While studying at Columbia University, young Babasaheb wrote a letter back to Jamedar, in which, he is beseeched him to encourage education in the community. He stresses the importance of education to the girls. He is very bullish on this issue.

Babasaheb Ambedkar saw that the exploitation in the caste system and the subjugation of women in Hinduism is the same thing when he discovered that endogamy keeps the caste system alive. He also attributed the Sati (the burning of widows on the funeral pyre of their deceased husbands) to the practice of caste system.

His life from the early on was dedicated to bringing women in the movement of social transformation and social justice. He saw clearly that a true liberation is not possible without the liberation of all. The total liberation of humanity is not possible without the liberation of half of the humanity. It will be a farce or the contradiction in terms if we talk about liberation without it.

Babasaheb’s own attitude to women in his life is an example to emulate and celebrate. His efforts to encourage Ramai to study is remarkable. His love for Ramai and his gratitude to Ramai is exemplary. Ramai came from the fighting clan of Subedars and she was exposed to the liberation movement very early on. In her family, her relatives were exposed to English education and relative freedom due to the Military background.

She was the fighter who stood up with Babasaheb, and in fact, she was herself organising women around her for the bigger fight. When Ramai died untimely, Babasaheb Ambedkar was sad beyond words. He saw so many deaths in his life, the death of his children, father, and his brother, but the death of Ramai left him bereaved. He cried and cried when Ramai died. He contemplated renunciation after Ramai’s death, such was his love and their relationship.

Ramai hadn’t had a chance to get much education. That was the time when the accessibility to education was impossible not only for men but also for women in the community. Ramai dedicated herself to look after the students of the hostel and took care of them as she was their own mother. When we reflect on Babasaheb’s movement, it is very important to reflect upon this aspect. From the early days of the agitation, women were an integral part of it, and Ramai was the constant presence in those days.

During the Mahad Satyagraha, Babasaheb addressed a special session of women. And when it came to 1942, All India Scheduled Caste Women’s federation was a reality. If one goes through the proceedings of it, one can understand the way women led the federation, the way they organised, the way they deliberated, and the way they fought. Meena Amma from Chennai was the legendary person and so was Sulochana Dongre. So many stars in the constellation of Ambedkarite movement!! What Babasaheb built was remarkable.

Babasaheb dedicated “What Congress and Gandhi have done to the Untouchables” to his good friend “Miss F”. Unfortunately, we do not know much about their friendship, but reflecting on the dedication that Babasaheb wrote, it is full of humanity, full of friendship, and full of trust. It is the possibility of the comredarie between two human beings irrespective of their gender. It is the expression of friendship and trust that is an ideal to be pursued by all of us.

Today, we have many women in the movement who are strong, dedicated, educated, and above all have the ability to lead the entire movement. Mayawati’s rise in Indian politics is the evidence of the efforts that Babasaheb Ambedkar took to bring women where they really belong, and that is at the forefront of the movement. His intellectual efforts to fight for the women’s position in Indian society when he wrote “Rise and Fall of Hindu Women”, his legal efforts to bring the women at the equal level through Hindu code Bill, and his mobilisation of women as the leading force in the movement needs to be taken at the highest level.

It is time to really work for hand in hand as human beings, as brothers and sisters in the same struggle, and as friends and partners to realise true humanity and realise the great community that Babasaheb Ambedkar not only preached but also practiced.

Author – Mangesh Dahiwale

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