Becoming Babasaheb: The life and times of Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar - Volume 1: Birth top Mahad (1891 - 1929) / Aakash Singh Rathore

Preface: There Will Be Blood xi,
Chapter One: From Bhiva Ambadawekar to Bhimrao Ambedkar (1891-1912) 1;
Chapter Two: The Alma Mater (1913-16) 10;
Chapter Three: An Indian in New York 22;
Chapter Four: London Calling (1916-17) 32;
Chapter Five: Sleepless in Baroda (1917-20) 41;
Chapter Six: Struggle, Sydenham, Southborough and Shahu Maharaj 49;
Chapter Seven: A Loud Voice for the Voiceless (1920) 59;
Chapter Eight: Lunchless in London (1920-22) 69;
Chapter Nine: Mr Ambedkar, to Ambedkar Bar-at-Law, to Dr Ambedkar (1922-23) 81;
Chapter Ten: A Barrister in Bombay (1924-26) 92;
Chapter Eleven: 'Educate, Agitate, Organize 107;
Chapter Twelve: From Bhima Koregaon to the Mahad Conference (1927) 117;
Chapter Thirteen: From Doctorsaheb to Babasaheb 131;
Chapter Fourteen Mahad Reloaded: The Satyagraha 147;
Chapter Fifteen: Between Mahad and the Round Table Conference (1928-29) 162;
Bibliography 183;
Appendix 1: Table of Contents of Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar Charitra (in twelve volumes) by Changdev Bhavanrao Khairmoday 195;
Appendix 2: The Resolutions of the Mahad Conference (20 March 1927) 203;
Appendix 3: First editorial by Dr Ambedkar for Bahishkrut Bharat (3 April 1927) 207;
Appendix 4: Final Order of the Bombay High Court Re: Mahad Tank (17 March 1937) 213;
Notes 229;
Index 261.

There are many intellectual biographies of Dr B.R. Ambedkar, but until now none has sought to reveal the personality of the man. They will tell you what he thought or what he wrote, but remain silent about who he actually was, his inner struggles, how he felt. They give information about Ambedkar, but do not talk about his interior life, his personal growth or how he came to be the man who left such an indelible mark on modern India's constitutional, political, social and religious landscapes.

The first of an ambitious two-volume biography, Becoming Babasaheb traces Ambedkar's life journey, from his birth in 1891 to the transformative Mahad Satyagraha in 1929. It takes a completely fresh look at Ambedkar's lived experiences and teases out the nature and character of the man behind the legend. It offers an extensive, personality-driven narrative covering Ambedkar's life, along with salient aspects of his contemporary legacy, unfolding as a tale of remarkable tenacity, which it chronicles in all its rich vitality.

All of Ambedkar's books and speeches are publicly available, so large volumes will forever appear interpreting his writings and presenting his ideas. Meanwhile, old myths and inaccurate 'facts' about his thought and life events, even his relationships, persist. Becoming Babasaheb has been written on the basis of entirely original archival research to set the historical record straight. A vivid portrait of the man in his times, both volumes of this biography will present readers with a new Ambedkar, the true Ambedkar.