Reminiscences and
Remembrances of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar
Book Review by:
Ambassador Ramesh Chander
The
other day, October 14, I visited Ambedkar Bhawan in
Jalandhar for a function to observe the day Dr.
Ambedkar embraced Buddhism in 1956. The function,
regrettably, turned out to be a damp squib. The only
consolation was that in the process, I could pick up
two old books on Dr. B.R. Ambedkar – Reminiscences
and Remembrances of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and Last Few
Years of Dr. Ambedkar, written/compiled/edited by
his trusted and dedicated aide Nanak Chand Rattu. I
have finished reading the former.
The book
is basically a compilation of reminiscences and
remembrances of a few colleagues and associates of
Dr. Ambedkar. In fact, I am somewhat disappointed as
the book could not fill the gap of information on
the personal likes and dislikes and also the day to
day living of the greatest son of India in the
contemporary times. Some interesting aspects of Dr.
Ambedkar’s personality have come to light in the
reminiscences under the chapter ‘Lofty Ideas and
Integrity of Character’. The written exchanges
between Dr. Sharda Kabir and Babasaheb Ambedkar
before their marriage are not only interesting and
informative but also dwell on the fact that Ambedkar
was as human as any simple and ordinary man could
be. Dr. Ambedkar was a man of morals and integrity.
He did not accept the proposal that Dr. Sharda Kabir
who was looking after his health may accompany and
stay with him in Delhi. Dr. Ambedkar wrote to her
and said, “You were perhaps disappointed when I
declined to accept your services as a nurse to
accompany me to Delhi and stay there for a month.
But my whole position in public life is built upon
my reputation as a man of character and unsullied
morals. If my enemies are afraid of me and respect
me it is because of this. I can never be a party to
damage it in any way.” Later, they got married and
Dr. Sharda Kabir became Dr. Savita Ambedkar. Dr.
Ambedkar informed much about himself in one of his
letters to Dr. Sharda Kabir. It makes an interesting
reading. He said, “I am a difficult man. Ordinarily,
I am quiet as water and humble as grass. But when I
get into temper, I am ungovernable and unmanageable.
I am a man of silence. There is charge against me
that I don’t speak to women i.e. other women. But I
don’t even speak to men unless they are my
intimates. I am a man of moods. At times I am very
serious. At times I am full of humour. I am no gay
person; pleasures of life do not attract me. My
companions have to bear the burden of my austerity
and asceticism. My books have been my companions;
they are dearer to me than my wife and children.
Morally, I am intractable and do not tolerate any
lapses from strict rules of morals.” The letter
further reveals how simple but straight a person Dr.
Ambedkar was in his personal approach to family
life. He wrote, “I have recounted these facts about
myself to give you some idea of what a difficult
customer you have to deal with. Evidently you are
not worried about all this. You perhaps think that
as any scratching and biting cats and dogs come
together so in the same way we too by scratching and
biting shall come together. I wish you all success.
While asking for some details of her personal
history, at the same time Dr. Ambedkar informed her,
“I like art and have a great sense of aesthetics. I
do not like ugly things. Dr. Ambedkar believed in
youth of the country. While speaking at D.A.V.
College in Jalandhar in October, 1951, he said, “I
am really very glad to talk to students. A great lot
of the future of this country must necessarily
depend on students of this country. Students are the
intelligent part of the community and they can shape
the public opinion.”
In the
second part of the book i.e. the remembrances, U.R.
Rao of Thacker & Company, the publishers of Dr.
Ambedkar’s books, has made candid observations under
the heading ‘Dr. Ambedkar I knew’ about the great
man and his love for books. He wrote about the
‘genial humour and urbanity of the man.’ and Dr.
Ambedkar’s liking for good fountain pens,
particularly of outsize shapes. Polonius (a senior
IAS Kartar Singh) wrote about some of the likes and
dislikes of Babasaheb. Books (reading, writing and
collecting) was an ‘all-absorbing passion’ for Dr.
Ambedkar. He liked gardening and dogs. As regards
dislikes, Dr. Ambedkar disliked ‘political
vagabonds’ of the community and treachery of his own
followers and associates. Polonius quoted Dr.
Ambedkar, “one can fight ones adversaries in a
straight battle but it is difficult to deal with the
traitors in one’s own camp.” Polonius further wrote
that Dr. Ambedkar had a mind and transparent actions
as “in public life I will not do a thing which I
cannot defend publically.” Yet another trusted aide
of Dr. Ambedkar, Sohan Lal Shastri, in his
remembrances informed that Dr. Ambedkar did not like
intoxicants and was a frugal eater of ordinary meal
of bajra roti, rice and some fish. Another
interesting entry in the remembrances is that of M.O.
Mathai, PS to PM Jawaharlal Nehru and is titled ‘A
victim of obscurantism and barbarous intolerance’.
Mathai informed that Dr. Ambedkar was not happy that
Shankaracharya, ‘a desecrated expert at logic’ drove
away Buddhism from India. He was of the view that
Buddha was the greatest soul India ever produced. He
also said that the greatest man India produced in
recent centuries was not Gandhi but Swami
Vivekananda. It is a known fact that Mahatma Gandhi
was Dr. Ambedkar’s adversary but it is surprising to
know that he recognized and appreciated Swami
Vivekananda. Many people may not know of this. Some
of the remembrances of Nanak Chand Rattu, the author
of the book, reveal the state of mind of Dr.
Ambedkar in the twilight years of his life. His
health was failing. His eye sight was diminishing.
He was a lonely man in the hanging political and
social scenario in the country. He was up-set and
angry with his own followers and associates. Rattu
confirmed that Dr. Ambedkar was worried and
perturbed in the last years of his life. He used to
weep alone. There was no one who could give him
solace. Rattu saw him weeping many a times and with
courage asked him the reason. Babasaheb did not
answer. But one day (July, 1956) he broke down and
confessed everything to his trusted aide, as
recorded by Nanak Chand Rattu himself, “You people
do not know what is troubling me and what makes me
so sad. The first worry to my mind is that I have
not been able to fulfill my life’s mission. I wanted
to see my people as a governing class, sharing the
political power in terms of equality with other
communities……Whatever I have been able to achieve is
being enjoyed by the educated few, who with their
deceitful performance, have proved to be a worthless
lot, with no sympathy with their downtrodden
brethren. They have surpassed my imagination. They
live for themselves for their personal gains. Rattu
recorded that Dr. Ambedkar was worried about the
books he was writing and was very much eager to
complete them with his dwindling physical
conditions. He was concerned and worried about the
line of leadership of his movement after him. Dr.
Ambedkar lamented and told Rattu, “My lieutenants,
in whom I had full faith and confidence to run the
movement, are fighting among themselves for
leadership and power. Both, Rattu and Babasaheb were
weeping. Babasaheb consoled Rattu and said, “Take
courage, don’t get up-set, life is to come to an end
one day or the other.” The climax was yet to come as
probably the last message to his followers. Rattu
recorded that after a little pause and wiping his
tears, Dr. Ambedkar said,” Tell my people, Nanak
Chand, that whatever I have been able to achieve for
them, I have done it single handedly, passing
through crushing miseries and endless troubles in
the midst of abuses hurled at me from all sides,
fighting with my opponents all my life as also with
a handful of my own people who deceived me for their
selfish ends. But I will continue to serve my
country and any down trodden people till my end.
With great difficulty, I have brought the caravan
where it is seen today. Let the caravan march on and
further on, despite the hurdles, pitfalls and
difficulties that may come its way. They must rise
to the occasion, if they want to live an honourable
and respectful life. If my people are not able to
take the caravan ahead, they should leave it and
must not, under any circumstances allow the caravan
to go back.” Dr. Ambedkar further said, ‘This is my
message probably the last message in all my
seriousness which I am sure will not go unheeded. Go
and tell them, go and tell them, go and tell them.”
He repeated thrice.
As I said
above that the book disappointed me as I expected
more from Nanak Chand Rattu who worked with Dr.
Ambedkar not only as his office aide but also as a
dedicated follower for a long time from 1940 to
1956, a crucial period in the life and mission of
his master. It seems that the publishers have also
not paid much attention to the project. Nonetheless,
some of the real aspects of the life of the greatest
son of India which were hitherto unknown have come
to light through the pages of the book of Nanak
Chand Rattu. As regards the message, it has gone
unheeded, unfortunately. The educated segments of
the community and its leaders certainly owe an
answer not only to Dr. Ambedkar but also to the
suffering masses of the country.
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