Waiting for a Visa: Experiences with Untouchability

"Here are some of the reminiscences drawn by Dr Ambedkar in his handwriting. The MSS traced in the collection of the People's Education Society were published by the society as a booklet on 19 March 1990— ed." (p. 661)

It seems from internal evidence that Dr Ambedkar wrote this piece about eighteen years after Dr Ambedkar's return from America and Europe, which would put it in 1935 or 1936.

Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (14 April 1891 – 6 December 1956) was an Indian jurist, economist, and social reformer who fought economic and social discrimination against the untouchables (now Dalits) in India's Hindu society and who later renounced Hinduism and inspired the Dalit Buddhist movement. Ambedkar served as chairman of the drafting committee of the Constitution of India and Minister of Law and Justice in the first cabinet of Jawaharlal Nehru from 1947 to 1951. The honorific Babasaheb also refers to him.

Ambedkar was a prolific student, earning doctorates in economics from Columbia University and the London School of Economics, gaining a reputation as a scholar for his research in law, economics and political science. He was an economist, professor, and lawyer in his early career. His political activities marked his later life; he became involved in campaigning and negotiations for India's independence, publishing journals, advocating political rights and social freedom for Dalits, and contributing significantly to the establishment of the state of India. In 1956, he converted to Buddhism, initiating mass conversions of Dalits.

In 1990, the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award, was posthumously conferred on Ambedkar. Jai Bhim's salutation (lit. "Hail Bhim") used by followers honours him.