Goodbye Mai

Dr Ambedkar’s only son, Yeshwantrao alias Bhaiyyasaheb, had even written to the police commissioner of Delhi, demanding an inquiry into his father’s death.

Some close associates of Dr Ambedkar had then mobilised 19 MPs to write to then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, demanding an inquiry into Dr Ambedkar’s death. A probe was ordered which subsequently found no truth in the allegations. The then Union Home minister Govind Vallabh Pant, replying to a question raised in the Lok Sabha by Dalit MP B.C. Kamble, categorically stated that Dr Ambedkar died a natural death.

But the damage had been done. The smear campaign had further increased the wedge between her and the masses. Yeshwantrao also filed a suit claiming exclusive property rights. Dr Ambedkar had prepared a will at Delhi and was to register it in Mumbai, but before he could do it, he died.

Dr Ambedkar’s death thus dealt a blow to Mai, literally wiping her off from the scenario of Dalit politics. She was unacceptable to Dalit leaders, who were divided among themselves and when the Republican Party of India was formed on October 3, 1957, 10 months after Dr Ambedkar’s death, they could not arrive at a consensus on the leadership issue. The issue continues to haunt the party, which ideally represents an ameobic disintegration of a political party.

In her autobiography, Doctor Babasahebanchya Sahawasaat (In the company of Dr Babasaheb), she had mentioned that some Dalit leaders had even hired goons to get her killed. She had named three Dalits who she alleged were sent from Mumbai to Delhi to eliminate her. She had claimed that she came to know of the plot when one of the three goons confessed to her close associate D.D. Baviskar years later. The hired killers had stayed in Delhi but apparently did not get the opportunity and eventually lost interest.

Being edged out by Dr Ambedkar’s associates from the political scene, Mai had confined herself to the Buddhist Society of India to realise the dream of her husband to spread Buddhism. The close lieutenants of Dr Ambedkar were busy fighting among themselves for a larger share of political legacy to object to her religious activities.

However, Yeshwantrao headed a parallel Buddhist Society of India, which was later controlled by his wife, Meeratai and son Prakash. After decades of litigation, the court upheld Mai’s organisation as genuine. However, her organisation could neither attract a large number of Dalits nor undertake major religious activities. The propaganda unleashed by some Dalit leaders against her acted as a repellent. She, nevertheless, pinned her hopes on the younger generation of Dalit leaders, especially the Dalit Panthers, who emerged as a force to reckon with in the 1970s but later broke up into various factions like their seniors. Later, she made futile appeals for unity of all factions of the RPI on several occasions.

Mai was offered a Rajya Sabha seat by Nehru and Indira Gandhi, but she refused. In her autobiography, she had mentioned that her refusal stemmed from the fact that the Congress had harassed Dr Ambedkar throughout his life and hence it was improper for her to sit in Parliament as a Congress member.

Incidentally, Mai’s maiden name was Sharda Kabir and she had passed MBBS from Mumbai’s Grant Medical College in 1937. She had four sisters and three brothers and the family, hailing from Ratnagiri, was progressive-minded and inter-caste marriages were not considered blasphemous.

A family friend and an economist from Vile Parle, Dr S. Rao, had introduced her to Dr Ambedkar first. Dr Rao had later asked Dr Ambedkar to consult Dr Madhavrao Malwanker in his clinic along Hughes Road, Mumbai, where Mai used to work as an assistant. Dr Ambedkar suffered from various ailments like diabetes and high blood pressure and his hectic schedule made it difficult for him to manage his diet and medicines. Dr Ambedkar was looking for a nurse who would look after his health. Eventually, they married on April 25, 1948 in Delhi. Dr Ambedkar was a widower, with his first wife Ramabai having died on May 20, 1935.

Mai took care of Dr Ambedkar throughout his last crucial eight years and eight months when he was fighting with his deteriorating health and simultaneously drafting the Constitution and making futile attempts to push the Hindu Code Bill through Parliament to grant property rights for Hindu women. He resigned as Law minister when the Bill could not get the required votes in 1951. It was later passed during the tenure of his successor, Haribhau Pataskar.

Mai’s major public appearances with Dr Ambedkar were few, like the public felicitations on October 12, 1948 at St Xavier’s ground at Parel, Mumbai, and on December 22, 1948 at RM Bhat High School, Parel. The most important public appearance was on October 14, 1956 when she along with Dr Ambedkar embraced Buddhism at Nagpur.

Mai’s tragedy was that an emotional bond could never develop between her and the Dalit masses. There was also a lack of attachment between her and Dr Ambedkar’s heirs. She lived till the ripe age of 94 but did not get the due respect from Dalits.