Which Ambedkar?
April 21, 2016  11:17
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The most recent issue of the Organiser, the English journal of the RSS, has a picture of B.R. Ambedkar on its cover, hailing him as the Ultimate Unifier. The issue (dated April 17, 2016) features several articles on the great man, one saying he provided the glue for nation building, a second arguing that his visions and actions resembled that of Brahmo Samaj, Prarthana Samaj, Arya Samaj, etc, a third praising his interest in workers rights, a fourth calling him a timeless leader who apparently was not against Brahmins but against [the] Brahmanical order.

All the essays, and the issue as a whole, are entirely celebratory. But what did the RSS and its mouthpiece think of Ambedkar and his work while he was alive? In seeking an answer, I focused on the years 1949-50, when, as law minister in the government of India, Ambedkar was both finalising the Indian Constitution as well as advocating the reform of Hindu personal laws so as to give greater rights to women.

Notably, the RSS disapproved of both efforts.

Read Ramchandra Guha's essay on the RSS' views on Ambedkar.
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