Becoming Babasaheb, by Aakash Singh Rathore

HarperCollins

presents

On the occasion of Ambedkar Jayanti

A new book that is a nuanced and vivid portrait of Ambedkar
—the man, the activist, the philosopher.

HB | 300 + 8 pp inserts | Rs 699

Aakash Singh Rathore’s Becoming Babasaheb is the definitive biography of Ambedkar—the first of an ambitious two-volume set—and the only one written on the basis of entirely original archival research, to be able to correct and set the historical record straight.

*

Aakash Singh Rathore, author of Becoming Babasaheb says, “As an international specialist on Ambedkar, I have observed how global interest about him has started surging, but still there is a paucity of high-quality biographies. The main life-sketches available date back to the 1950s, and even contemporary biographies rely upon those dated works for their (dubious) factual details. I sought to correct this with Becoming Babasaheb, the only biography of Ambedkar based entirely upon original archival research, with total fidelity to the historical facts — I also unearth a lot of details never heard before. This is a vivid portrait of the man in his times, where I present readers with a new Ambedkar, the true Ambedkar.”

ABOUT THE BOOK

There are many intellectual biographies of Dr B.R. Ambedkar, but until now none has sought to reveal the personality of the man. They will tell you what he thought or what he wrote, but remain silent about who he actually was, his inner struggles, how he felt. They give information about Ambedkar, but do not talk about his interior life, his personal growth or how he came to be the man who left such an indelible mark on modern India’s constitutional, political, social and religious landscapes.

The first of an ambitious two-volume biography, Becoming Babasaheb traces Ambedkar’s life journey, from his birth in 1891 to the transformative Mahad Satyagraha in 1929. It takes a completely fresh look at Ambedkar’s lived experiences and teases out the nature and character of the man behind the legend. It offers an extensive, personality-driven narrative covering Ambedkar’s life, along with salient aspects of his contemporary legacy, unfolding as a tale of remarkable tenacity, which it chronicles in all its rich vitality.

All of Ambedkar’s books and speeches are publicly available, so large volumes will forever appear interpreting his writings and presenting his ideas. Meanwhile, old myths and inaccurate ‘facts’ about his thought and life events, even his relationships, persist. Becoming Babasaheb has been written on the basis of entirely original archival research to set the historical record straight. A vivid portrait of the man in his times, both volumes of this biography will present readers with a new Ambedkar, the true Ambedkar.

PRAISE FOR BECOMING BABASAHEB

‘Rathore’s earlier books had shed new light on Dr Ambedkar’s source materials for his innovative interpretation of Buddhism, as well as his previously unknown direct authorship of the Preamble to the Indian Constitution. In Becoming Babasaheb, Rathore once again uncovers totally new facts about Babasaheb’s extraordinary life and times.’

— Prakash Ambedkar, lawyer, president of the Vanchit Bahujan Aaghadi party and grandson of Dr B.R. Ambedkar

‘Rathore’s first volume is a meticulously researched account of Ambedkar’s early life as a student in Bombay, New York and London, his struggles against poverty and caste discrimination, and his emergence as a scholar, barrister and leader of the Dalits. Rathore’s signal achievement is to present Ambedkar in flesh and blood, and not allow his admiration for the man to slip into hagiography.’

— Partha Chatterjee, Professor Emeritus of anthropology, Columbia University

‘Aakash Singh Rathore’s biography is outstanding for the way in which he interweaves the personal and the political to reveal the making of one of India’s greatest leaders. He, thus, gives the reader a far richer and more vivid understanding of the man and the events that unfolded around him. By his rigorous checking of sources and aligning of chronologies, Rathore also clears up many prevalent misconceptions. His book is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand some of the central developments of the twentieth century that shaped India as it has come to exist today.’

— Tony Joseph, journalist and author of Early Indians: The Story of Our Ancestors and Where We Came From

‘Scholarly biographies based on archival sources are rare in India. Rathore’s first of a two-volume account of Dr Ambedkar’s life is a notable exception. He deserves huge appreciation for this endeavour, which sheds fascinating new light on arguably the most highly educated and intellectually gifted of our founding fathers’ generation.’

— Jairam Ramesh, member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha), and author of The Light of Asia: The Poem That Defined the Buddha

‘Becoming Babasaheb is essential reading for anyone interested in joining the global movement for caste abolition. Accessible and finely researched, it humanizes Dr Ambedkar while providing new detail to the incredible hurdles he faced as he worked tirelessly to end caste. The empathy of Aakash Singh Rathore’s biography is unparalleled and enriches our understanding of Ambedkar as a giant of history—but also as a very human leader, who became larger than life through his courage, brilliance, integrity and persistence. It is credit to Rathore that he holds all of the complex strands of Ambedkar’s intellectual and political life so deftly that the book can offer new insights for both the expert and the new reader of Ambedkar’s legacy alike. Buy Becoming Babasaheb for yourself and for a young person you care about, for it introduces Ambedkar to a new generation at a time when his lessons are more important than ever.’

— Thenmozhi Soundararajan, executive director of Equality Labs, and author of The Trauma of Caste: A Dalit Feminist Meditation on Survivorship, Healing, and Abolition

‘Rooted in extensive archival research, Becoming Babasaheb follows Ambedkar’s personal and intellectual development on his path to becoming one of India’s greatest statesmen. In clear and wonderfully descriptive writing, Aakash Singh Rathore’s first volume brings Ambedkar—the subjugated village child, the brilliant student, the rising leader—to life.’

— Shashi Tharoor, member of Parliament for Thiruvananthapuram (Lok Sabha) and author of Ambedkar: A Life

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Aakash Singh Rathore is a philosopher of international repute and the author of nine books, including Ambedkar’s Preamble: A Secret History of the Constitution of India (2020). He has also edited over a dozen books, including B.R. Ambedkar The Buddha and His Dhamma: A Critical Edition (2011) and, more recently, B.R. Ambedkar: The Quest for Justice (a box set of five volumes, 2021). His Hegel’s India was shortlisted for the Non-Fiction Book of the Year at the Tata Literature Live! Book Awards 2017.

Professor Rathore has taught politics, philosophy and law at Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi University, University of Pennsylvania and Rutgers University. He is international fellow at ETHOS, Rome, and was previously fellow at the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla.

Professor Rathore serves as the series editor for the fifteen-volume Rethinking India book series and was the co-editor (with Ashis Nandy) of its first volume, Vision for a Nation. Beyond the pen, Professor Rathore is a top-ranking triathlete and has completed six Ironman races on five continents. He tweets @ASR_Metta and is @aakash_ironman on Instagram.

 

*

For reviews, excerpts, interviews and more information, please contact Shivendra Singh at
shivendra.singh@harpercollins.co.in