repositions Ambedkar’s life and legacy within the framework of contemporary social struggles, particularly in the context of neoliberal capitalism and class struggles that necessitate the eradication of caste.
Iconoclast: A Reflective Biography of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar is more than a mere recounting of historical facts; it is an invitation to reassess Ambedkar’s complex and evolving strategies for social change. The author presents Ambedkar as a figure who, despite being a product of his time, offered solutions that transcended temporal and spatial limitations.
Teltumbde achieves his purpose by presenting Ambedkar as a human being, complete with contradictions and ideological struggles — not only as a towering leader but as someone who adapted his roles to match the changing realities of his time, even when those adaptations seemed contradictory.
The author argues that the Dalit movement, after Ambedkar’s death, lost its direction as various leaders pursued divergent interpretations of Ambedkar’s ideology for their own gain. He discusses how Ambedkar’s ideological conflicts, particularly with communists, were weaponised to divert Dalits from livelihood-centric struggles. Teltumbde also recounts the two major post-Ambedkar land struggles in the Khandesh and Marathwada regions as rare, bright moments demonstrating the revolutionary potential of Dalits before being co-opted by the ruling class – a strategy that marked the decline of the unified Dalit movement.
Teltumbde’s narrative suggests that Ambedkar’s deification by the establishment in the 1970s was a tactical move to neutralise his radical thoughts. Prising this constructed image apart, Teltumbde reveals a more authentic Ambedkar – relentless in his mission for caste eradication and deeply attuned to the socio-political complexities of his time.
The author reframes the challenge of carrying Ambedkar’s legacy forward in a compelling manner, emphasising that Ambedkar’s vision can be a source of inspiration at all times, but the responsibility of addressing new challenges by adapting their insights to contemporary realities lies with each successive generation.
Iconoclast: A Reflective Biography of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar should have been written at least 30 years ago, when Ambedkar’s writings started becoming publicly accessible. But, instead of making strategic sense of these writings, many an intellectual fell prey to the ruling class’s enticements to produce hagiographies in which every thought and action was lauded, divorced from its context as well as goal. It only deepened the confusion in the Dalit movements about how to face the harsh reality around them.
What was needed was to present Babasaheb Ambedkar in flesh and blood, as a person struggling with his own strengths and weaknesses to create space for Dalits, as a dreamer who longed to see his ideal society based on liberty, equality and fraternity. Dalit youths would have learnt a lot from that. Although a bit ‘late’ in that sense, this biography restores a more real Ambedkar to us.
In sum, this book is a must read not only for Dalits but for all those who are desirous of understanding the making of the Indian republic and its future.
Rahul Kosambi is a sociologist, an Ambedkar scholar and Yuva Sahitya Akademi Awardee, 2017 for his book Ubha Aadav.
