[In a brief introductory note
to volume 5, written on the 26th of January (Republic Day)
1968, in Mumbai, Khairmode writes about his method, the
publication process, and the institutions and people involved.
[Page 7:] I am delighted that the ‘Dr. Ambedkar Education Society,’ Mumbai-13, has undertaken and completed the great work of printing, publishing, and popularizing the entire collection of biographies (14 volumes in total) of the most venerable Bhimrao Ramji Babasaheb Ambedkar, along with the 5th volume and the revised and enlarged second edition of the 1st volume. Even when this institution had only about one to one and a half thousand rupees at its disposal, and the responsibility of running a hostel named 'Nalanda Vidyarthi Vasatigriha' for 25 students in Karad (District Satara), it raised and spent approximately 28 to 30 thousand rupees and made this great task successful.
After publishing the 4th volume of Babasaheb's biography in 1966 on the auspicious day of his birthday dated April 14th, within a period of one and a half years, the said institution has achieved the commendable feat of successfully publishing the first (reprinted) and fifth volumes. I wish the institution success in the future.
The financial assistance provided by the Government of Maharashtra for the publication of three volumes, and the humble and selfless hard work put in by government functionaries and activists of the Society made the completion of this difficult task possible.
From 1924 to 1927, Babasaheb used to tell me about his own life, in his office (Damodar Hall) at night or during the day. Hence, the reader will surely see based on the well-supported information I have provided in the first and following volumes, that I was able to obtain the tools to write Babasaheb’s prior history [purvacaritra]. One night Babasaheb said to me, “I think you will write a true-to-reality [yathatathya] biography of me. You have my blessings. But remember, some people will distort your truthful writing…[page 8], and bewilder naive people. However, some social workers will expose their hypocritical and knavish pretensions in front of the masses and try to prove that their greatness is superficial. That is when people will understand the importance of your work.”
For Babasaheb’s biography, I collected as much historical material as I could. A great deal of information may exist elsewhere. But I was unable to gather it. I hope that other writers and researchers will do this work. The papers I have collected have been used, more or less, by two American, two European, and five Indian researchers to write their Ph.D. dissertations. One of the researchers, Prof. A. M. Rajashekhariya, Department of Political Science, Karnataka University, Dharwad, informed me in a letter dated 30th September 1967, that, 'Dr. Ambedkar, A Study of his Contribution to the Political and Constitutional Evolution of India' was respectfully appreciated and he was awarded his Ph.D. I hope I hear such happy news from the remaining eight researchers!
[Page 10:] I express my heartfelt gratitude to the Maharashtra State Board for Literature and Culture, Secretariat, Mumbai-32, for the financial support it provided for the publication of this volume.
I express my heartfelt gratitude to the librarians and staff of the Central Library, Calcutta; Maratha-Kesari Library, Pune; Servants of India Society Library, Pune; Asiatic Library, Mumbai; Bombay Legislative Assembly Library, Mumbai; Secretariat Library, Mumbai; Record Office, Mumbai; University Library, Mumbai; and Mumbai Marathi Book Museum, Thakurdwar and Naigaon, Mumbai, who helped me with reference books, Marathi-English reports, and English and Marathi newspaper files that I used as sources for this volume. I thank the authors, editors, and publishers of the books, letters, magazines, and reports that I have excerpted in this volume. Dattoba Santaram Pawar (Kolhapur) gave me a copy of Shahu Maharaj's speeches which I have used in this volume. I thank them.
I am grateful to Chintaman Dhumale, Vilas Dhumale, Shirke (father and son), Nivritti Bhandare, D. G. Waghmare (former MLA), Vimal Baburao Kale, Nalini Dhumale and Bandu Sambhaji Shirke for preparing a printable copy of this volume.
[Page 11:] D. G. Waghmare and R. S. Thorat, loyal activists of the ‘Dr. Ambedkar Education Society,’ used to bring prints to my house every night because going to the printing press to check the prints had become impossible owing to my illness. Waghmare would take the prints to the printing press in the morning. Due to lack of time, Waghmare and I had to go to the press every day from 8 am to 12 pm to check the prints. Due to all these unavoidable circumstances, despite taking special care, this book has some spelling mistakes and other errors. Readers may please forgive that….
I have dedicated the first three volumes to the former and contemporary members of Babasaheb's family, and I have conveyed my plan to the Society’s workers. I am going to dedicate volumes 4 to 13 to those who have disciplined me and turned my life around, and to those who have done their bit for Dalits. I am going to dedicate the fourteenth volume, or the last one to come, to Babasaheb. Accordingly, I am dedicating this fifth volume to Sir Sayajirao Gaikwad Maharaj, Baroda, who generously provided financial support and encouragement to Babasaheb for his education in America and England.
I am deeply grateful to T. P. N. R. Phatak and T. Tarkatirtha Laxmanshastri Joshi for their compassion. Moreover, Balasaheb Phatak made some suggestions, for which I am thankful.
I thank the owner of the New Bharat Printing Press, Dr. Bhalerao Marg, Mumbai-4, Chintaman Raghunath Desai, manager Ganeshrao Desai, Oak, foreman Patil and his colleagues and other staff for doing the printing work in a timely and orderly manner.
I am grateful to the people
who shared with me the photos published in this volume.
[Page 26:] In Sawantwadi, a farmer/revenue officer named Varadkar was murdered by some families. Some of the accused were sentenced to death and some to life imprisonment. Against these sentences, an appeal was filed by the accused in the Sawantwadi High Court and Babasaheb was given an official letter to conduct the appeal as attorney. While Babasaheb was gathering information about the case and thinking about how to proceed, the news of Gandhiji's hunger strike was released. Babasaheb was stunned for a while because of this. But as it is his strong nature to face any situation, he started planning how to face a future crisis: Gandhiji's hunger strike will lead to a very explosive situation, and we will have to listen to the curses of upper-caste Hindus. Babasaheb decided that no matter what happens, we must not leave our position.
Many Hindus and Congress leaders were of the thinking that they should take Ambedkar to Gandhiji (in Yerwadya jail) and make Ambedkar accept all of his demands so as to avoid Gandhiji going on a fast. They started coming to his office in the corner of the ground floor of Damodar Hall, Parel, morning and evening to meet and persuade Ambedkar….
[Page 28:] Mr. Thakkar and Mrs. Perrin Captain (Khurshedben Naoroji, Dadabhai Naoroji's granddaughter), along with 10-15 nationalists, stood in front of Babasaheb's office at 3:00 PM as representatives. [page 29] They started saying the declaration of nationalists: “Ambedkar Sir! You are a great man. Gandhi’s life is in your hands, save his life!” At that time, Babasaheb was studying the case papers of the Sawantwadi murder. He said angrily, “I want to save the life of one of my followers. What do I have to do with saving Gandhi's life?” When this news spread in Bombay, all the Hindus became angry with Babasaheb….
Eventually, Babasaheb agreed to attend a meeting called by the Hindus. The meeting was held on September 19th, Monday afternoon, in the spacious hall of Gujarati Forbes in Mumbai under the chairmanship of Pandit Malviya…. [There] Babasaheb gave a speech in anger and warned everyone saying, “Even if you hang me on the lamp-post of the neighboring municipality, it will be fine! But I will not sacrifice the political interests of the untouchables just to save Gandhiji's life.” While uttering these words, Babasaheb's whole body was burning with anger and hatred. Newspaper correspondents saw his fierce appearance and published photos.
[Page 30:] On September 19th, Babasaheb was sitting in his office with a heavy heart after seeing the decline of public opinion. He asked himself if these Congressmen were trying to destroy his political career, and started telling the people in front of him, “Look! If these people destroy me, they will be your leaders! What, then, will happen to our people?” Sambhaji Gaikwad started weeping. Seeing him cry, others also started weeping. Saheb's eyes also got teary. Finally, he said, “How will we keep going if we break down like this? We are descendants of fighters, we will die fighting but we will not retreat from the fight, this is our character! Let's explain the situation to our people in and outside Mumbai from tomorrow. And thwart this plan of the Congressmen!” From September 20th, Babasaheb and his followers started the work of raising public awareness, starting with the many chawls of Mumbai.
[Excerpts from an open letter that Ambedkar wrote from London in 1932, published in Janata.]
[Page 89]: As stated in the previous letter, at midnight on the 14th, our boat 'Victoria' proceeded from Port Sayyad and entered the Mediterranean Sea. Like the Indian Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea is calm for some days and rough for some during the year. From November to February the Mediterranean Sea is usually turbulent… Everyone was sitting tight in their cabins. I, personally, felt nothing of a turbulent or stormy sea. I am a good sailor. But most people are afraid of rough seas and suffer greatly. After twelve in the afternoon, [page 90] the sea started calming down. Then, everyone started feeling better. But again, at night, the sea took an aggressive form. Tremendous, huge waves started to emerge, and just as a football [=soccer ball] bounces up and down when football players kick it around, our boat started to bounce up and down and got thrown around as it was hit by the forceful waves. Everyone’s sleep ran away in the midst of this chaos. Everyone stayed up that night.In the early morning the storm calmed down. The sea remained calm until we reached Genoa….
I am unaware of the art of making friends. It is said that my posture appears very stern and fierce and that deters people from approaching me. This is not impossible. It is true that I like the company of books more than the company of people. The third thing is that today, I have so many pressing questions before me, and my mind is constantly occupied with so many different thoughts that I never feel the want or need of others’ company or affection. Even though that is the case, I do not ever receive affection from others, and it is not that I do not make new friends at all. I made a new friend during this trip…. I felt very sad while bidding him goodbye.
At seven o'clock in the morning of the eighteenth, our boat arrived at Genoa. At eight o'clock we disembarked from the boat. The ‘Customs Hall’ constructed here for security checks is truly a masterpiece of art and its elegance must be attributed to Italy's Mussolini. Our train to London was to leave Genoa at 11:40.
[Page 91]: This gave us free time to wander around for about two hours. Some of us took a horse-drawn carriage and wandered around the city of Genoa. This city is very old and has a great historical tradition behind it. Our train left at exactly 11:40. In between, we changed trains at Turin and reached Paris on the morning of the 19th. We had to change trains again in Paris. We left Paris at half past eight and reached Calais at eleven. We enter the boat in the English Bay, where we meet Mr. Joshi, Petro, etc…. It took us fifty minutes longer than usual to get to Dover. About two o'clock we landed at Dover. We boarded the train from Dover at around 2:30. It was already an hour late. We could have made up for the lost time on our way to London, but in between our train engine broke down. Another half hour was spent checking the state of the engine. So our train which always goes to London at 3:30, reached at 4:45 that day. There was fog everywhere. It was dark everywhere. People were pining for their loved ones, waiting for them to arrive at the Victoria station. Government representatives were also present to welcome us representatives. As the station was crowded everywhere, I set off alone and reached the Royal Hotel where I was to be accommodated
[Page 201]: Dr. Ambedkar’s financial condition improved by the end of 1930. He then decided to construct two buildings in Bombay. For this, he took a loan from the Central Bank of India. One building was for him to live in and the other was to lease out on rent. He bought plot number 99 and 129 in the Hindu Colony. Each has an area of 555 square yards. A puja took place in the month of September 1930. It was done by Palaye Shastri. Ramabai and Dr. Ambedkar deeply buried four small copper pots at the four corners of the plot with their hands. Coins issued in 1930, and pieces of paper with Ramabai and Dr. Ambedkar’s signatures and the date, were kept in the pots that were buried. Five married women from Babasaheb's chawl were present at this ceremony. Babasaheb's colleagues Devrao Naik, Bapu Sahasrabuddhe, Kanekar, Madkebuwa, Dhondiram Gaikwad, and others were present. A few days after the ceremony, some people asked [page 202] why they did this ceremony when they call themselves rationalists? If you call yourself a rationalist, then why did you do this ceremony? Dr. Ambedkar replied, saying that a rationalist man has to pay attention to his wife, children, society, and his times. If he succumbs to rationalism every time, he will not get anything done.
The construction of a house to live in on Plot No. 129 (Fifth Street) began in January 1931. Mr. Asaikar (Father of Asaikar Vakil) took up the task of supervising the construction. A map of this building was prepared by the engineers as per Dr. Ambedkar's instructions: two blocks of three rooms on the ground floor for the family, and on the first floor, his library, office, living, and sleeping quarters.
A second building was constructed in 1932 on Plot No. 99 (Third Street). The first building was completed in 1933. It was named Rajgriha. The second one was soon completed. It was named Charminar. Babasahib first brought the family to stay in Rajgriha in 1933. Then came his library, and then he came. Every Sunday at four o'clock, Ramabai used to visit the women in Poibawadi's chawl and invite them to her home. Owning a house was a source of great happiness in her life. While Charminar was on her name, the rent was mostly spent on buying Dr, Ambedkar's books. Ramabai made a lot of jewelry pieces with the remaining money. Most of them were sold by Dr. Ambedkar in December 1934. He sold the Charminar building on 9-5-41.
Mr. A. A. A. Faiji of the Mumbai Law College owned a lot of agricultural land in Thane district (taluka Murbad). Its entire tax assessment was Rs. 95. That land was bought by Dr. Ambedkar for two thousand rupees in 1934. He entrusted caretaker duties to Mr. Yashwantrao. The clans living on this land did not let anyone access much of its produce. After seeing this, Dr. Amebdkar sold this land in 1937. In that regard, an advertisement was published in the newspaper Navakal in Dr. Ambedkar’s name.
[This volume ends with Marathi and English reviews of the first four volumes. I have translated a select few of them. The numbering of the reviews is as it appears in the original so that the reader knows which ones I have skipped. I think they will be nice additions to the section that introduces Khairmode!]
Reviews of vol. 1
“... In this biography of eighteen chapters, since the author tends toward simple, well-supported, and complete descriptions, it feels like there will be no hurdles in this biography of Dr. Ambedkar becoming authoritative at least in Marathi…. Nascent seed-like ideas of the great work that Dr. Ambedkar went on to do later in his life can be seen well through the various information presented in this book…. Anybody will thank Mr. Khairmode for painstakingly writing such an informative, thought-provoking, and well-supported book so well.” [Mumbai: Vividhavrutta, 1952]
“... Dr. Ambedkar went to Ramabai to share the news of receiving his degree (D.Sc.). She was lying in bed as she was not feeling well. As soon as she heard the news, she got up from the bed, hurriedly took a bath, and sat down to do a puja of their family deity. After the puja was done, she slowly said to her husband, “You won’t go abroad to get another degree, will you?” The reader wells up immediately upon reading this question.
This first volume is about Ambedkar's life of penance. Only after such hard penance did he enter the political and social movement of India.
Mr. Khairmode has succinctly and skillfully narrated this volume on Ambedar’s life of penance. At various places, autobiographical narratives of Dr. Ambedkar that came out of having met and interviewed him are generously used…” [Mumbai: Navashakti, 1952]
“... The reality of Dr. Ambedkar's hard work to gain academic prowess leaves the reader in awe... If the next volumes are written are similarly informative, there is no doubt that this biography will count as a good contribution to Marathi biography.” [Pune: Sakal, 1953]
5)
“ … Information about the protagonist’s family history and
clan
[kulavruttanta] is provided in the section dedicated to
this topic,
but even more so, since information on the ‘Mahar’ caste
is
provided in a historical perspective in that section, it
has become
well worth reading…” [Pune: Kesari, 1952]
6) “... Curiously enough, very little authentic information about Dr. Ambedkar's early life and background had so far been available. But the gap has now been filled with the publication of the first part of a full-scale, well-documented, and scrupulously objective and balanced biography. It is written in Marathi language by Mr. Chagdev Bhawanrao Khairmodey, who combines in himself and his approach all the essential qualities of an ideal biographer...' [Madras: Sunday Times, 1952; Delhi: The Sunday Hindustan, 1952]
7) “...This biography is written by an unparalleled devotee of Dr. Ambedkar. Therefore, there is no place in this book to say that he was wronged in all respects of his life, including the minute everyday details. Owing to the devout role of the writer, all the necessary qualities of a biographer–kindness, empathy, etc.--can be seen in this book... Hence, there is no doubt that this biography will be of great help in getting a proper idea of Ambedkar's personality…” [Mumbai: Loksatta, 1954]
Reviews of vol. 2
“The second volume of Dr. Ambedkar’s biography has become popular and Mr. Changdev Bhawanrao Khairmode has thereby made a major contribution to a rich body of work in Marathi. Marathi biographical literature is not at all lacking in quality or quantity. However, in biographical literature, Ambedkar's biography will have a unique place from many perspectives. Dr. Johnson was blessed by Boswell as a biographer. Since it is rare for a biographical protagonist to get a worthy biographer, a good fit should be considered a matter of good fortune. Khairmode aspires for Dr. Ambedkar's biography to beautify and augment his fame and achievements. And these two biographies ascertain that Khaimode is second to no one when it comes to pursuing the topic of Dr. Ambedkar’s life with determination, hard work, and ardent ambition. The objective of Khairmode's biography is not so limited. His aim is to enable future biographers of Ambedkar…. This book is going to be a bibliography of Dr. Ambedkar’s biography…” [Navashakti, 1958]
“...If we compare the society and era in which Dr. Ambedkar was born with those of the upper-caste people, any honest person would have to admit that an era-defining man such as Dr. Ambedkar must have been rare to come… Writing a biography of such a person is no easy task... This book written by Khairmode should be considered an ideal biography in terms of capturing the political circumstances and changing tides of time. It is a thesis on the intellectual upliftment of Maharashtra…” [Mumbai: Maratha, 1959]
“...The author has nothing but admiration for his 'guru'... Shri. Khaimode has compiled a man of document letters written by various leaders of the period, newspaper articles and the rest, to illustrate the stu- pendous tasks Dr. Ambedkar as a leader of the 'Untouchables' had to confront... The book is indeed a very instructive documentation on the formative period of the life of Dr. Ambedkar...” [Bombay: Bharat Jyoti, 1958]
Review of vol. 3
“... A fresh history of how Dr. Ambedkar revolutionalized the untouchable community in the midst of the Satyagraha movement is presented in this volume. This history is the background to Ambedkar's subsequent work, which is much larger and is to be covered in later volumes. It is intimately presented by the author in a witty, tasty, and fluent language. There is no doubt that the readers of this book will be eager for the next volumes.” [Pune: Kesari, 1965]
Review of vol. 4
“C. B. Khairmode has taken on great work. This work is that of writing a long and elaborate biography of a major architect of the Indian Constitution, Dr. Ambedkar. It is important and fitting that a social worker who was in close association with Dr. Ambedkar should undertake this task... In this fourth volume, we are mainly presented with the Dr. Ambedkar of the Round Table Conferences. The many shades of Indian politics of this period can be seen. The many hopes and aspirations of Dr. Ambedkar and his people add to the reader's knowledge and understanding… Lengthy and copious excerpts of speeches, articles, and reports that throw sufficient light on related topics are made available in this volume in an authoritative compilation. From them emerges an understanding of how Dr. Ambedkar and his people perceived the work and struggles of those considered touchable…” [Mumbai: Maharashtra Times, 1966]