Dr. Ambedkar's Personal History 

The Early Years

1891: Dr. Ambedkar was born in Mhow in central India, the 14th child in an "untouchable" family. He was not born in a ghetto; since his family were MAHARS they had been recruited as soldiers for the British East India Company. This liberated them from the ghetto: they were provided with proper food and clothing, paid wages, and could even learn to read and write.

1907: Ambedkar graduated from high school, and received a biography of the Buddha as a graduation gift, written by the social reformer K.A. Keluskar. 

Receiving a scholarship from a liberal-minded Maharaja of the state of Baroda, he graduated from Bombay University in Politics and Economics.

1913-1917, 1920-1923 Abroad: Received a PhD from Columbia University in New York, where he studied under the social reformer John Dewey, passed the Bar at The London School of Economics, and completed further studies at The University of Bonn in Germany.

From 1923: In spite of his monumental achievements and his successful entry into professional life in India in the following years as a government worker, newspaper editor, college professor, law school dean, and elected offical, he was STILL treated as an Untouchable and faced new incidents of caste abuse: sudden eviction from housing, beatings, and death threats. 

This convinced him that only a social revolution with broad support of the masses would end the prejudice and violence.

SOURCES: “Ambedkar and Buddhism” by Sangharakshita, Windhorse Publications 1986; Christopher Queen’s article “The Great Conversion: Dr. Ambedkar and the Buddhist Revival in India” page  63Tricycle Magazine, Spring 1993