Abhishek Kumar Singh
Iconoclast by Anand Teltumbde is a timely book that has arrived when political jostling for Ambedkar’s legacy has become a feature of Indian politics. This book analyses Ambedkar’s life and presents him as a pragmatist rather than a sanctified figure. Meticulously researched, detailed, and yet accessible to all readers, the book offers fresh insights into the life and enduring influence of Ambedkar. It shines through as a critical ode to the architect of the Indian Constitution.
The entire political spectrum of India is professing heirship to the legacy of Ambedkar today. With so many books on Ambedkar coming out every year, one wonders if the next book on Ambedkar has anything new to say. Anand Teltumbde’s Iconoclast, however, is a breath of fresh air. True to its title, the book does not look to iconise Ambedkar. Instead, it humanises Ambedkar, allowing the reader to know Ambedkar.
Iconoclast chronologically documents Ambedkar’s life into eight phases – from birth to death and beyond. Each phase is accompanied by rare photographs that add an invaluable depth to the book. This monumental work on Ambedkar’s life and journey rests on Teltumbde’s meticulous research. The reference section of the book is, in itself, a compass for researchers who are looking to undertake further research on Ambedkar. At its core, however, Teltumbde focuses on three aspects of Ambedkar’s life. One, the emancipatory mission of Ambedkar that strove to annihilate the caste structure of Indian society. Two, the political struggles that Ambedkar had to navigate to keep his political message relevant in Indian politics. And three, the intellectual sagacity of Ambedkar that entrenched his immortality as the architect of the Indian Constitution.
The emancipatory mission of Ambedkar is a story of grit and determination. Teltumbde does well not to portray Ambedkar as a messiah of the downtrodden but as a resourceful man who transformed every obstacle thrown at him into an opportunity. Given his pragmatic outlook on life, Ambedkar adopted a malleable strategy – a two-pronged counter-revolution that was based on actionable Dalit mobilisation accompanied by an ideological exposé of scripture-sanctioned Brahminical authority. At no point in his journey did Ambedkar pretend to know the final truth, as many messianic figures claim to; instead, Ambedkar was a seeker who accepted that one must exist in the present, empower oneself with the available means, and strive to battle for one’s claims of justice politically.
The political challenges faced by Ambedkar are reflected in a similarly pragmatic outlook. While he remained intellectually close to the Fabian Socialists (though he never admitted so himself), Ambedkar kept his doors open for the diverse political spectrum of India. Issue-based politics allowed him to cooperate with any political outfit whose views aligned with Ambedkar on that particular issue. Similarly, Ambedkar had the political acumen to engage with all religions while he pondered over mass conversion as a means to the emancipation of Dalits. Wooing religious bodies sponsored several of his political and academic endeavours with the hope of influencing him, but Ambedkar played the long game instead – utilising these funds appropriately without allowing them to cloud his judgement.
In the run-up to India’s independence, Ambedkar had developed an acrimonious relationship with the Indian National Congress (INC). Given the plight of the Dalits, social change was an immediate necessity for Ambedkar. However, the predominantly upper-caste INC did not share this immediacy. Independence was touted to be the panacea for all evils. Caste-based discrimination would vanish magically once the British were gone! Ambedkar, however, placed greater faith in the British to address Dalit issues. The British were at least not complicit in upholding the caste structure of Hindu society. Thus, Ambedkar petitioned the British government and its various Commissions to acquaint them with the condition of the Dalits. This successfully resulted in the declaration of separate electorates for the Scheduled Castes in 1932, but was ultimately nullified by the Poona Pact at Gandhi’s insistence.
Today, Ambedkar has become almost synonymous with the Constitution. Teltumbde takes time to dwell on how Ambedkar ended up in the Constituent Assembly despite the apparent antipathy of the INC oligarchs towards him. However, more research on this paradox is warranted. Teltumbde does not dissect too deeply Ambedkar’s speeches in the Constituent Assembly; instead, he brings to our notice two crucial facets of Ambedkar during this phase – one, Ambedkar was struggling to remain relevant in Indian politics as the fervour of independence was taking over the masses. Two, Ambedkar was working within the INC’s maze of power.
Iconoclast takes seriously Ambedkar’s words on how posterity should see its greats (pp. 564-65). It remains reverential of Ambedkar but does not put him on a pedestal devoid of critique. Teltumbde is confounded by the fact that Ambedkar does not realise that proportional representation as a mechanism for electing representatives would have automatically ensured fair representation for minorities in Parliament. Vacillation over separate or joint electorates would have been unnecessary.
Teltumbde’s exploration of Ambedkar’s life is through his own Marxist inclinations that slip into his analysis of Ambedkar. Ambedkar evaluated Marxist ideology to be unfit for application to the Indian conditions. After all, caste, not class, is the basis of Indian society. Moreover, the dictatorship of the proletariat was the antithesis of Ambedkar’s ideal of democracy. Teltumbde’s analysis, however, is too defensive when it comes to Ambedkar’s view on Marxism. While Ambedkar’s analysis has its faults, Teltumbde’s preoccupation with Ambedkar’s misreading (and limited reading) of Marx leads to a downplaying of the broader sociopolitical context that shaped Ambedkar’s critique of Marxism.
Finally, the last chapter of Iconoclast addresses the legacy of Ambedkar. From Dalit Panthers to Mayawati, the legacy of Ambedkar is still in search of its rightful heir. However, with the meteoric rise of Ambedkar’s iconography, his shadow may have become too big for anyone to carry forward his legacy. Political parties today cannot afford to ignore Ambedkar. However, in claiming Ambedkar for themselves, every political party utilises Ambedkar instrumentally. In iconising the original iconoclast, the values that Ambedkar stood for have come to be eroded. Sullied by a politics that risks transforming Indian democracy into a mobocracy, it is conveniently forgotten that in Ambedkar’s call to educate, agitate, and organise, ‘educate’ is the first step.
Teltumbde’s incisive and critical reading of Ambedkar is a far better tribute to Ambedkar than the empty platitudes of demagogues. It is the perfect introductory text to Ambedkar. Teltumbde does not idolise, and therein lies the strength of the book.
Book Details: Iconoclast: A Reflective Biography of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar (Penguin Random House India: Gurugram, 2024), 676 pp. Rs1499, ISBN 978-0-670-09388-5 (Hardcover).
~~~
Abhishek Kumar Singh is a PhD candidate at the Centre for International Politics, Organisation and Disarmament, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University.
