Unwrapping Dr. Ambedkar’s Quiet Gift to Ch. Shivaji Maharaj’s Legacy

Jai Bhim!
Namo Buddhay!

This sounds like a story that was almost lost to time, as we find little information of Dr. Ambedkar writing on Ch. Shivaji’s personal struggle, except in a few, but extremely important passages, dotted in his ocean of literature that has survived.

We know from BAWS that Mr. Krushnaji Arjun Keluskar, a.k.a Dada Keluskar, a teacher in the Wilson High School in Bombay before becoming its Principal, was a friend of Dr. Ambedkar’s father, and had celebrated his clearing of the matric examination (in 1907) despite a soft protest from his father. That was also the event when he had gifted the young Ambedkar a book on the life of Buddha which he had himself authored¹ in 1898, which Dr. Ambedkar recollected on many occasions, for many decades. Mr. Keluskar, while belonging to the Maratha caste, did not only write on Buddha, but had also written a Marathi work on Ch. Shivaji Maharaj. This fact has long been forgotten. And, when in mid-1921, Mr. Nilkant Sadashiv Takakhav — who was an M. A. graduate working as a Professor at Wilson College in Bombay — wrote an English biography on Ch. Shivaji Maharaj’s life, he wrote it as an adaptation² of the original work written by Mr. Keluskar from 1907, dedicating it to Shri Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj of Kolhapur. The publisher’s note in the front-matter of the book described the various troubles they had to go through in order to fund the printing of this book of whose original manuscript had been lying with them for several years. The book was also written with an aim to correct the many deficiencies³ in the books written by the likes of Dennis Kincaid, Jadunath Sarkar, and Prof. Rawlinson on the subject. Thankfully, several rounds of funds and loans were provided by those who were interested in seeing this work see the light of the day. The book was written as an English biography, “...with a view to remove some of the misunderstandings and false notions about one of India’s greatest national heroes, which still lurk in the minds of those who implicitly rely upon the accounts about Shivaji published by English writers who had mainly drawn their information from Mahomedan chronicles.”

Times of India article regarding the fund-raising.

To present a short academic sketch of the author, Mr. N. S. Takakhav (? - 19/12/1954) was honoured with the Sir Cowasjee Jehangir Latin Scholarship (Rs. 180) in 1899 at the Bombay University, further awarded with the Ellis Scholarship and the Duke of Edinburgh Fellow in 1903 for B.A., and honoured in Feb 1905 in St. Xavier’s College for having obtained Chancellor’s Gold Medal at their last M.A. (“Languages”) exam of Bombay Univ. Between Feb 1913 and early 1914, he was provisionally appointed as a lecturer in English in the College of Commerce that was accommodated within Elphinstone College. Post that he figured in delivering several public lectures such as on “Pliny the Younger”, “Thoughts on Roman Provincial Politics as Reflected in Pliny-Trajan Correspondence”, “Our Education Courses” and later presiding over other public lectures in Bombay. Thereafter in early 1919, he also stood for the Councillor Election from Girgaum Ward. In 1923, he took up being a Professor of English at Elphinstone College, Bombay while continuing the same position at Karnatak College at Dharwar. He then went on to deliver more lectures, focused on the influence of Chaucer and such on the evolution of English. Interestingly, his grand-daughter (Alaka) was married to the son of Mr. and Mrs. C. B. Khairmode (an early biographer of Dr. Ambedkar) in Oct 1971, long after he passed away.

One of these rounds of fund-raising, for the publishing of the book, was documented in the Times of India article dated April 14, 1925. According to it, a public meeting in Bombay that was held months ago – on Sep 24. 1924 – (with a fund-raising having begun since Oct 1, 1924, Chinchpogly) a resolution was taken, and a committee was formed for this task: “...to initiate another round of fund-raising in order that four thousand copies of this book be disseminated across English libraries and education institutions - both in India and outside.” Contribution to this fund as of the date of the publication of that news was above Rs. 4000 with over 3 dozen people contributing to it.

One of the contributors was Dr. B. R. Ambedkar who had contributed Rs. 100⁴, his quiet gift, for this task. One of the other notable names of contributors that I could spot was Mr. Anant Sagoon Asyekar (contributing Rs. 101) who had later joined Dr. Ambedkar in the capacity of a member of the Samaj Samata Sangh (1927) and was a lawyer who worked with Dr. Ambedkar on a few cases (Prof. Karve’s Gujarathi monthly’s “Samaj Swasthiya” homosexuality article case of 1934, Emperor vs Alwe case in 1935, Aman Vaman Yadav and Ors vs. Ganpat Tukaram and Ors. in 1938, and Bhagirath Mills Case from 1939). Another notable contributor seems to be yet another member who would later join Dr. Ambedkar’s Samaj Samata Sangh, Mr. N. V. Khandke (contributing Rs. 98-8) with whom, perhaps the friendship lasted for a much longer time⁵. Mr. Keluskar himself is said to have contributed Rs. 12.

I must admit that I have not yet read the book. Whether Dr. Ambedkar’s monetary support for the book (publicly available) may be seen as an endorsement of its ideas could be a work of research for the students of Ch. Shivaji Maharaj’s history. Although we do not have records of Mr. Takakhav or Mr. Keluskar being cited in any of the published works of BAWS, I would not be surprised if we were to find a copy of it in Dr. Ambedkar’s surviving library. It might still be a safe bet to say that he must have read the book. And at the very least, this much can be said that Dr. Ambedkar must have believed in the idea of educating the masses about the role of Ch. Shivaji Maharaj in building the Maratha Empire. In his groundbreaking work Who Were The Shudras, he cites the well-documented treatment of Ch. Shivaji Maharaj’s majesty at the hands of the casteist Brahmins when he had decided to proclaim himself as a King, which he and his friends knew could not have had any value without a coronation based on Vedic rites. Ch. Shivaji Maharaj had to go to great lengths in order to have a coronation being done in a Vedic manner, which Dr. Ambedkar employed to drive home the point that ultimately the status of Hindus was always decided – at will – by the Brahmins. Unfortunately, Ch. Shivaji Maharaj was not alone who had faced this discrimination, but so did his descendants such as Pratapsinha Bhosle (Vedokta controversy with Chitpavan Brahmins, 1820-30), or Sayajirao Gaikwad of Baroda (1896), and Ch. Shahu Maharaj of Kolhapur (1900).

One must view this biography, which was essentially an attempt to translate and revive the work of Dada Keluskar’s, not as an isolated endeavour, but in the backdrop of something grander: the force of the Non-Brahmin Party, of which Mr. Kelusksar was a leading figure. The credit for this consciousness and organisation goes to none other than Mahatma Jotirao Phule. The Party was an influential group of non-brahmin social workers that organised themselves politically from the early 1910, culminating into the famous “Non-Brahmin Manifesto of 1916,”. Although, in my understanding, even though the political articulation of non-Brahmins began in the Madras Presidency, it soon circled back to Maharashtra with the Non-Brahmin party fighting Bombay Legislative Council’s elections (sometimes negotiating with the then Liberal Party). In fact, the non-Brahmin party in Bombay was supported by several communities of non-Brahmins hailing from South India who were residing in Bombay. The Party, when led by Mr. S. K. Bole, supported Dr. Ambedkar when he began his public life and career (as a member of Bombay Legislative Council), inviting him to deliver speeches, and in turn received support from him on many occasions over the decades. One notable occasion of Dr. Ambedkar’s support was conveyed through his letter⁶ to Mr. Shrimant Sadashiverao Khasesaheb Powar (who also provided large loan for funding the publishing of this book as documented in the preface), describing an assessment of the current leadership in the Non-Brahmin Party:

“The Non-Brahmin Party has not in my opinion honestly served the cause of the masses and as you know there is also a great discontent amongst the non-Maratha members of the Party. All the same, I believe that the Party, which alone embodies in its professions at least, the democratic principle of equality for all, should be given another chance to show what it is capable of doing…”

Later on 22nd January 1928, Dr. Ambedkar at a meeting at the D.T. Hall in Parel, along with many of the Non-Brahmin Party members (convened by Mr. S. K. Bole, M.L.C) unanimously resolved that members of the Backward Classes and Depressed Classes should not participate in the Congress’ Hartal that was being organised against the arrival of Simon Commission's members. Then, on 14th July 1928 at Kalyan, Dr. Ambedkar was invited to the third session of the Non-Brahmin Conference where they jointly protested on the matters of Simon Commission, Bardoli Satyagraha, Land Revenue and Small Holdings Bill, and the Bombay Mill Strike. Then on 23rd February 1930, at the residence of Maharaja of Kolhapur (Warden Rd., Bombay), Dr. Ambedkar was among those present at the All-India Non-Brahmin Congress Committee’s meeting attended by over 200 members.

From BAWS⁷, we see Dr. Ambedkar advising the Non-Brahmin Party, on 12th Jan, 1943, that they should rebuild themselves as they had disintegrated (the cracks were apparent since the elections of Aug 1923 itself though):

“The view that true democracy in India could be safe only in the hands of the Non-Brahmin Party was expressed by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, Labour Member, Government of India, while speaking at party given in his honour on behalf of the Maratha and allied communities at the R. M. Bhatt High School, Parel, Bombay on Sunday the 17th January 1943. He regretted that the Non-Brahmin Party which was in power in the Madras and Bombay Provinces had now disintegrated owing to various reasons, and expressed the hope that, profiting by the mistakes of the past, it would shed the minor differences that existed among its various sections and rebuild itself into a united and strong force again…For the success of a party he mentioned three things as necessary- a leader, a good organisation and a clear and definite objective and programme…Rao Bahadur R. S. Asavle, who presided and Rao Bahadur S.K. Bole addressed the gathering, stressed the importance of unity among the Marathas and other allied communities and urging co-operation between them and the party led by Dr. Ambedkar.”

Perhaps, it was his disappointment with the Maratha movement that when he was invited by the Maratha Mandir to give a message to them, Dr. Ambedkar was sharp in his response, beginning with an advice to focus on both politics and higher education, to not be satisfied by simply doing the easy task of primary or secondary education, before moving on to provide his precious assessment that still holds true:

“...The middle class as compared with the aristocracy and the lower classes have certain faults which are the faults of that class all over the world. The middle class has not the generosity of the aristocracy to tolerate the advance of the lower classes. And it does not possess the idealism of the lower classes. This makes the middle class the enemy of both the classes. It hates the aristocracy because of its superior status. It hates the lower classes because it does not like it to rise equal to itself. The Maratha are the middle class of India and any one who has worked with them, will know that they have the faults of the middle class outlined above. There are two ways for the Marathas to proceed : one to join their superiors and to prevent the lower classes rising to the level or to join with the lower classes and destroy to those who are the superiors of both. There was a time when they joined the lower classes. Recently they have joined the higher classes. It is not for me to say which is the right path for them to follow. There is no doubt about it that the destiny of not only of others but of the Marathas themselves must depend upon which of the two roads they will choose. That must be left to the wisdom of the Leaders of the Marathas of which there appears to be great dearth.”

To those wondering whether the quiet gift was worth anything, even a cursory look at WorldCat catalogue would show that the book has not only survived, but flourished, in hundreds of libraries across the world (including an independent digitised copy made available by Univ of Toronto’s Library), while a glance at Google Books would show that, thanks to its survival, it was cited across a wide range of work and decades (from Dennis Kincaid to as recently as from Chakrabarty, 2015). Undoubtedly, the reason that this book flourished and remains cited today was because of the fund-raising task for the dissemination of the book. I hope that today’s Marathas, despite their popular antipathy towards the Scheduled Castes and other backward castes, do not (yet again) forget Mahatma Jotirao Phule’s revival of their Emperor’s legacy to which Dr. Ambedkar quietly gifted what was far more than just monetary support, and that they follow in the footsteps of their old leaders in resurrecting the Non-Brahmin Party as a front against the Brahminical rule in India.