A Part Apart: The Life and Thought of BR Ambedkar, a newly launched biography by historian and journalist Ashok Gopal, attempts to bring to readers little known aspects about Ambedkar. The book, brought out by Navayana Publishing, had its Chennai launch on Sunday, April 30. The launch took place during the Vaanam Art Festival organised by director Pa Ranjith’s Neelam Social, an event held in celebration of Dalit History Month. Besides being a historian and journalist, the author has also worked in educational curriculum design.
An aspect of Ashok’s book that stands out is that it draws from Ambedkar’s Marathi writing, in addition to his extensive writing in English. “Ambedkar’s writings in Marathi are very different from those in English. He had almost stopped writing in Marathi by the 1930s. The period from the 1930s to 1940 was a formative one,” Ashok said.
Ashok also said that this period cannot be ignored and needs to be seen in tandem with Ambedkar's stance much later in life when he wrote The Annihilation of Caste. He said, “By the time Ambedkar wrote Annihilation, he had come to the position of ‘I will be watching you [caste Hindus].’” In terms of secondary sources, “There is a lot of work done by Dalit archivists on many factors concerning Ambedkar, including information about Ramabai Ambedkar or about Ambedkar’s father. All this information is in Marathi. Fortunately, I was able to tap into that archival material as there is a wonderful library in Pune. It is absurd to ever say we can understand Ambedkar without referencing the material in Marathi.”
Speaking at the launch, Ashok pointed out that until the publication of A Part Apart, there has been only one other extensive biography on Ambedkar — Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Life and Mission, by Dhananjay Keer.
S Anand, the director of Navayana Publishing, told TNM, “A Part Apart is a rare and pioneering work that redefines a biography. Till this book was published, you wouldn’t find Ashok Gopal on the internet. And all that you find in this book cannot be found on the Internet or in any one single book. Ashok read the bulk of Ambedkar’s writings and speeches in Marathi and English, most of what is written about him, and most of what Ambedkar himself would have read.”
Anand called Ashok’s book the most compelling and comprehensive account of about three lakh words on how Ambedkar lived and came to think the way he did. “It is the story of the unrelenting toil and struggle that went into the making of the Ambedkar legend and turned him into Babasaheb,” he said.
Vasugi Bhaskar, editor at Neelam Publications, an undertaking of Neelam Social, told TNM, “The book was first launched in Delhi on April 14 [Ambedkar Jayanthi]. Even before that, we had come across multiple reviews in praise of the book. We realised that it was important to bring the book to readers in Tamil Nadu during Dalit History Month. The Vaanam Festival has always been particular about looking at literature in terms of non-fiction as well and of course, every year we have a special focus on Babasaheb.”
Speaking about what makes A Part Apart stand out, Vasugi added, “The book has a richness of sources, particularly in terms of the new information made available through the Marathi texts that Ashok referred to."