London, Baroda and London Again

In June 1916 Dr. Ambedkar arrived in London from New York. He wanted to add two more qualifications to his Columbia studies: a higher degree in economics and the right to work as a barrister (a lawyer who argues cases in court). It took him seven years, a war, a shipwreck, a painful humiliation in Baroda and a lot of hunger to finish Pritchett timeline.

Arriving in London (1916)

When his ship arrived, the police suspected the young Indian of being a revolutionary. They searched his clothes and even the insides of his shoes before letting him go. He carried letters of introduction from his Columbia teachers to the London economists Edwin Cannan and Sidney Webb Pritchett timeline, citing Khairmode.

His first London address was 21 Cromwell Road, a house the India Office rented for Indian students LSE Library exhibition LSE 1916 admission form, PDF p. 63.

Two schools at once: LSE and Gray’s Inn

In October 1916 he registered at the London School of Economics (LSE), part of the University of London, to work for an MSc (Econ), a master’s degree in economics. The fee was £10 10s LSE student file, PDF pp. 12 and 63. He attended lectures in geography, political ideas, social evolution and social theory. The register shows he did not attend every class, and he soon switched to research LSE attendance register, PDF p. 62 LSE History blog (2023).

At the same time he joined Gray’s Inn to study law. In England, every future barrister had to belong to one of four “Inns of Court”. Gray’s Inn still keeps his entry in its Index of Admission, dated November 1916 Supreme Court of India.

Called home, and a ship that sank (1917)

Then the money ran out. His Baroda scholarship ended, and under its terms he had to go back and serve Baroda State LSE Library exhibition. A University of London resolution dated 18 July 1917 allowed him to interrupt his course for up to four years Senate resolutions quoted in LSE letter of 6 March 1951, PDF p. 32.

The First World War was still raging. He sent his precious books and papers on one ship and sailed on another. The ship carrying them, the SS Salsette, was torpedoed by the German submarine UB-40 on 20 July 1917 and sank, killing 15 crew PTI report on Aakash Singh Rathore’s research, via The Week. Among the losses was the manuscript of his Columbia thesis Ambedkar to Seligman, 16 Feb. 1922. According to Keer’s biography, he used the damages paid by the travel company Thomas Cook for the lost luggage to pay his fare to Baroda Pritchett timeline, citing Keer. He reached Bombay on 21 August 1917 The Beacon The Week (PTI).

Eleven days in Baroda

Dr. Ambedkar went straight to Baroda to begin the service he had promised. He later described what happened in a memoir called Waiting for a Visa. Stepping out of the station, he asked himself:

“Where to go? Who will take me?”

— Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, Waiting for a Visa BAWS Vol. 12, p. 673 (PDF p. 694)

Hindu hotels would not take an “untouchable”. So he went to a Parsi inn, hoping that Parsis, followers of the Zoroastrian religion, would not practise untouchability. The caretaker refused to let a Hindu stay. Dr. Ambedkar agreed to sign the register under a Parsi name and pay a rupee and a half a day BAWS Vol. 12, pp. 673–74 Pritchett edition. He worked as a probationer (a trainee) in the state’s Accountant General’s office BAWS Vol. 12, p. 675.

On the eleventh day, about a dozen angry Parsi men, each carrying a stick, came to his room. They called him a scoundrel and ordered him out by evening. His Hindu and Christian friends would not take him in. He sat in the Kamathi Baug public garden for five hours, then collected his luggage and left for Bombay on the night train BAWS Vol. 12, pp. 676–78. He wrote that he was “driven to leave Baroda and return to Bombay after a stay of only eleven days” BAWS Vol. 12, p. 678 (PDF p. 699). Eighteen years later, he wrote that he still could not recall the scene without tears BAWS Vol. 12, p. 678.

Teacher in Bombay (1918–1920)

Back in Bombay he tutored students and tried a business advising investors. According to Keer, it failed when clients found out his caste Pritchett timeline, citing Keer. In November 1918 he became Professor of Political Economy at Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics in Bombay LSE student file, PDF p. 36 Sydenham College history. Keer reports that some colleagues objected to him drinking from their water jug Pritchett timeline.

On 27 January 1919 he gave evidence to the Southborough Committee, which was deciding who could vote under new British reforms. He argued that the “untouchable” communities must have their own representatives in the legislature BAWS Vol. 1, p. 253 (PDF p. 268) Pritchett timeline. (A later chapter covers this in detail.)

Help from Shahu Maharaj and friends

In 1920 he started a Marathi newspaper, Mooknayak (“Leader of the Voiceless”), with help from Shahu Maharaj, the reform-minded ruler of Kolhapur. In March 1920 the Maharaja publicly praised him at a conference in Mangaon as a future leader Pritchett timeline, 1920s.

Dr. Ambedkar had saved from his salary. He added loans from his Columbia friend Naval Bhathena and from the Maharaja of Kolhapur, and in July 1920 he left again for London Pritchett timeline, citing Keer LSE Library exhibition. One account gives Bhathena’s loan as Rs. 5,000 ThePrint. Another says Shahu Maharaj gave Rs. 1,500 The Beacon.

Back in London (1920)

Seligman wrote him a warm letter of introduction to Professor Herbert Foxwell at LSE. He called Dr. Ambedkar “not only a very able, but an exceedingly pleasant fellow” Seligman to Foxwell, 23 Sept. 1920, PDF p. 56. Foxwell replied to LSE that there were “no more worlds here for him to conquer” Foxwell to Mrs Mair, 9 Nov. 1920, PDF p. 55.

He signed his new LSE form on 30 September 1920, giving his address as 95 Brook Green, Hammersmith LSE admission form, PDF p. 61. By February 1921 he had moved to 10 King Henry’s Road, near Chalk Farm and Primrose Hill. He was still writing letters from there in February 1922 Bonn application, 25 Feb. 1921 Ambedkar’s letter to LSE, 7 April 1921, PDF p. 50 Ambedkar to Seligman, 16 Feb. 1922.

Money was very tight. He lived frugally, ate little and studied constantly in the British Museum’s reading room Pritchett timeline, citing Keer.

The MSc (1921)

In June 1921 the University of London awarded him the MSc (Econ). His thesis was “Provincial Decentralisation of Imperial Finance in British India” LSE registration card, PDF p. 59 LSE letter of 21 Dec. 1950, PDF p. 41. Earlier that spring he had nearly missed the exam-entry deadline. LSE’s Secretary had to ask the university to accept his form late LSE letter of 1 April 1921, PDF p. 52 LSE History blog (2016).

A detour to Bonn

On 25 February 1921 he wrote, in German, to the Prussian education ministry in Berlin. He asked to study economics at the University of Bonn. He said the Sanskrit scholar Hermann Jacobi had helped arrange that he could earn a doctorate there Bellwinkel-Schempp, with facsimile. The German scholar Maren Bellwinkel-Schempp checked Bonn’s university archive in 2003. She found he was entered in the university register on 29 April 1921. Because he never attended any lectures, he was removed on 12 January 1922 Bellwinkel-Schempp.

Becoming a barrister

While working on economics, he kept up his law studies at Gray’s Inn. According to Gray’s Inn records cited by the Supreme Court of India, he was called to the Bar in 1922. This means he qualified as a barrister-at-law Supreme Court of India Supreme Court of India – certificate page. Back in India in 1923, he applied to practise as an advocate at the Bombay High Court Supreme Court of India.

The DSc: The Problem of the Rupee (1923)

A DSc (Doctor of Science) is a research doctorate. The University of London had offered it since the 1860s, long before it introduced the PhD in 1919 LSE History blog (2023). In October 1922 he submitted a thesis called “The Problem of the Rupee”, about India’s money system. It was examined in March 1923 and “not recommended”, but he was allowed to revise it. He resubmitted it in August 1923, and the DSc was conferred in November 1923 LSE letter of 21 Dec. 1950, PDF p. 41. LSE says he is believed to be the first Indian to receive a doctorate from the School LSE Library exhibition.

Why was it first turned down? LSE says its file does not record the reasons LSE Library exhibition. In 1979 LSE wrote that the examiners’ views had been confidential to the university LSE letter of 23 April 1979, PDF p. 12.

The thesis was published in London in 1923. He dedicated it to his father and mother “as a token of my abiding gratitude for the sacrifices they made and the enlightenment they showed in the matter of my education” BAWS Vol. 6, PDF p. 333. In the preface he thanked his supervisor, Edwin Cannan, whose “severe examination of my theoretic discussions has saved me from many an error” BAWS Vol. 6, p. 330 (PDF p. 345). In 1932 Cannan wrote that Dr. Ambedkar was “by far the ablest Indian we ever had in my time” Cannan to Beveridge, 13 Dec. 1932, PDF p. 30.

The house today

10 King Henry’s Road has carried a plaque since 6 December 1991. It reads that he “lived here 1921-22”. On 24 September 2015 the house was bought on behalf of the Government of Maharashtra to become a memorial Camden planning document. Camden Council refused permission to use the home as a museum. LSE reports that the council’s decision was later overruled on appeal Camden New Journal (2019) LSE Library exhibition. It is now a museum known as Ambedkar House LSE History blog review.

Where sources disagree

• Call to the Bar: 1922 or 1923? Gray’s Inn records, as cited by the Supreme Court of India, say 1922 Supreme Court of India. A 1951 career note in his LSE file and The Times obituary of 7 December 1956 both say 1923 LSE file, PDF pp. 22 and 36. The exact day of 28 June 1922, shown on Wikimedia Commons, could not be checked against Gray’s Inn records Wikimedia Commons.
• DSc or PhD? LSE’s own record card says D.Sc. (Econ) LSE file, PDF p. 59. Some writers, including Pritchett’s timeline and an LSE blog post, call it a PhD Pritchett timeline LSE History blog (2016).
• The MSc date. LSE’s record card and its 1950 letter say June 1921 LSE file, PDF p. 59. An LSE letter of May 1922 wrongly says July 1921 and dates his studies from October 1919 LSE file, PDF p. 38. Pritchett’s timeline places the MSc in 1922 Pritchett timeline.
• Bonn. Bonn’s archive shows he registered in 1921 but never studied there. Keer describes a three-month stay in 1923, and The Beacon says he was in Bonn in March 1923 Bellwinkel-Schempp The Beacon.
• His Baroda job and how long he stayed. In his own memoir he says he was a probationer in the Accountant General’s office and left after eleven days BAWS Vol. 12. Keer calls him Military Secretary to the Maharaja Pritchett timeline. The Beacon has him join on 31 August 1917 and leave in November 1917 The Beacon. His 1921 German CV says he worked in Baroda’s finance department from September 1917 to March 1918 Bellwinkel-Schempp facsimile. The memoir’s own dates are muddled: it says he returned in 1916 and left London in 1918 Pritchett edition, with editor’s note.
• Where the ship sank. Rathore says the English Channel. Scott Stroud says the Mediterranean The Week Scroll. The Thomas Cook payment comes only from Keer.
• Sydenham College dates. The Beacon gives 11 November 1918 to 11 March 1920 The Beacon. His 1921 CV says 1918 to March 1920 Bellwinkel-Schempp facsimile. The 1951 note says November 1918 to November 1920, which cannot be right because he was in London by August 1920 LSE file, PDF p. 36.
• Years at King Henry’s Road. The plaque says 1921–22 Camden planning document. A review of the book Ambedkar in London gives 1920–22 LSE History blog review.
• When he went home. The Beacon says April 1923, which fits his June 1923 application to the Bombay High Court. Pritchett’s timeline places his return in 1924 The Beacon Pritchett timeline.
• A misquoted reference. LSE’s online exhibition gives the “exceedingly pleasant fellow” line to Foxwell LSE Library exhibition. The letter in the student file shows Seligman wrote it LSE file, PDF p. 56.

Read more

• LSE Library: “Educate, Agitate, Organise” — LSE’s online exhibition on his student years.
• His complete LSE student file (PDF) — 63 pages of original forms and letters, 1916–1994.
• Waiting for a Visa, edited by Frances Pritchett — his own account of the Baroda humiliation.
• Supreme Court of India: centenary of his enrolment as an advocate — his legal training and Gray’s Inn records.
• BAWS Vol. 6 – The Problem of the Rupee — the full text of his DSc thesis.
• Maren Bellwinkel-Schempp on Ambedkar and Bonn (PDF) — what Bonn’s archive holds, with his German letter.
• LSE History blog: “No More Worlds Here for Him to Conquer” — LSE’s archivist on his time at the School.