Dr. Ambedkar’s works – a catalogue

This catalogue brings together everything Dr. B. R. Ambedkar is known to have written or said in a recorded form: theses, books, pamphlets, papers, memoranda to commissions, speeches, articles, newspapers, letters and unpublished manuscripts. For each item it says where you can read it online, and – if there is no online copy – who holds the physical original. The same data is in machine-readable form in src/data/works.json, src/data/speeches.json and src/data/baws-volumes.json.

How to use this catalogue

Most of his writings are collected in Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar: Writings and Speeches (BAWS). The Government of Maharashtra began publishing this series in 1979, after setting up an advisory committee in 1976 ¹. The Dr. Ambedkar Foundation (Government of India) reprinted the English series in 2014, 2019 and 2020 ².

• English series: 17 volumes in 20 books (Vols. 14 and 17 are in parts). The Ministry of External Affairs hosts them all as free PDFs ³.
• Marathi volumes 18–22: his Marathi speeches (Vol. 18, three parts, 2002), his journalism (Vols. 19 and 20, 2005), correspondence (Vol. 21) and a photo-biography (Vol. 22) ^{4 5}.
• Hindi series: Babasaheb Dr. Ambedkar Sampoorna Vangmay, 40 volumes, translated and published by the Dr. Ambedkar Foundation; Vols. 22–40 were first published in 2019 ^{6 7}.

Important note on links. Every page link in this catalogue points to the official MEA PDF, in the form https://www.mea.gov.in/images/CPV/VolumeN.pdf#page=P, where P is the page number in the PDF file (not the number printed on the page). The address must use lowercase images; the older form with Images and the /Images/attach/amb/ files now lead to an error page. The page ranges written in the text (e.g. “pp. 3–22”) are the printed page numbers of the book.

Status words used below:

• Published in his lifetime – he published it himself before 6 December 1956.
• Posthumous – first printed after his death, usually in BAWS.
• Unfinished – he left it incomplete.
• Unpublished – exists, but has never been printed.
• Lost – known to have existed but no longer survives.

Where his unpublished papers came from

Many items below were never published by Ambedkar. After his death in 1956, his papers, including unpublished writings, were taken into custody by the custodian of the High Court of Delhi and later passed to the Administrator General of the Government of Maharashtra. A Nagpur advocate, J. B. Bansod, went to court asking that the writings be published. In the end his widow Savita Ambedkar, his grandson Prakash Ambedkar and his family, and Bansod agreed, and on 18 September 1981 Vasant Moon took possession of five iron trunks of papers for the Government of Maharashtra. The editors counted 51 titles of unpublished writings among them, and received 14 more unpublished essays from S. S. Rege, former librarian of Siddharth College, Bombay ⁸. More on this in physical-archives.md.

Theses and academic papers

His university work at Columbia (New York) and the London School of Economics, and his first published research.

• Administration and Finance of the East India Company (1915) – This was Ambedkar’s M.A. thesis at Columbia University in New York. It explains how the British East India Company was run and how it raised and spent money while it ruled parts of India. It stayed unpublished until the Government of Maharashtra printed it in BAWS Vol. 6 (1989). Dates: Submitted 15 May 1915 for the M.A. degree, Columbia University. ^{9 10} Physical copy: Columbia University (New York) (New York, USA) – see physical-archives.md.
• Castes in India: Their Mechanism, Genesis and Development (1916) – A student paper that asks how caste began and how it keeps itself going. Ambedkar argues that caste is kept alive mainly by forbidding marriage outside the group (endogamy), and by customs such as child marriage and enforced widowhood that serve that purpose. Dates: Read on 9 May 1916 at Prof. A. A. Goldenweiser’s anthropology seminar, Columbia University; printed in Indian Antiquary, May 1917 (Vol. XLI, as given in BAWS). ^{11 12 13 10}
• The National Dividend of India: A Historic and Analytical Study (1916) – This was the doctoral research Ambedkar did at Columbia University. He later reworked it into the book “The Evolution of Provincial Finance in British India” (1925), and Columbia then awarded him the Ph.D. Dates: Offered at Columbia in 1916 (Keer, via Pritchett). Revised and published in London in 1925 as “The Evolution of Provincial Finance in British India”; Columbia formally awarded the Ph.D. on 8 June 1927 according to his transcript (Pritchett). Other sources give other dates. ^{14 15 10 16} Physical copy: Columbia University, Office of the Registrar / University Archives (New York, USA) – see physical-archives.md.
• Small Holdings in India and Their Remedies (1918) – An economics paper about Indian farms that were split into tiny plots. Ambedkar argues that making farms bigger is not enough; the real cure is industrialisation, which would take surplus workers off the land. Dates: Journal of the Indian Economic Society, Vol. I, 1918. ^{17 10}
• Provincial Decentralization of Imperial Finance in British India (M.Sc. thesis) (1921) – Ambedkar’s master’s thesis at the London School of Economics, about how the British government in India handed some money powers to the provinces. Its subject is close to his 1925 book on provincial finance, but the thesis itself has not been printed as a separate text. Dates: M.Sc. (Economics), London School of Economics. LSE’s archivist says that on returning in 1920 he applied to complete his master’s with a thesis titled “The Provincial Decentralisation of Imperial Finance in India”. Pritchett’s timeline dates the M.Sc. thesis to 1922; other sources say 1921. ^{18 16} Physical copy: LSE Library Archives / University of London (London, UK) – see physical-archives.md.
• The Problem of the Rupee: Its Origin and Its Solution (1923) – A history of Indian money from the silver standard to the “gold exchange standard”. Ambedkar criticises the gold exchange standard, under which the government could issue rupees at its discretion, and argues for a return to a gold standard with a fixed limit on the issue of rupees so that prices stay stable. Dates: Doctoral thesis, University of London (LSE): submitted March 1923, resubmitted August 1923, accepted November 1923 (LSE archivist); published by P. S. King & Son, London, 1923. Reissued in 1947 as “History of Indian Currency and Banking, Vol. 1”. ^{19 20 21 18 16 22 23 24}

Books and pamphlets

Books and booklets, most of them published by Ambedkar himself in his lifetime. “The Buddha and His Dhamma” came out in 1957, a year after his death.

• The Evolution of Provincial Finance in British India: A Study in the Provincial Decentralization of Imperial Finance (1925) – This book traces how the provinces of British India came to have their own finances: from the old centralised “Imperial System”, through budgets by assignments and by shared revenues, to the changes made by the Government of India Act, 1919, which Ambedkar criticises. Dates: P. S. King & Son, London, 1925, with a foreword by Prof. Edwin R. A. Seligman of Columbia. Based on his Columbia doctoral research (see “The National Dividend of India”). Pritchett’s 1920s page also calls it his “London School of Economics M.A. thesis” — the sources are not consistent. ^{14 15 25 16}
• Annihilation of Caste (1936) – Ambedkar was invited to give a speech against caste in Lahore, but the organisers backed out when they read his text. He printed it himself. In it he argues that caste cannot be ended by small reforms, because it rests on religious beliefs in the Hindu scriptures, and that real change needs liberty, equality and fraternity. Dates: Written as the presidential address for the 1936 annual conference of the Jat-Pat-Todak Mandal, Lahore, which was never delivered; Ambedkar published it himself in 1936. Second edition 1937 (with Gandhi’s articles and Ambedkar’s reply); third edition 1944. BAWS reprints the 1944 text. ^{26 27 28 29 10}
• Federation versus Freedom (1939) – A lecture examining the federal scheme in the Government of India Act, 1935. Ambedkar argues that the plan, which joined British provinces with princely states, would not bring India real freedom or responsible government. Dates: Kale Memorial Lecture, Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, Poona, 29 January 1939; published as “Tracts for the Times No. 3”. ^{30 31 32}
• Pakistan or the Partition of India (1940) – Written after the Muslim League’s 1940 Lahore resolution, this book sets out the Muslim case for Pakistan and the Hindu case against it, and asks what the alternatives are. Ambedkar concludes that if Muslims really wanted it, partition might be better than a forced and unhappy union, and discusses the exchange of populations, citing the example of Turkey, Greece and Bulgaria. Dates: First published December 1940 as “Thoughts on Pakistan”; second edition February 1945 and third edition 1946 under the title “Pakistan or the Partition of India” (Thacker & Co., Bombay). BAWS reprints the 1946 edition. ^{33 34 35 36 37 38 39}
• Labour and Parliamentary Democracy (1943) – A speech to trade union workers about what parliamentary democracy should mean for labour. He urged labour to aim at taking charge of government by organising its own Labour Party, wider than the trade unions. Dates: Speech at the concluding session of the All India Trade Union Workers’ Study Camp, Delhi (8–17 September 1943); published by the Indian Federation of Labour. ^{40 41}
• Mr. Gandhi and the Emancipation of the Untouchables (1943) – A short book giving the number of untouchables, their political demands and the Hindu opposition to them, including the debate over joint and separate electorates. Ambedkar says in the preface that it began as a paper for the Institute of Pacific Relations conference of December 1942. Dates: Thacker & Co., first edition December 1943. ^{42 43 44 45}
• Ranade, Gandhi and Jinnah (1943) – A speech in honour of the social reformer Mahadev Govind Ranade. Ambedkar praises Ranade’s commitment to social reform and criticises the blind hero-worship he saw around Gandhi and Jinnah. Dates: Address on the 101st birthday of M. G. Ranade, Gokhale Memorial Hall, Poona, 18 January 1943; published 1943. ^{46 47 48}
• Communal Deadlock and a Way to Solve It (1945) – A proposal for sharing seats in the legislature among India’s communities. Ambedkar argues that “majority rule” by one community is unjust: a majority community may have more seats than others, but never an absolute majority on its own. Dates: Address at the session of the All India Scheduled Castes Federation, Bombay, 6 May 1945; published 1945. ^{49 50}
• What Congress and Gandhi Have Done to the Untouchables (1945) – A detailed, document-based criticism of the Congress party and of Gandhi’s approach to the untouchables from 1917 onwards. Ambedkar argues that their programmes were charity rather than real political power for the untouchables. Dates: Thacker & Co., June 1945; second edition 1946 (Chapter IX of the 1946 edition is added as an annexure in BAWS Vol. 9). ^{51 52 53 54 55 56 57}
• The Cabinet Mission and the Untouchables (1946) – A leaflet asking how the Cabinet Mission’s statement of 10 May 1946 had ignored the untouchables. Dates: Printed leaflet, 1946 (BAWS Vol. 10); also printed from The Times of India, 15 October 1946, in BAWS Vol. 17, Part 2. ^{58 59}
• Who Were the Shudras? How They Came to Be the Fourth Varna in the Indo-Aryan Society (1946) – A historical study of the Shudras, the fourth and lowest varna. Ambedkar rejects the theory that they were a conquered non-Aryan race and argues that they were originally a Kshatriya (warrior) community who were pushed down after conflicts with the Brahmins. Dates: First edition 1946 (Thacker & Co., Bombay); second edition 1947; third 1970 (as listed in BAWS Vol. 7). ^{60 61 62 63 64}
• The Untouchables: Who Were They and Why They Became Untouchables? (1948) – A study of how untouchability began. Ambedkar argues that the untouchables were descended from “Broken Men” who lived outside villages, that they stayed Buddhists, and that untouchability was born “some time about 400 A.D.”, partly because they continued to eat beef after the Brahmins had given it up. Dates: First published October 1948 by Amrit Book Co., New Delhi (BAWS Vol. 7). ^{65 66 67 68 69 70 71}
• Thoughts on Linguistic States (1955) – Written in response to the report of the States Reorganisation Commission, this short book accepts “one state, one language” but warns against very large states. Ambedkar proposes dividing Uttar Pradesh into three states and suggests that India needs a second capital to ease tension between North and South. Dates: First published 1955. ^{72 73 74 75 76}
• The Buddha and His Dhamma (1957) – Ambedkar’s retelling of the Buddha’s life and teaching for ordinary readers, in eight books with a prologue and epilogue. He presents the Dhamma as a moral and social path based on reason, equality and compassion. Dates: Completed in 1956; published posthumously in 1957 by the People’s Education Society, Bombay (BAWS Vol. 11 supplement preface). The 2014 BAWS reprint names “Siddharth Publication: 1957” as the first edition. ^{77 78 79 80 81 82} Physical copy: People’s Education Society, Mumbai (Mumbai, Maharashtra) – see physical-archives.md.
• Bouddha Pooja Path (undated) – A short book of Buddhist prayers and verses (vandana) for use by the new Buddhist community. Dates: Compilation of Buddhist prayers printed in Devanagari script; BAWS Vol. 16 (1998) prints it as Book IV. BAWS does not give the year of its first separate printing (it is often dated 1956), and the exact mix of Pali and Marathi was not checked. ⁸³

Memoranda and evidence to commissions

Statements he wrote for, or gave in person to, British and Indian committees deciding India’s future.

• Evidence before the Southborough Committee on Franchise (1919) – Ambedkar told a British committee planning new voting rules that “untouchable” Hindus formed a separate social group from “touchable” Hindus. He asked for separate representation so that they could speak for themselves in the legislatures. Dates: Written statement and oral examination on 27 January 1919 (Reforms Committee (Franchise) Report, Vol. II, 1919). ^{84 10}
• Statement of Evidence and Oral Evidence before the Royal Commission on Indian Currency and Finance (1925) – Ambedkar gave written and spoken evidence to a British commission on India’s currency. He argued against the “gold exchange standard” and for a system that would keep prices steady. Dates: Written statement in reply to the Commission’s questionnaire; oral evidence on 15 December 1925 (printed in the Commission’s Report, Vols. II and IV, 1926). ^{85 86 87}
• Evidence before the Indian Statutory Commission (Simon Commission) (1928) – Ambedkar was questioned by the Simon Commission about the condition and political rights of the depressed classes. Dates: Oral evidence, 23 October 1928. ^{88 89}
• Statement concerning the Safeguards for the Protection of the Interests of the Depressed Classes as a Minority (1928) – A memorandum arguing that the depressed classes were a minority needing legal protection, including representation in legislatures and in government jobs. Dates: Submitted on behalf of the Bahishkrita Hitakarini Sabha to the Indian Statutory Commission, 29 May 1928. ^{90 89}
• Statement concerning the State of Education of the Depressed Classes in the Bombay Presidency (1928) – Using official numbers, this memorandum shows how few children of the depressed classes were in school and college, and asks for scholarships, hostels and special help. Dates: Submitted on behalf of the Bahishkrita Hitakarini Sabha to the Indian Statutory Commission, 29 May 1928. ^{91 89}
• Report on the Constitution of the Government of Bombay Presidency (Views and Recommendations to the Indian Statutory Commission) (1929) – Ambedkar wrote his own report for the committee working with the Simon Commission. He recommended adult franchise, reserved seats for the depressed classes, and more powers for elected ministers. Dates: Prepared as a member of the Bombay Provincial Committee that worked with the Simon Commission; Pritchett dates it to 1929. ^{92 89 16}
• A Scheme of Political Safeguards for the Protection of the Depressed Classes in the Future Constitution of a Self-Governing India (1930) – A list of demands for the depressed classes in a new constitution: equal citizenship, laws against social boycott, fair representation in legislatures and services, and special care in education. Dates: Memorandum by Dr. Ambedkar and Rao Bahadur R. Srinivasan, appended to the report of the Minorities Sub-Committee, first Round Table Conference (1930–31). ^{93 94}
• Claims of Minority Communities – Joint Memorandum (Minorities Pact) (1931) – A joint statement by Muslim, depressed-class, Indian Christian, Anglo-Indian and European delegates setting out their common claims for protection. Dates: Joint memorandum of several minority delegations, second Round Table Conference, 1931. ^{95 96}
• Supplementary Memorandum on the Claims of the Depressed Classes for Special Representation (1931) – A follow-up memorandum spelling out how many seats the depressed classes should get and asking for separate electorates. Dates: By Dr. Ambedkar and Rao Bahadur R. Srinivasan, Minorities Committee, second Round Table Conference (1931). ^{97 96}
• Note Submitted to the Indian Franchise Committee (Lothian Committee) (1932) – A note to the British committee deciding who should get the vote under the new constitution, written from the point of view of the depressed classes. Dates: 1 May 1932. ^{98 94}
• Evidence before the Joint Committee on Indian Constitutional Reform (questions to witnesses) (1933) – As a member of the British Parliament’s Joint Committee on the new Indian constitution, Ambedkar cross-examined many witnesses, including on the Poona Pact. Dates: June–November 1933, London; he examined witnesses including Winston Churchill (24–25 October 1933) and Sir Samuel Hoare. ^{99 96}
• Representation Relating to the Grievances of the Watandar Mahars, Mangs etc. (1939) – A petition to the Bombay Government against new taxes on the Mahar watan lands held by village servants. Dates: Linked in BAWS (citing Keer) to the conference of Watandar Mahars and Mangs at Haregaon, Ahmednagar district, in December 1939. ^{100 101}
• Grievances of the Scheduled Castes (Memorandum to the Governor-General) (1942) – A confidential memorandum listing the political, educational and other grievances of the Scheduled Castes that only the central government could fix, such as too few seats in the central legislature and executive, no share in public services, and no aid for higher education. Dates: Submitted to the Governor-General (Lord Linlithgow) on 29 October 1942; reprinted from a booklet published by the author. ^{102 103}
• Memorandum Submitted to the Cabinet Mission (1946) – The All-India Scheduled Castes Federation’s demands to the British Cabinet Mission about how the Scheduled Castes should be protected in a free India. Dates: 1946 (BAWS, citing Keer). ¹⁰⁴
• States and Minorities: What Are Their Rights and How to Secure Them in the Constitution of Free India (1947) – Written as a model constitution for a “United States of India”, it lists fundamental rights, protections for the Scheduled Castes, and an economic plan. It proposes state ownership of agriculture and key industries (“State Socialism”) to prevent great inequality. Dates: Memorandum on behalf of the All India Scheduled Castes Federation to the Constituent Assembly; published 1947. ^{105 106 107 108}
• India and the British Commonwealth (note) (1948) – A note on whether and how a republican India should stay linked to the British Commonwealth. Dates: November 1948 (BAWS prints it after a letter to him dated 19 November 1948 from the Finance Minister). ¹⁰⁹
• Maharashtra as a Linguistic Province (1948) – A statement to the government commission studying states based on language. Ambedkar supports a Marathi-speaking province and argues, point by point, against the claim that the city of Bombay should be kept out of Maharashtra. Dates: Statement submitted to the Linguistic Provinces Commission; published 1948. ¹¹⁰
• Written Evidence to the Bombay University Reforms Committee (undated) – Ambedkar’s answers to a questionnaire about reforming the University of Bombay, including how education could reach backward communities. Dates: Printed as Appendix III in BAWS Vol. 2; date not stated in the contents. ^{111 89}

Speeches, statements and legislative records

Collections of speeches in legislatures, at conferences and in Parliament, and important public statements. Individual speeches are listed in src/data/speeches.json.

• Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar yanchi Bhashane (His Marathi Speeches, 1920–1956) (1920) – Three volumes of his speeches in Marathi, the language in which he spoke to most of his followers, gathered mainly from reports in Mooknayak, Bahishkrit Bharat, Janata and Prabuddha Bharat. Dates: Speeches 1920–1956, collected from newspapers; first published as BAWS Marathi Vol. 18 (3 parts), 15 October 2002. ^{5 112 113 5 112 113 4}
• Bahishkrit Hitakarini Sabha (aims and memorandum of association) (1924) – The founding documents of the “Society for the Welfare of the Excluded”, set up at a meeting he organised on 9 March 1924. Dates: Founded 1924. ^{114 115}
• Mahad Satyagraha: Speeches and Documents (1927) (1927) – Reports, speeches and documents about the struggle at Mahad (Kolaba district) to use the Chavdar Tank, a public water tank, and the December 1927 conference at which the Manu Smriti was burnt. Ambedkar compared the conference to the French National Assembly of 1789. Dates: March and December 1927. ^{116 117}
• Speeches (1927–1956) collected in BAWS Vol. 17, Part 3 (1927) – A chronological collection of his public speeches, from the Koregaon memorial meeting of 1927 to his last speech in Kathmandu in 1956, including Yeola (1935), the 1936 Mahar conference, the 1942 Nagpur conferences and the 1956 conversion speech. Dates: 159 speeches, 1 January 1927 – 20 November 1956, mostly reconstructed from newspaper reports and biographies. ^{118 119 120}
• Speeches in the Bombay Legislative Council and Assembly (1927–1939) (1927) – Forty-seven speeches as a nominated member (from February 1927) and later as an elected member of the Bombay legislature. They cover budgets, education, the Mahar watan system, the Khoti land system, police powers, prohibition, maternity benefits and workers’ strikes. Dates: From his maiden budget speech of 24 February 1927 to the war debates of October 1939. ^{121 122}
• Bills to Amend the Bombay Hereditary Offices Act (Mahar Watan) (1928) – Bills to free Mahar village servants from the “watan” system, which tied them to unpaid or badly paid hereditary village duties in return for small plots of land. Dates: Bill No. XII of 1928 (19 March 1928) and Bill No. XXIII of 1937 (17 September 1937). ^{123 122}
• Kalaram Temple Entry Satyagraha, Nasik, and the Temple Entry Movement (documents) (1930) – Reports and statements about the campaign to let untouchables enter the Kalaram temple in Nasik, and about the wider temple-entry movement. Dates: 1930–1935. ^{124 117}
• Speeches at the Round Table Conferences, London (1930–1931) (1930) – Ambedkar represented the depressed classes at the conferences in London on India’s future constitution. He spoke in the plenary sessions and in committees on federal structure, provinces, minorities, franchise, defence and services. Dates: First session November 1930 – January 1931; second session September – December 1931. ^{125 94 96}
• Independent Labour Party (programme) (1936) – The aims and programme of the political party he founded in 1936 to fight for landless labourers, poor tenants and workers, as reported in The Times of India. Dates: Founded 1936. ^{126 115}
• Bill No. XX of 1937 to Abolish the Khoti System (1937) – A private bill drafted by Ambedkar to end the “khoti” system in the Konkan, under which landlords collected rent from tenant farmers and could exploit them. He spoke for it the same day. Dates: Introduced in the Bombay Legislative Assembly, 17 September 1937. ¹²⁷
• A Bill to Control and Regulate Money-Lending (1938) – A draft law to protect poor borrowers from moneylenders by controlling interest and requiring licences and accounts. Dates: Private bill, Bombay Legislative Assembly (BAWS gives no exact date). ^{128 129}
• Moses and His Significance (1941) – His short essay on Moses and the Exodus, “a source of perennial inspiration and hope” for his work for the Depressed Classes. It survives in a 1991 article from Israel’s consulate in Bombay (“News from Israel”), printed in the volume as “Dr. Ambedkar and the Jewish People”; that article also reports, second-hand, that in a November 1941 interview with “The Jewish Advocate” he admired “the Social order that was being created” by the Jews in Palestine. Dates: Bombay Sentinel, probably 1941; reprinted in Praja Bandhu, 30 December 1991. ^{130 131 101}
• Answers to Questions in the Central Legislative Assembly as Labour Member (1942–1946) (1942) – Ambedkar’s replies to members’ questions in the Central Legislative Assembly about labour, mines, factories, war work and related subjects. Dates: 14 September 1942 – 12 April 1946. ¹³²
• Constitution of the All India Scheduled Castes Federation (1942) – The rules of the national party of the Scheduled Castes founded at the Nagpur conference of 1942. Dates: Founded at Nagpur, July 1942. ^{133 115}
• Speeches as Labour Member of the Viceroy’s Executive Council (1942–1946) (1942) – Sixty-eight speeches and statements made while Ambedkar was Labour Member (minister for labour) in the British Government of India. Topics include factory laws, maternity benefit for women miners, the ban on women working underground, health insurance, employment exchanges, trade unions, and big river projects such as the Damodar Valley scheme. Dates: July 1942 – 1946. ^{134 135 136 137}
• Statement on the Cripps Proposals (1942) – Ambedkar’s response to the British War Cabinet’s proposals for India brought by Sir Stafford Cripps in 1942, which he said ignored the depressed classes. Dates: Press statement of 1942 (BAWS reprints it from the report of the Depressed Classes Conferences of 18–20 July 1942). ¹³⁸
• Why Indian Labour Is Determined to Win the War (1942) – A radio broadcast explaining why Indian workers should support the war against Nazism, and arguing that the war must lead to a new order in which liberty, equality and fraternity become facts of life. Dates: Radio talk from the Bombay station of All India Radio, printed in “Indian Information”, 1 January 1943. ¹³⁹
• A Critique of the Proposals of the Cabinet Mission for Indian Constitutional Changes in So Far as They Affect the Scheduled Castes (1946) – Ambedkar argues that the British Cabinet Mission’s 1946 plan left the Scheduled Castes without proper safeguards in the new constitution. Dates: 1946. ¹⁴⁰
• Speeches in the Constituent Assembly of India (1946–1949) (1946) – All of Ambedkar’s speeches in the body that wrote India’s Constitution, including his first speech on the Objectives Resolution, his introduction of the Draft Constitution, his replies on each article, and his final speech before adoption. Dates: From 17 December 1946 to 26 November 1949. ^{141 142 143 144 145}
• Answers to Questions in Parliament as Law Minister (1947–1951) (1947) – His replies to MPs’ questions on courts, elections, Hindu law reform, Scheduled Caste employees and other subjects. Dates: 18 November 1947 – 28 September 1951. ¹⁴⁶
• Speeches in Parliament as Law Minister and Member of the Opposition (1947–1956) (1947) – Ambedkar’s speeches in the Provisional Parliament and later the Rajya Sabha on bills, the Constitution’s amendments, elections, the Andhra State Bill, untouchability offences, foreign policy and the reorganisation of states. Dates: From 20 November 1947 to his death; includes the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) speeches of 1952–56. ^{147 148 149}
• The Hindu Code Bill (draft and speeches) (1947) – Ambedkar’s draft Hindu Code and his speeches as Law Minister for it. The Bill set out to codify Hindu law on property, succession, maintenance, marriage, divorce, adoption and guardianship. It gave women rights to inherit property, allowed divorce and made monogamy the rule. Dates: Debated from 17 November 1947 to 25 September 1951. ^{150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157}
• Draft Constitution of India (with covering letter to the President of the Constituent Assembly) (1948) – The first full draft of India’s Constitution prepared by the Drafting Committee under Ambedkar’s chairmanship, with his letter to Dr. Rajendra Prasad explaining the main choices. Dates: Covering letter dated 21 February 1948; Draft published in the Gazette of India, 26 February 1948. ¹⁵⁸
• Scheduled Castes’ Emancipation – Draft Election Manifesto of the All India Scheduled Castes Federation (1951) – The manifesto for India’s first general election, setting out the Federation’s programme for the Scheduled Castes and for the country. Dates: Decided at a meeting at his New Delhi residence on 6 October 1951 (BAWS, citing Khairmode). ^{159 160}
• Statement in Explanation of His Resignation from the Cabinet (1951) – Ambedkar’s explanation of why he left Nehru’s Cabinet: the treatment of the Hindu Code Bill, neglect of the Scheduled Castes, his differences on foreign policy and Kashmir, and the way the Cabinet worked. He was not allowed to read it in the House, so he gave it to the press. Dates: Dated New Delhi, 10 October 1951. ^{161 156} Physical copy: Government of Maharashtra (Ambedkar papers) (Mumbai, Maharashtra) – see physical-archives.md.
• The Buddhist Society of India (aims) (1955) – The objects of the Bharatiya Bauddha Mahasabha (Buddhist Society of India), which he registered to spread Buddhism and publish Buddhist literature. Dates: Reported in Janata, 14 May 1955. ^{162 115}
• The People’s Education Society (constitution and appeal) (undated) – Documents on the education society he founded, which started Siddharth College in Bombay, including his reasons for choosing Bombay for the college. Dates: Founding date not stated in this section of BAWS. ^{163 115}

Articles, reviews and prefaces

Shorter pieces written for newspapers, journals and other people’s books.

• Mr. Russell and the Reconstruction of Society (1918) – A book review of Bertrand Russell’s ideas on how society should be rebuilt after the First World War. Ambedkar discusses Russell’s view that people act from impulses and asks how institutions can be changed. Dates: Review of Bertrand Russell’s “Principles of Social Reconstruction”; BAWS gives the Journal of the Indian Economic Society, Vol. I, 1918. Pritchett’s timeline names the “Journal of Indian Economics (1,1)”. ^{164 10}
• Review: Indian Currency and Exchange, by H. L. Chablani (1925) – A short and sharp review of a book on Indian currency. Ambedkar finds it thin on information and explanation. Dates: The Servant of India, 25 June 1925. ¹⁶⁵
• The Present Problem in Indian Currency (I and II) (1925) – Two newspaper articles on the debate over whether the rupee should be fixed at 1 shilling 4 pence or 1 shilling 6 pence. Ambedkar explains what each choice would mean for prices and for ordinary people. Dates: The Servant of India, 1 April and 16 April 1925. ¹⁶⁶
• Caste and Conversion (1926) – An article on the Hindu “shuddhi” (reconversion) movement. Ambedkar asks why Hinduism stopped being a missionary religion, and answers that caste makes it impossible to welcome outsiders. Dates: Originally published in the “Telugu Samachar” Special Number, November 1926 (BAWS footnote). ¹⁶⁷
• Review: Report of the Taxation Enquiry Committee, 1926 (1926) – Ambedkar reviews an official report on India’s tax system and comments on how committees are used to study policy. Dates: The Servant of India, Vol. IX, No. 13, 29 April 1926. ¹⁶⁸
• Dr. Ambedkar’s Reply to Sir S. Radhakrishnan (1936) – A short reply to the philosopher S. Radhakrishnan’s argument that the survival of Hinduism over the ages proved its greatness. Dates: Published in “The Lamp”, 25 June 1936 (BAWS, quoting Khairmode). ¹⁶⁹
• Thoughts on the Reform of Legal Education in the Bombay Presidency (1936) – Written while he was Principal of the Government Law College, Bombay, this article proposes changes to how lawyers are trained, such as practical training in chambers. Dates: Government Law College Magazine, Vol. VII, No. 1, January 1936 (written as Principal of the College). ^{170 171}
• Foreword to “Untouchable Workers of Bombay City” by G. R. Pradhan (1938) – A foreword to a survey of the living and working conditions of untouchable workers in Bombay. Dates: Dated Rajgrih, Dadar, 10 February 1938 (Karnatak Publishing House, Bombay, 1938). ¹⁷²
• Is Gandhi a Mahatma? (1938) – A sharp article saying that Ambedkar distrusts all “Mahatmas” and arguing that Gandhi’s teaching did not help the untouchables. Dates: Originally published in “Chitra” (Marathi), Diwali special number, 1938 (BAWS note). ^{173 174}
• Preface to “The Essence of Buddhism” by P. Lakshmi Narasu (third edition) (1948) – Ambedkar’s preface to a reprint of Prof. P. Lakshmi Narasu’s book on Buddhism, praising Narasu as a social reformer who fought caste. Dates: Dated 10 March 1948; third edition published 1948 by Thacker & Co., Bombay. ^{175 176 177}
• Buddha and the Future of His Religion (1950) – Ambedkar compares the Buddha with Jesus, Muhammad and Krishna, and argues that the Buddha’s teaching, based on reason and morality, is the religion best suited to the modern world. He suggests practical steps to spread Buddhism. Dates: Maha Bodhi (journal of the Maha Bodhi Society, Calcutta), Vaishakh Number, Vol. 58, May 1950. ^{178 179}
• The Rise and Fall of the Hindu Woman: Who Was Responsible for It? (1951) – Ambedkar answers a magazine article that blamed the Buddha for the decline of Indian women. He argues that the Buddha raised women’s status, and that the Manu Smriti was responsible for their fall. Dates: Maha Bodhi, May–June 1951, Vol. 59, pp. 137–151 (BAWS footnote). It replies to an article in Eve’s Weekly (21 January 1950). ^{180 181}
• Need for Checks and Balances (1953) – A newspaper article about states formed on the basis of language. Ambedkar warns that in such states one big caste or community could dominate smaller communities, so the constitution must include protections. Dates: The Times of India, 23 April 1953. ¹⁸²
• Foreword to “Commodity Exchanges” by P. G. Salvi (undated) – A short foreword praising a book on commodity exchanges in India and its link to agriculture. Dates: Date not given in BAWS. ¹⁸³
• Foreword to “Social Insurance and India” by M. R. Idgunji (undated) – A short foreword to a book on social insurance such as workmen’s compensation. Dates: Date not given in BAWS. ¹⁸⁴

Unpublished and unfinished manuscripts

Writings found among his papers after his death and first printed by the Government of Maharashtra from 1979 onwards. Many are incomplete.

• Ancient Indian Commerce (1915) – Three handwritten essays on India’s trade with the Roman world and the Middle East, trade in the Middle Ages and the rise of Islam, and India just before the British Crown took over in 1858. Some pages are missing, and the editors had to supply one title. Dates: BAWS Vol. 12 prints a facsimile of his handwriting “during his student-days in America in the year 1915-16” from these pages. Frances Pritchett’s timeline (citing Keer) says he presented a thesis called “Ancient Indian Commerce” for his 1915 M.A.; BAWS Vol. 6 instead prints “Administration and Finance of the East India Company” as the 1915 M.A. thesis. The sources disagree. ^{185 186 187 10} Physical copy: Government of Maharashtra – Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Source Material Publication Committee (Education Department) (Mumbai, Maharashtra) – see physical-archives.md.
• The Untouchables and the Pax Britannica (1931) – Ambedkar argues that British rule did little to improve the lives of the untouchables, and criticises the British for keeping them out of the army after having relied on them in earlier wars. Dates: 123 typed pages, first page missing; according to his Marathi biographer C. B. Khairmode it was prepared during his stay in London for the Round Table Conferences (1930–32). First published 1993. ¹⁸⁷ Physical copy: Government of Maharashtra – Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Source Material Publication Committee (Education Department) (Mumbai, Maharashtra) – see physical-archives.md.
• Lectures on the English Constitution (1934) – Five lectures on the English constitution: its principles, Parliament, the Crown, the House of Lords, and the powers of the two Houses. In his preface he notes how unusual it was for an Indian to explain the English constitution. Dates: Lectures given to students of the Government Law College, Bombay, in 1934–35 (his own preface). First published 1993. ¹⁸⁸ Physical copy: Government of Maharashtra – Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Source Material Publication Committee (Education Department) (Mumbai, Maharashtra) – see physical-archives.md.
• Paramountcy and the Claim of the Indian States to Be Independent (1947) – Ambedkar asks whether princely states like Travancore and Hyderabad could legally declare themselves independent when Britain left India, and argues that they could not and should not. Dates: Written in 1947, after Travancore and Hyderabad announced they would declare independence on 15 August. ¹⁸⁹
• Buddha or Karl Marx (1956) – Ambedkar compares the Buddha and Karl Marx. He lists the Buddha’s view that private ownership of property brings power to one class and sorrow to another, and argues that the Buddha’s peaceful way of changing minds is better than the communist way of violence and dictatorship. Dates: Undated typescript printed in BAWS Vol. 3 (1987); a speech on the same theme was given at Kathmandu on 20 November 1956 (BAWS Vol. 17, Part 3). ^{190 191 192} Physical copy: Government of Maharashtra – Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Source Material Publication Committee (Education Department) (Mumbai, Maharashtra) – see physical-archives.md.
• A People at Bay (outline) (undated) – The table of contents of a planned book about the untouchables, including chapters on whether they should stay within Hinduism. Dates: Undated outline of a planned book. ¹⁹³
• A Warning to the Untouchables (undated) – Warns the untouchables not to wait for history or spiritual forces to free them, but to organise and act themselves. Dates: Undated; found among his papers or received from S. S. Rege; first published in BAWS Vol. 5 (1989). ^{194 195 196 8} Physical copy: Government of Maharashtra – Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Source Material Publication Committee (Education Department) (Mumbai, Maharashtra) – see physical-archives.md.
• Away from the Hindus (undated) – Explains why many untouchables came to believe that leaving Hinduism (conversion) could solve their problem, starting from the Mahar conference of 31 May 1936. Dates: Undated; found among his papers or received from S. S. Rege; first published in BAWS Vol. 5 (1989). ^{197 195 196 8} Physical copy: Government of Maharashtra – Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Source Material Publication Committee (Education Department) (Mumbai, Maharashtra) – see physical-archives.md.
• Can I Be a Hindu? (planned book) (undated) – Only an outline survives for this planned book, which was to look at the symbols of Hinduism such as caste and the cults of Rama, Krishna, Shiva and Vishnu. Dates: Undated scheme (outline) printed in BAWS Vol. 3, “Schemes of Books” (1987). ^{198 199} Physical copy: Government of Maharashtra – Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Source Material Publication Committee (Education Department) (Mumbai, Maharashtra) – see physical-archives.md.
• Christianizing the Untouchables (undated) – Examines how Christianity spread in India and why it made slow progress among the untouchables. Dates: Undated; found among his papers or received from S. S. Rege; first published in BAWS Vol. 5 (1989). ^{200 195 196 8} Physical copy: Government of Maharashtra – Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Source Material Publication Committee (Education Department) (Mumbai, Maharashtra) – see physical-archives.md.
• Civilization or Felony (undated) – Compares three “sunken” groups in India - primitive tribes, so-called criminal tribes and untouchables - and asks what Hindu civilisation did to them. Dates: Undated; found among his papers or received from S. S. Rege; first published in BAWS Vol. 5 (1989). ^{201 196 8} Physical copy: Government of Maharashtra – Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Source Material Publication Committee (Education Department) (Mumbai, Maharashtra) – see physical-archives.md.
• Constitution and Constitutionalism: The Constitution of India – An Exposition of Its Principles (undated) – The beginning of a planned book explaining the principles of India’s new Constitution and comparing it with other constitutions. Dates: Undated, unfinished; written after the Constitution was adopted (1949). ²⁰²
• Essays on Untouchables and Untouchability (BAWS Vol. 5 collection) (undated) – A collection of 30 chapters on untouchability arranged by the editors into four books: one complete manuscript on India’s “ghetto”, and essays on social, political and religious questions. Many were found unfinished among his papers. Dates: Unpublished essays and chapters collected from his papers and first printed by the Government of Maharashtra in 1989. ^{203 195 8} Physical copy: Government of Maharashtra – Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Source Material Publication Committee (Education Department) (Mumbai, Maharashtra) – see physical-archives.md.
• Essays on the Bhagvat Gita (planned book) (undated) – A table of contents for five essays on the Bhagavad Gita: what it teaches, when and why it was written, and how it relates to Buddhism. The essays themselves were not found. Dates: Undated scheme (outline) printed in BAWS Vol. 3, “Schemes of Books” (1987). ^{204 199} Physical copy: Government of Maharashtra – Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Source Material Publication Committee (Education Department) (Mumbai, Maharashtra) – see physical-archives.md.
• Essays on the Bhagwat Gita: Philosophic Defence of Counter-Revolution – Krishna and His Gita (undated) – A chapter arguing that the Bhagavad Gita was written to give a philosophical defence of the four-varna order against the challenge of Buddhism. It is part of the unfinished book “Revolution and Counter-Revolution in Ancient India”. Dates: Chapter of the unfinished “Revolution and Counter-Revolution in Ancient India”; first published 1987. ^{205 206} Physical copy: Government of Maharashtra – Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Source Material Publication Committee (Education Department) (Mumbai, Maharashtra) – see physical-archives.md.
• From Millions to Fractions (undated) – Tells how the number of untouchables was counted in the census, and how some Hindu leaders tried to minimise the numbers when political rights were at stake. Dates: Undated; found among his papers or received from S. S. Rege; first published in BAWS Vol. 5 (1989). ^{207 195 196 8} Physical copy: Government of Maharashtra – Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Source Material Publication Committee (Education Department) (Mumbai, Maharashtra) – see physical-archives.md.
• Frustration (undated) – A short essay describing the deep sense of frustration among the untouchables. Dates: Undated; first published in BAWS Vol. 12 (1993). ^{208 209} Physical copy: Government of Maharashtra – Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Source Material Publication Committee (Education Department) (Mumbai, Maharashtra) – see physical-archives.md.
• Gandhi and His Fast (undated) – An account of Gandhi’s 1932 fast against separate electorates, the Poona Pact that followed, the Harijan Sevak Sangh and the temple-entry question. Dates: Undated; found among his papers or received from S. S. Rege; first published in BAWS Vol. 5 (1989). ^{210 195 196 8} Physical copy: Government of Maharashtra – Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Source Material Publication Committee (Education Department) (Mumbai, Maharashtra) – see physical-archives.md.
• Held at Bay (undated) – Describes how caste Hindus used social boycott and violence, and how officials took sides, to suppress the revolt of the untouchables. Dates: Undated; found among his papers or received from S. S. Rege; first published in BAWS Vol. 5 (1989). ^{211 195 196 8} Physical copy: Government of Maharashtra – Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Source Material Publication Committee (Education Department) (Mumbai, Maharashtra) – see physical-archives.md.
• India and the Pre-requisites of Communism (The Hindu Social Order) (undated) – Two chapters on the “Hindu Social Order” from a planned book about whether communism could work in India. Ambedkar argues that a society built on caste lacks the basic ideas of liberty, equality and fraternity needed for any real revolution. Dates: Undated; part of a planned but unfinished book “India and Communism”. First published 1987. ^{212 213} Physical copy: Government of Maharashtra – Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Source Material Publication Committee (Education Department) (Mumbai, Maharashtra) – see physical-archives.md.
• Manu and the Shudras (undated) – A 31-page handwritten, untitled and unfinished manuscript about how the Manu Smriti treated those inside and outside the four varnas. Dates: Undated; first published in BAWS Vol. 12 (1993). ^{214 209} Physical copy: Government of Maharashtra – Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Source Material Publication Committee (Education Department) (Mumbai, Maharashtra) – see physical-archives.md.
• Notes on Acts and Laws (undated) – Ambedkar’s detailed notes on eight areas of law, from English common law and dominion status to Indian laws on trusts, limitation, criminal procedure, property and evidence. Dates: Undated notes; first published 1993. ^{215 216} Physical copy: Government of Maharashtra – Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Source Material Publication Committee (Education Department) (Mumbai, Maharashtra) – see physical-archives.md.
• Notes on History of India (undated) – Handwritten notes on ancient Indian history, including the Sakas and the Yueh-chih. Dates: Undated; first published in BAWS Vol. 12 (1993). ^{217 209} Physical copy: Government of Maharashtra – Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Source Material Publication Committee (Education Department) (Mumbai, Maharashtra) – see physical-archives.md.
• Notes on Parliamentary Procedure (undated) – Notes on the rules for questions, resolutions, adjournment motions and money matters in a legislature. Dates: Undated; first published in BAWS Vol. 12 (1993). ^{218 209} Physical copy: Government of Maharashtra – Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Source Material Publication Committee (Education Department) (Mumbai, Maharashtra) – see physical-archives.md.
• Pali Dictionary: Pali into English, Marathi, Hindi and Gujarati (undated) – A word list giving Pali words with their meanings in English, Marathi, Hindi and Gujarati. Dates: Unfinished; BAWS Vol. 16 (1998). The volume’s preface says he could not complete the four-language dictionary. ^{219 220} Physical copy: Government of Maharashtra – Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Source Material Publication Committee (Education Department) (Mumbai, Maharashtra) – see physical-archives.md.
• Pali Grammar (undated) – Ambedkar’s notes on the grammar of the Pali language: sounds, nouns, verbs, participles and other parts of speech. Dates: First published in BAWS Vol. 16 (1998). ²²¹ Physical copy: Government of Maharashtra – Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Source Material Publication Committee (Education Department) (Mumbai, Maharashtra) – see physical-archives.md.
• Pali-English Dictionary (undated) – A dictionary of Pali, the language of the early Buddhist scriptures, with meanings in English. Ambedkar compiled it while studying Buddhism. Dates: Unfinished work of his last years; first published in BAWS Vol. 16 (Government of Maharashtra, 14 April 1998). ^{222 223 220 221} Physical copy: Government of Maharashtra – Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Source Material Publication Committee (Education Department) (Mumbai, Maharashtra) – see physical-archives.md.
• Philosophy of Hinduism (undated) – Ambedkar puts Hinduism “on trial” by asking whether its rules, especially those in the Manu Smriti, are fair to all people. He judges religion by the standards of justice and usefulness to society and concludes that Hinduism, as laid down in its law books, fails them. Dates: Undated typescript found among his papers; first published in BAWS Vol. 3 (1987). ^{224 225 8} Physical copy: Government of Maharashtra – Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Source Material Publication Committee (Education Department) (Mumbai, Maharashtra) – see physical-archives.md.
• Preservation of Social Order (undated) – Four handwritten pages (starting at page 56 of a larger, lost text) on how the Hindu social order was preserved. Dates: Undated; first published in BAWS Vol. 12 (1993). ^{226 209} Physical copy: Government of Maharashtra – Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Source Material Publication Committee (Education Department) (Mumbai, Maharashtra) – see physical-archives.md.
• Revolution and Counter-Revolution in Ancient India (undated) – A planned history of India as a struggle between Buddhism and Brahmanism. Ambedkar describes the Buddha’s teaching as a revolution for equality, and the later rise of Brahmanism (with the Manu Smriti and the Bhagavad Gita) as a counter-revolution. Dates: Unfinished at his death; a letter of June 1956 to S. S. Rege (facsimile in BAWS Vol. 3) shows he was still working on it. Chapters first published 1987. ^{227 228 8} Physical copy: Government of Maharashtra – Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Source Material Publication Committee (Education Department) (Mumbai, Maharashtra) – see physical-archives.md.
• Riddles in Hinduism: An Exposition to Enlighten the Masses (undated) – A set of “riddles” that question Hindu beliefs about the Vedas, the gods, the four varnas, the ages of the world and other teachings. In his own introduction Ambedkar says he wanted to show that Hinduism has changed many times and is not “sanatan” (unchanging), and to make ordinary people think for themselves. Dates: Undated manuscript with corrections in his handwriting; first published in BAWS Vol. 4 (Government of Maharashtra, 1987). BAWS Vol. 3’s introduction counts 26 “Riddles” titles among his papers plus one from S. S. Rege. ^{229 230 231 8} Physical copy: Government of Maharashtra – Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Source Material Publication Committee (Education Department) (Mumbai, Maharashtra) – see physical-archives.md.
• Symbols of Hinduism (undated) – An unfinished essay on what the main symbols of Hinduism are, linked to a planned book called “Can I be a Hindu?”. Dates: Undated manuscript; first published 1987. ^{232 206 198} Physical copy: Government of Maharashtra – Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Source Material Publication Committee (Education Department) (Mumbai, Maharashtra) – see physical-archives.md.
• The Condition of the Convert (undated) – Looks at Gandhi’s opposition to conversion and at how converts to Christianity were still affected by caste. Dates: Undated; found among his papers or received from S. S. Rege; first published in BAWS Vol. 5 (1989). ^{233 195 196 8} Physical copy: Government of Maharashtra – Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Source Material Publication Committee (Education Department) (Mumbai, Maharashtra) – see physical-archives.md.
• The Constitution of British India (notes) (undated) – The introduction to a planned study of the Government of India Act, 1919. The editors note that no other essay on this subject was received. Dates: Undated; first published in BAWS Vol. 12 (1993). ^{234 209} Physical copy: Government of Maharashtra – Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Source Material Publication Committee (Education Department) (Mumbai, Maharashtra) – see physical-archives.md.
• The Curse of Caste (undated) – Illustrates how caste divides and breaks up groups again and again, and why that is its “curse”. Dates: Undated; found among his papers or received from S. S. Rege; first published in BAWS Vol. 5 (1989). ^{235 195 196 8} Physical copy: Government of Maharashtra – Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Source Material Publication Committee (Education Department) (Mumbai, Maharashtra) – see physical-archives.md.
• The Decline and Fall of Buddhism (undated) – A chapter explaining why Buddhism disappeared from India, giving weight to the destruction caused by Muslim invaders and to Brahmanical hostility. It is part of the unfinished book “Revolution and Counter-Revolution in Ancient India”. Dates: Chapter of the unfinished “Revolution and Counter-Revolution in Ancient India”; first published 1987. ^{236 206} Physical copy: Government of Maharashtra – Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Source Material Publication Committee (Education Department) (Mumbai, Maharashtra) – see physical-archives.md.
• The House the Hindus Have Built (undated) – Asks what is peculiar about the social organisation of the Hindus, and describes its division into castes ranked above and below one another. Dates: Undated; found among his papers or received from S. S. Rege; first published in BAWS Vol. 5 (1989). ^{237 195 196 8} Physical copy: Government of Maharashtra – Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Source Material Publication Committee (Education Department) (Mumbai, Maharashtra) – see physical-archives.md.
• The Mahars: Who Were They and How They Became the Untouchables? (undated) – An unfinished paper on the history of the Mahar community of Maharashtra, to which Ambedkar belonged. Dates: Untitled manuscript; title supplied by the editors. ²³⁸
• The Problem of Political Suppression (undated) – An unfinished essay on the slow growth of political liberty in India from 1892 and what it meant for the untouchables. Dates: Undated; first published in BAWS Vol. 12 (1993). ^{239 209} Physical copy: Government of Maharashtra – Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Source Material Publication Committee (Education Department) (Mumbai, Maharashtra) – see physical-archives.md.
• The Revolt of the Untouchables (undated) – Describes the move from petitions to open revolt and direct action, such as the struggles at Mahad, to claim equal rights. Dates: Undated; found among his papers or received from S. S. Rege; first published in BAWS Vol. 5 (1989). ^{240 195 196 8} Physical copy: Government of Maharashtra – Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Source Material Publication Committee (Education Department) (Mumbai, Maharashtra) – see physical-archives.md.
• The Rock on Which It Is Built (undated) – Argues that the caste system rests on religious sanction - the belief that the Hindu codes are revealed by God - which is why it is so hard to change. Dates: Undated; found among his papers or received from S. S. Rege; first published in BAWS Vol. 5 (1989). ^{241 195 196 8} Physical copy: Government of Maharashtra – Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Source Material Publication Committee (Education Department) (Mumbai, Maharashtra) – see physical-archives.md.
• The Triumph of Brahminism: Regicide or the Birth of Counter-Revolution (undated) – A chapter arguing that the killing of the last Maurya king by Pushyamitra Shunga began a Brahmanical counter-revolution against Buddhism. It is part of the unfinished book “Revolution and Counter-Revolution in Ancient India”. Dates: Chapter of the unfinished “Revolution and Counter-Revolution in Ancient India”; first published 1987. ^{242 206} Physical copy: Government of Maharashtra – Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Source Material Publication Committee (Education Department) (Mumbai, Maharashtra) – see physical-archives.md.
• The Woman and the Counter-Revolution (undated) – A chapter showing how the Manu Smriti lowered the status of women, as part of the Brahmanical counter-revolution. It is part of the unfinished book “Revolution and Counter-Revolution in Ancient India”. Dates: Chapter of the unfinished “Revolution and Counter-Revolution in Ancient India”; first published 1987. ^{243 206} Physical copy: Government of Maharashtra – Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Source Material Publication Committee (Education Department) (Mumbai, Maharashtra) – see physical-archives.md.
• Their Wishes Are Laws unto Us (undated) – Explains how the rules of the Manu Smriti still shaped the behaviour of caste Hindus and even of some magistrates. Dates: Undated; found among his papers or received from S. S. Rege; first published in BAWS Vol. 5 (1989). ^{244 195 196 8} Physical copy: Government of Maharashtra – Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Source Material Publication Committee (Education Department) (Mumbai, Maharashtra) – see physical-archives.md.
• Touchables versus Untouchables (undated) – Shows how all the “touchable” castes, though divided among themselves, stand together as a block against the untouchables. Dates: Undated; found among his papers or received from S. S. Rege; first published in BAWS Vol. 5 (1989). ^{245 195 196 8} Physical copy: Government of Maharashtra – Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Source Material Publication Committee (Education Department) (Mumbai, Maharashtra) – see physical-archives.md.
• Under the Providence of Mr. Gandhi (undated) – A critical account of Gandhi’s and the Congress’s record towards the untouchables after the second Round Table Conference. Dates: Undated; found among his papers or received from S. S. Rege; first published in BAWS Vol. 5 (1989). ^{246 195 196 8} Physical copy: Government of Maharashtra – Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Source Material Publication Committee (Education Department) (Mumbai, Maharashtra) – see physical-archives.md.
• Untouchables or the Children of India’s Ghetto (undated) – A complete short book describing what it means to be an untouchable: their numbers, their exclusion, the violence used against them, and why the law failed to protect them. It compares untouchability with slavery and asks why Hindu society lacked a “public conscience”. Dates: A 208-page manuscript (second copy) found among his papers; first published 1989. ²⁰³ Physical copy: Government of Maharashtra – Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Source Material Publication Committee (Education Department) (Mumbai, Maharashtra) – see physical-archives.md.
• What the Brahmins Have Done to the Hindus (planned book) (undated) – Only the plan of chapters survives for this book. It was meant to show how Brahmanism shaped Hindu society, religion, politics and women’s position. BAWS says this scheme was found in printed form. Dates: Undated scheme (outline) printed in BAWS Vol. 3, “Schemes of Books” (1987). ^{247 199} Physical copy: Government of Maharashtra – Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Source Material Publication Committee (Education Department) (Mumbai, Maharashtra) – see physical-archives.md.
• Which Is Worse? Slavery or Untouchability? (undated) – An essay comparing slavery and untouchability. BAWS prints extra paragraphs from a booklet published by Shri Devi Dayal, who worked with Ambedkar in 1943–47. Dates: Undated; first published in BAWS Vol. 12 (1993). ^{248 209} Physical copy: Government of Maharashtra – Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Source Material Publication Committee (Education Department) (Mumbai, Maharashtra) – see physical-archives.md.
• With the Hindus (undated) – A short handwritten, unfinished note doubting that Hindus would ever truly absorb the untouchables into their society. Dates: Undated; first published in BAWS Vol. 12 (1993). ^{249 209} Physical copy: Government of Maharashtra – Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Source Material Publication Committee (Education Department) (Mumbai, Maharashtra) – see physical-archives.md.

Newspapers and journals

The Marathi papers he founded or guided. Full details are in research/works/journals.md.

• Mooknayak (मूकनायक – “Leader of the Voiceless”) (1920) – Ambedkar’s first newspaper, started with Rs. 2,500 from Shahu Maharaj of Kolhapur. Because he was then a college professor, others were named as editor (first P. N. Bhatkar, then D. D. Gholap), but Ambedkar wrote its early editorials before leaving for London in July 1920. Its masthead carried verses of the saint Tukaram. Dates: First issue 31 January 1920. Fortnightly, Marathi, Bombay (Parel). The last surviving issue is No. 19 of 23 October 1920; some sources say the paper continued until 1922 or 1923. Pritchett’s timeline calls it a weekly; issue dates support fortnightly. ^{250 251 250 252 253 254 255 16} Physical copy: People’s Education Society – Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Research Centre, Rajgruha (Dadar, Mumbai); Dr. Ambedkar Research Institute (Nagpur); Shivaji University Library (Kolhapur) – see physical-archives.md.
• Bahishkrit Bharat (बहिष्कृत भारत – “Excluded India”) (1927) – Started during the Mahad Satyagraha, this was the only paper of which Ambedkar was formally the editor and publisher. It was the voice of the Bahishkrit Hitakarini Sabha and carried his editorials on Mahad, temple entry, caste and politics. Dates: First issue 3 April 1927; fortnightly (Fridays) from issue 2; last issue (joint no. 21–22) dated 15 November 1929 according to the 1990 reprint. Forward Press, citing Vasant Moon, gives 19 November 1929. ^{250 256 251 257 250 253 258} Physical copy: University of Mumbai Library (Mumbai); Dr. Ambedkar Research Institute (Nagpur) – see physical-archives.md.
• Samata (समता – “Equality”) (1928) – The paper of the Samaj Samata Sangh (Social Equality League), issued under Ambedkar’s leadership but edited by Devrao Naik; Ambedkar himself did not write for it. Each editorial carried the “Golden Rule” from the Mahabharata and the Bible. Dates: Launched 29 June 1928; fortnightly; closed after 19 issues in March 1929 (Ashok Gopal, via The News Minute). Forward Press gives a different start date in one place. ^{259 258}
• Janata (जनता – “The People”) (1930) – The longest-running paper of Ambedkar’s movement, published under his guidance from 1930 until 1956. Editors included Devrao Naik, Bhaskarrao Kadrekar, Gangadhar Sahastrabuddhe and later B. C. Kamble; Ambedkar did not hold the editor’s title. Dates: First issue 24 November 1930 (EPW; Forward Press gives 25 November). Weekly. Renamed Prabuddha Bharat on 4 February 1956. ^{256 256 260 261 262 263 16} Physical copy: Government of Maharashtra – Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Source Material Publication Committee (Mumbai) – see physical-archives.md.
• Prabuddha Bharat (प्रबुद्ध भारत – “Enlightened India”) (1956) – The renamed Janata, now dedicated to Buddhism as Ambedkar prepared for his conversion. It published a special “Buddha Deeksha” issue on 27 October 1956 about the Nagpur conversion. Dates: Janata was renamed Prabuddha Bharat from 4 February 1956 (The Wire; Forward Press). Some sources give other dates (1954, or after the October 1956 conversion). Weekly. ^{264 265 261} Physical copy: Not known (—) – see physical-archives.md.

Letters and autobiographical writing

• Letters to Professor Edwin R. A. Seligman (1920) – Letters from Ambedkar to his Columbia teacher, the economist Edwin Seligman, about his studies in London and his debt to Columbia. Dates: Includes a letter of 3 August 1920 from London; later letters about his lost and rewritten thesis. ¹⁶ Physical copy: Columbia University, Rare Book & Manuscript Library – Edwin R. A. Seligman papers (Butler Library, New York, USA) – see physical-archives.md.
• Waiting for a Visa (1935) – Short true stories from Ambedkar’s own life about meeting untouchability: as a boy travelling to Koregaon, as a young officer unable to find a room in Baroda, and other incidents, including some told about other people. Dates: Handwritten reminiscences; Frances Pritchett suggests from internal evidence that they were written about 1935 or 1936. First published by the People’s Education Society as a booklet on 19 March 1990. ^{266 267} Physical copy: People’s Education Society, Mumbai (Mumbai, Maharashtra) – see physical-archives.md.
• Correspondence with the Viceroy, the Cabinet Mission and the British Prime Minister (1942–1946) (1942) – Letters between Ambedkar and Lord Linlithgow, Lord Wavell, Sir Stafford Cripps, A. V. Alexander, Lord Pethick-Lawrence and Clement Attlee, with British officials’ notes about him. They concern the place of the Scheduled Castes in the coming transfer of power. Dates: Letters and notes from 1942 to 1946, many taken from the British “Transfer of Power” documents. ^{268 137 269}
• Letter to Jawaharlal Nehru regarding “The Buddha and His Dhamma” (1956) – A letter telling Prime Minister Nehru that the book was finished and in the press, and asking whether the Government of India could buy copies, because the printing cost (about Rs. 20,000) was beyond his means. Dates: 14 September 1956. ^{82 160}
• Correspondence (BAWS Marathi series, Vol. 21) (undated) – A volume of Dr. Ambedkar’s letters published by the Government of Maharashtra in its series of his writings. Dates: Letters from across his life; the volume is catalogued as “Correspondence” (c. 2006, tentative). ^{270 270 4}

Lost works

• Original thesis manuscript lost at sea (1917) (1917) – When Ambedkar had to return from London to India in 1917, he sent his books and papers by a separate steamer, which was torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine. In a later letter to Prof. Seligman he wrote that he had lost the manuscript of his original thesis and had written a new one. Dates: Lost in 1917 when the steamer carrying his belongings back to India was torpedoed (Keer, via Pritchett). ^{10 16} Physical copy: Lost (—) – see physical-archives.md.

Where sources disagree

• His 1915 M.A. thesis. BAWS Vol. 6 prints “Administration and Finance of the East India Company” as the thesis “submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Arts, May 15, 1915” ²⁷¹. Frances Pritchett’s timeline, citing Keer’s biography, says the 1915 M.A. thesis was “Ancient Indian Commerce” ¹⁰.
• “The Evolution of Provincial Finance”. Pritchett’s 1910s page says this book grew out of his 1916 Columbia thesis “National Dividend of India”, and his 1920s page says Columbia awarded the Ph.D. for it on 8 June 1927 (from his transcript). The same 1920s page also calls it his “London School of Economics M.A. thesis” ¹⁶. His LSE master’s thesis was on a related subject – “The Provincial Decentralisation of Imperial Finance in India” ¹⁸.
• “The Problem of the Rupee”. The LSE Archivist calls it a doctoral (PhD) thesis, submitted in March 1923, resubmitted in August and accepted in November 1923; it is usually described as his D.Sc. ¹⁸. The same post notes that stories of the examiners calling it “too revolutionary” find no support in his student file.
• First-edition dates of BAWS volumes. The 2020 Ambedkar Foundation reprints print “First Edition: 14 April, 1979” on every volume ²⁷², which is only true of Vol. 1. The 2014 reprints give the real dates, for example 14 April 1994 for Vol. 13 and 4 October 2003 for Vol. 17 ²⁷³.
• Mooknayak’s frequency and end date – see journals.md.
• The Russell review. BAWS gives the “Journal of the Indian Economic Society, Vol. I, 1918” ¹⁶⁴; Pritchett’s timeline names the “Journal of Indian Economics” ¹⁰.
• “Thoughts on Pakistan” and “Pakistan or the Partition of India” are the same book: BAWS lists a first edition of December 1940 and later editions of February 1945 and 1946 ³⁷. A Digital Library of India scan of “Thoughts on Pakistan” is dated 1941 ³⁴.

Gaps and things still to check

• Volume 14 (both parts) and Volume 16 of the MEA PDFs are image scans without searchable text. Their page links here were checked by looking at the scanned pages: PDF page = printed page + 15 (Vol. 14 Part 1), printed page − 777 (Vol. 14 Part 2) and printed page + 19 (Vol. 16).
• The Dr. Ambedkar Foundation’s own site, drambedkarwritings.gov.in, did not respond when this catalogue was made, so its copies were not checked.
• No complete list exists of the letters Dr. Ambedkar wrote. The Marathi BAWS Vol. 21 (Correspondence) and the letters printed in BAWS Vols. 10 and 17 are the best starting points.
• Several manuscripts that BAWS describes (for example the 31-page handwritten “Manu and the Shudras”) are known only from the BAWS editors’ notes; their present storage place is not documented online.

Read more

• Ministry of External Affairs – Books & Writings of Ambedkar – all 20 English BAWS PDFs and the 40 Hindi volumes.
• Columbia University – Frances Pritchett’s Ambedkar pages – timeline and edited texts for students.
• Columbia CCNMTL – “Annihilation of Caste” annotated e-text.
• Internet Archive – BAWS English volumes (2014 reprint copies).
• Internet Archive – Hindi Sampoorna Vangmay, 40 volumes.
• Constitution of India (constitutionofindia.net) – Constituent Assembly Debates – full debates, day by day.