Film hit for India's caste champion

Baba Saheb Ambedkar: Championing the lower castes

By Sanjeev Srivastava in Bombay

A new film about one of India's most remarkable leaders is drawing big crowds in cinemas across the country.

Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar wrote the Indian constitution and was the country's first law minister.

Ambedkar challenged India's independence leaders

But most importantly, he gave a voice to tens of millions of lower caste Hindus treated as untouchables by the upper castes.

A scene from the film shows how even after studying in the US and the UK and getting an officer's job, Ambedkar could still not rent a hotel room for himself because he was a low-caste Hindu.

Some historians believe that it was because of humiliating experiences like these that Ambedkar fought for the civil rights of untouchables and low-caste Hindus with such passion.

Caste reservation

Reservation in government jobs was amongst the many concessions Ambedkar secured for his community.

He is still worshipped by lower castes

It is an issue which is the subject of much debate in the country - even 45 years after his death.

Jabbar Patel, who directed the film on Ambedkar, says he has a unique place in history for Indians.

"I think they will try to understand his life, what sufferings he had and actually what he did with Britishers and our Indian leaders at the time," he says.

The film shows that when the Indian National Congress was fighting for the country's independence, Ambedkar was leading a crusade to free his community from centuries of slavery at the hands of upper castes.

The film also depicts him as a shrewd politician and a tough bargainer.

He agreed to withdraw his demand for a separate electorate for low-caste Hindus only after the Congress party agreed on the issue of job reservations and declared its support for treating untouchability as a criminal offence.

Mixed feelings

In a caste-dominated society like India, Ambedkar the man evokes a mixed response.

I think Ambedkar managed to prove in political terms that the very factors that break India are the ones which also unite India

Political analyst Pritish Nandy

For members of his community, he is no less than a God and there are Ambedkar temples in many low-caste colonies all over the country.

The upper castes, however, are not as charitable towards him with many of them regarding his politics as divisive.

But political analyst Pritish Nandy thinks caste politics is actually a binding force in a country as diverse as India.

"I think Ambedkar managed to prove in political terms that the very factors that break India are the ones which also unite India," he says.

Caste prejudice and discrimination still exist in Indian society even half a century after Ambedkar's death.

A film of his life may not dramatically change the equation on the ground, but it does give his opponents a chance to view the Indian social order from Ambedkar's point of view.