By Shashi Tharoor. Aleph Book Company, New Delhi. Hard cover, 240 pp. INR 599  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

	Open in app or online BOOK REVIEW: Ambedkar: A Life By Shashi Tharoor. Aleph Book Company, New Delhi. Hard cover, 240 pp. INR 599 Feb 5   Save ▷  Listen   By: Danish Hamid Shashi Tharoor has written an accessible, engaging, if somewhat idiosyncratic and opinionated biography of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, one of India’s most revered figures, who surmounted his Dalit origins to become the father of the country’s Constitution. The reader can appreciate the circumstances that Ambedkar’s family lived in and how his father’s army antecedents mitigated the injuries of caste that most other Dalits had to undergo at the time. Yet discrimination dogged even Ambedkar’s relatively better-off family. His early study of Persian was a result of not being allowed to study Sanskrit at school, or his university education in the United States and Britain was made possible by gifts and scholarships from local monarchs sympathetic to the Dalit cause. Ambedkar’s political struggles, such as the Mahad Satyagraha, the 1932 ‘Poona Pact’, the round table conferences, the drafting of the nascent constitution (1947-50) and his subsequent conversion to Buddhism (1954) are some of the hooks around which the book is structured. Tharoor cites regular examples of what he considers Ambedkar’s brilliant political insights and his interventions in various politically charged events. But between these accolades, Tharoor misses Ambedkar’s problematic political interventions and highly controversial analyses of nation and religion in his two books on the demands of Pakistan amidst the coming partition of India. It is here that critics rather unfairly target him, so a lack of engagement with this aspect of Ambedkar’s life is disappointing… The text above is just an excerpt from this subscriber-only story. To read the whole thing and get full access to Asia Sentinel's reporting and archives, subscribe now for US$10/month or US$100/year. Upgrade to paid This article is among the stories we choose to make widely available. If you wish to get the full Asia Sentinel experience and access more exclusive content, please do subscribe to us for US$10/month or US$100/year. Upgrade to paid   Like Comment Share   Read Asia Sentinel in the app Listen to posts, join subscriber chats, and never miss an update from Asia Sentinel. © 2023 Asia Sentinel news@asiasentinel.com Unsubscribe