Babasaheb Dr B.R Ambedkar

PREFACE
‘A good book’ says Milton, “is a precious life-blood of a master
spirit embalmed and treasured up on purpose to a life beyond life.”
Publication of unpublished writings of Dr. B. R, Ambedkar is
a humble tribute of the State Government to the constitutionalist
and jurist who has been hailed as Dr. Johnson of India by critics
and observers overseas.
The unpublished writings of Dr. Ambedkar brought together
in this volume constitute significant material and wealth of data
for social research and investigation of those phenomena of social
life which were produced by the contact of Indian people with the
Western civilization, its heritage of liberal values, its critical spirit
of enquiry, its genius for scientific analysis and quest for progress.
Dr. Ambedkar combined in his personality all that is best
in the critical western tradition and deep understanding of the
philosophy of the East. He was a constructive critic of the Hindu
society committed to its reformation and shared the philosophy
of social reforms with such kindred spirits as Justice Ranade,
Mahatma Phule and Gokhale. In a sense, therefore, Ambedkar
was a representative of the spirit of rennaisance in Maharashtra.
Untouchability has been the scourge of Hindu society and
its existence militated against the basic humanistic philosophy
of tolerance which typified and marked the Ancient India. The
reform of Hindu Law in the Hindu Succession Act of 1956 was a
great triumph of legislation over custom. India had always been
the laboratory of legislative experiments for the British rulers.