EDITOR’S NOTE: Such questions are being asked on several internet platforms. The intention behind each of the questions is to belittle Dr Ambedkar. With this in mind the author Shekhar Bodhakar, answers.
Question 1: Was Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar poor in English?
He was poor in English just as much as the inventors of Sanskrit were poor in Sanskrit.
He was poor in English just as much as Rabindra Nath Tagore was poor in Bengali.
He was poor in English just as much as Shakespeare was poor in the English of his days.
To answer your question, just in case you don’t know what Sanskrit is or who Rabindra Nath Tagore and Shakespear were:
No, Dr B.R. Ambedkar (BA; MA; MSc; PhD; DSc; LLD; DLitt; Bar-at-Law), chairman of the drafting committee of the Indian constitution, a lexicographer and an eminent scholar of jurisprudence was not poor in English.
Dr Ambedkar was 24years old when he wrote his paper on “Castes in India – Their Mechanism, Genesis, and Development”. In his paper, he challenged many well-established scholars who had already written on caste.
On entrance to the prestigious Columbia University is a portrait of Dr B R Ambedkar with the words, “SYMBOL OF KNOWLEDGE”. Out of the BILLIONS of humans on this planet there can only be ONE symbol of knowledge and he certainly can’t be poor in English.
Questions to the ANONYMOUS questioner:
- What is your motive behind asking the question?
If you know that Dr Ambedkar’s first name was Bhimrao, then I assume, you must also know of his contributions to the Indian constitution which was drafted in English and that he was one of the most educated persons in the world at that time.
(What you may not know is that Dr Ambedkar also compiled a ‘Pali to English’ dictionary)
- Can such a person be poor in English?
- The very fact that you have asked a question on Dr Ambedkar means that you at least know SOMETHING about him and whatever it is, should make you realize that he could not have achieved this, had he been poor in English. What is Dr Ambedkar most famous for, for which he didn’t require a good command of the English language?
Question 2: Was Dr Ambedkar really a genius?
I’m not sure whether it’s intentional or not but the word ‘really’ in the question subconsciously implants an idea in the reader’s mind that he may not have been.
Nevertheless, since the question has been asked, it deserves a reply…
Before you read rest of the answers, checkout his academic qualifications in the image above.
YES, the polymath Dr Ambedkar REALLY was a genius, not that it matters. Hitler was a genius. So was ‘Jack the ripper’ and the mastermind behind ‘the great train robbery’. What really matters is a person’s greatness more than their ingeniosity. What really matters is what Dr Ambedkar contributed to humanity and the intentions behind his amazing successes.
YES, Dr B R Ambedkar (BA; MA; MSc; PhD; DSc; LLD; DLitt; Bar-at-Law), the chairman of the drafting committee of the Indian Constitution, an eminent jurist and lexicographer, REALLY was a genius.
(Dr Ambedkar was 25 years old when he wrote his paper on “Castes in India – Their Mechanism, Genesis, and Development”. In his paper, he challenged many well-established scholars of the day who had already written on caste)
YES, the genius credited to have read many tens of thousands of books and having the largest personal library in India, is often referred to as “THE SYMBOL OF KNOWLEDGE”. Out of over a Billion humans in India, there can only be ONE symbol of knowledge and he certainly must have been a genius.
YES, he was the genius who was given the title, ‘FOUNDING FATHER OF MODERN INDIA’ by the very prestigious Columbia University for the part he played in drafting the Indian Constitution.
The following photo is from Columbia University’s official website showing him to be the Father of Modern India:
Yes, he really was a genius and a social reformer like none other and more importantly, he used his ingeniosity for the benefit of society, in the most ethical manner possible, until he breathed his last.
Yes, this iconoclast really was a genius.
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Author of this article Shekhar Bodhakar is a London based Anti-Caste activist. He is the Composer of Buddhatāla and has also worked as Head of Mathematics department in a London college in the past. You can reach him at: globalambedkarites@gmail.com
DISCLAIMER: The views expressed in this article are the personal views of the author and not necessarily the views of “Voice of Dissent”.
