Inspirations and Influences

Nobody becomes who they are alone. Dr. Ambedkar was shaped by thinkers from India’s past, by a great teacher in New York, and by a few generous people who helped a poor student when it mattered most. He was also careful to say who his heroes were. In turn, he became an inspiration for millions.

“A devotee of Gautam Buddha, Kabir and Mahatma Phule”

On 28 October 1954, about 25,000 people gathered at Purandare’s Stadium in Naigaum, Bombay. They had come to honour him for completing sixty years. A police report of his reply survives. It records that he said “he was a devotee of Guatam Buddha, Kabir and Mahatma Phule and worshipper of learning, self-respect and character” BAWS Vol. 17 Part III, pp. 504–505.

This is a police officer’s summary, not his exact words. Marathi accounts of the same speech, translated by The Mooknayak, say he called the Buddha his first and greatest guru, Kabir his second and Phule his third The Mooknayak. The scholar Eleanor Zelliot also records that he named these three as his gurus Zelliot, From Untouchable to Dalit, p. 225.

The Buddha

He first met the Buddha in a book. When he passed an important school exam, the writer Dada Keluskar gave him “a copy of his book on the life of the Buddha” unpublished preface to The Buddha and His Dhamma. In 1954 he said that this book made a great impression on him, and that he had followed the Buddha ever since BAWS Vol. 17 Part III, p. 505.

He named his house Rajgriha and his first college Siddharth, after places and names linked to the Buddha Zelliot, p. 137. In a radio talk in 1954 he explained that his ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity came from the Buddha:

“My philosophy has roots in religion and not in political science. I have derived them from the teachings of my Master, the Buddha.”

— Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, “My Philosophy of Life”, All India Radio, 3 October 1954 BAWS Vol. 17 Part III, p. 503

Two years later, on 14 October 1956, he became a Buddhist at Nagpur (see the chapter on Buddhism).

Kabir

Kabir was a poet-saint of the fifteenth century who mocked caste and empty ritual Zelliot, p. 225. Bhimrao grew up with Kabir. Both his father’s and his mother’s families followed the Kabir tradition, whose followers set aside caste rules Keer, Dr. Ambedkar: Life and Mission, pp. 7–10. The Marathi account of his 1954 speech says he linked his love of Kabir to his father being a Kabirpanthi The Mooknayak.

Kabir stayed with him to the end. On his last night, 5 December 1956, he walked to his bedroom singing a song of Kabir Keer, p. 513.

Jotirao Phule

Jotirao (Jotiba) Phule (1827–1890) was a social reformer from Pune. He founded the Satyashodhak Samaj (“Truth-Seekers’ Society”) in 1873 and was the first Hindu to run schools for “untouchable” children Zelliot, p. 122. He died a few months before Bhimrao was born.

Dr. Ambedkar dedicated his 1946 book Who Were the Shudras? to him:

“Inscribed to the Memory of Mahatma Jotiba Fule (1827—1890) The Greatest Shudra of Modern India who made the lower classes of Hindus conscious of their slavery to the higher classes and who preached the gospel that for India social democracy was more vital than independence from foreign rule.”

— Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, dedication of Who Were the Shudras? (1946) BAWS Vol. 7, dedication page

Learning, self-respect and character

The same 1954 report says he worshipped three things: learning, self-respect and character BAWS Vol. 17 Part III, p. 505. Followers often call these his three “deities”. He told the crowd that learning was essential for anyone who wanted to progress in life BAWS Vol. 17 Part III, p. 505.

These ideals run through his whole life. In 1924 he founded the Bahishkrit Hitakarini Sabha, a society to help the “excluded” communities, with the motto “Educate, Agitate, Organise” Pritchett timeline, 1920s. Education came first. Self-respect meant refusing to accept insult, even in religion: he would not let Ramabai stand far from the temple at Pandharpur as an “untouchable” Keer, p. 248. Character, for him, was what made learning useful to others.

Other people he honoured

His book dedications show whom he admired:

• His parents. The Problem of the Rupee (1923) honours their “sacrifices” for his education BAWS Vol. 6.
• Three saints. The Untouchables (1948) honours Nandnar, Ravidas and Chokhamela, “three renowned saints who were born among the Untouchables” BAWS Vol. 7, p. 235.
• His first wife, Ramabai. See the chapter on his family.

John Dewey and Columbia

At Columbia University in New York (1913–1916), he studied with the philosopher John Dewey. Dewey taught that people can improve their society step by step, keeping what is useful and dropping what is harmful Zelliot, p. 83. Dr. Ambedkar quoted him in Annihilation of Caste (1936) as “Prof. John Dewey, who was my teacher and to whom I owe so much” BAWS Vol. 1, p. 79.

In 1930 he wrote that his best friends had been Columbia classmates and “my great professors, John Dewey, James Shotwell, Edwin Seligman and James Harvey Robinson” Zelliot, p. 84. Savita Ambedkar remembered him happily imitating Dewey’s classroom habits thirty years later Zelliot, p. 84. On 5 June 1952 Columbia gave him an honorary Doctor of Laws and called him “a great social reformer and a valiant upholder of human rights” Keer, p. 443 Pritchett timeline.

Three patrons

K. A. “Dada” Keluskar, a teacher and Marathi writer, met the boy reading in a public garden. He lent him books and introduced him to the Maharaja of Baroda Keer, pp. 20–21. Years later, Dr. Ambedkar asked the Baroda government to give the old man a pension Keer, p. 240.

Sayajirao Gaekwad III, Maharaja of Baroda, gave him 25 rupees a month at college Keer, p. 21, and in 1913 a scholarship of £11.50 a month for three years at Columbia Pritchett timeline, 1910s. Dr. Ambedkar dedicated The Evolution of Provincial Finance in British India to him “as a token of my gratitude for his help in the matter of my education” BAWS Vol. 6.

Shahu Maharaj of Kolhapur fought caste barriers in his own state. He helped Dr. Ambedkar start the paper Mook Nayak (“Leader of the Voiceless”) on 31 January 1920 Keer, p. 41. At a conference at Mangaon in March 1920, Keer reports, Shahu told the crowd: “You have found your saviour in Ambedkar” Keer, p. 43. He also lent money for Dr. Ambedkar’s return to London that year Pritchett timeline, 1920s.

The people and movements he inspired

• Volunteers and organisers. Young men such as Babu Hardas L. N. of Kamptee near Nagpur organised meetings and volunteers for him. The official volumes call Hardas an “admirer and devoted follower” BAWS Vol. 17 Part III, p. 15. Hardas is credited with the greeting “Jai Bhim” (see the chapter on symbols). He died in 1939, and the Samata Sainik Dal still holds a yearly fair in his memory at Kamptee The Wire, 2026.
• A political party. In September 1956 he decided to replace his Scheduled Castes Federation with a new Republican Party BAWS Vol. 17 Part II, p. 152. His followers formally organised it in October 1957 Zelliot, p. 115.
• A Buddhist society. In 1955 he registered the Buddhist Society of India, which his family and followers carried on after him Indian Express, 2013.
• A religious movement. By the 1961 census, India counted 3,250,227 Buddhists, up from 180,823 in 1951. Most were new Buddhists who followed him Zelliot, p. 187.
• New voices. In 1972 young educated Buddhists formed the Dalit Panthers, and a powerful new “Dalit literature” grew in Marathi Zelliot, p. 180. Kanshi Ram later founded the Bahujan Samaj Party Zelliot, p. xi.
• Popular art. Calendars and posters still place him beside the Buddha, Phule, Shahu and Kabir Columbia University Libraries.

Where sources disagree

• The words of the 1954 speech. The only English record is a police summary BAWS Vol. 17 Part III, p. 505. Fuller wording, such as “my first guru”, comes from Marathi accounts and later translations The Mooknayak. Round Table India dates the “devotee” line to his “Diamond Jubilee celebrations” without a date Round Table India. BAWS shows these were the same event.
• “Three deities”. We did not find the word “deities” in an English primary source. The police report says “worshipper of” BAWS Vol. 17 Part III, p. 505.
• When Keluskar gave the Buddha book. Pritchett says 1907, after matriculation; Zelliot says 1908 Pritchett Zelliot, p. 137. Dr. Ambedkar himself linked it to an earlier exam, the “English Fourth Standard” unpublished preface.
• The Baroda money. Keer gives 25 rupees a month for college. Pritchett gives £11.50 a month for Columbia. These were two separate grants, not a conflict.
• Republican Party founding date. BAWS records the September 1956 decision BAWS Vol. 17 Part II, p. 152; Zelliot gives October 1957 for the formal start Zelliot, p. 115.

Read more

• My Philosophy of Life (BAWS Vol. 17 Part III, p. 503) — his short 1954 radio talk.
• Eleanor Zelliot, From Untouchable to Dalit (Internet Archive) — essays on his American experience, his gurus and his movement.
• Unpublished preface to The Buddha and His Dhamma — his own account of Keluskar’s gift.
• Columbia University Libraries: calendar art — how popular images group him with his inspirations.
• Dhananjay Keer, Dr. Ambedkar: Life and Mission — details of Keluskar, Sayajirao and Shahu.