A great news for our Dalit Voice family members about the Himalayan heights reached by the Father of India, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar. During our 17-day stay in London (from April 20 to May 5), we visited the world-famous British Museum (built in 1753) and were overjoyed to see his portrait and 13 volumes of his Writings & Speeches at the very entrance to the library.
British Museum is an important landmark of London. Karl Marx wrote all his volumes sitting in its library. Babasaheb during his study in London used to be the first to get into the library and the last to get out. Many a time he was reminded twice or thrice by the librarian. Such was his appetite for books.
We went through the printed list of “Notable Holders of Readers Tickets” displayed at the entrance but found not a single Indian name except that of M.A. Jinnah. Babasaheb’s name was not there because the books in the British Museum were shifted to the nearby British Library before Babasaheb arrived in London. Karl Marx was a member of the library for 30 years. The British Museum has hardly any books now.
British Museum 1is the world’s most famous Museum. The library section of the Museum was opened in 1857.
Babasaheb’s portrait and books are kept on the right-hand side as we enter the circular library. They are kept along with the works of such luminaries as Karl Marx, Lenin, Bernard Shaw and other greatest intellectual giants of the world. We asked for M.K. Gandhi’s books and the librarian said they had none. Gandhi wrote no book except his own autobiography.
Dr. Ambedkar, his intellectual and political achievements are well known to all the intellectuals we met at Cambridge and Oxford Universities, London School of Economics and other places. India has not produced an intellectual giant of his stature after “independence”.
