Dr. Bhushan Amol Darkase
The author Aakash Singh Rathore claims in his book ‘Becoming Babasaheb’ that Ambedkar did seriously consider marrying Frances Fitzgerald. (Page 144/388 Kindle edition)
The references given by the author for his claims are some WordPress websites (https://raattai.wordpress.com/2016/05/29/ambedkars-family/) which we will explore below.
1) As per this site, https://raattai.wordpress.com/2016/05/29/ambedkars-family/ Frances Fitzgerald died in 1945.
As per Rathore, she died in 1946 (no reference). As per Khairmoday she died in 1945.
2) This site https://raattai.wordpress.com/2016/05/29/ambedkars-family/ mentions a total of 92 letters.
The above site gives links to 3 articles. The first link doesn’t work and the second links to another article. It is about Ambedkar’s ‘love letters’, mentions 91 letters, and kicks up heat and dust http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report-ambedkar-love-letters-kick-up-heat-and-dust-1000464 2005 .
As per Prof Kamble (refer to the above link), the set of 91 letters exchanged between the two from 1923 to 1943 were handed over to him by Dr. Ambedkar’s librarian, S S Rege.
Prof Kamble had handed over the documents to Roli Books. Prof Kamble also says in the same article, “I firmly believe that Dr. Ambedkar and Frances had a platonic relationship. It was an intellectual relationship.”
As far as the claims of Kamble regarding the letters are concerned, Prakash Ambedkar is not ready to buy this argument. “All original documents and publishing rights have been handed over by our family to the state government. From where has Prof Kamble dug out these documents?” he asked. (Refer to the above link)
Whereas Nanak Chand Rattu, in his ‘Little known facets of Dr. Ambedkar’, says, “Unfortunately except for her four letters that she wrote on 15-05-24, 11-3-25, 15-1-37, 13-5-37 no other letter is available, despite my repeated efforts. It has also not been possible for me to lay my hands on any of the letters written to her by Dr. Ambedkar.” [Page 128]
He also says that the relationship was “cordial”. [For this see the ‘Little known facets of Dr. Ambedkar’, Page 122-140]
So the question remains: from where do these 91 or 92 letters come into the picture.
As per this site, https://raattai.wordpress.com/2016/05/29/ambedkars-family/ Frances died in 1945. As per Rathore, she died in 1946 (no reference given by the author). As per Khairmoday, she died in 1945.
The same site (https://raattai.wordpress.com/2016/05/29/ambedkars-family/) gives the link to the 3rd article.
Fritzgerald’s letters to Ambedkar tell a poignant story of love http://www.mail-archive.com/zestcaste@yahoogroups.com/msg02146.html (the author refers to a candidly passionate passage from this site, and the site gives no authentic reference for the passage).
The above site starts with a paragraph saying, according to the publishers, Frances was denied a visa to India and the two drifted apart. A barrister, K.K. Khade, an associate of Dr. Ambedkar, met her in 1964 at a coffee shop near a Tube station in London and reportedly asked her if she knew that Dr. Ambedkar had dedicated his last book, What Congress and Gandhi Have Done to the Untouchables (published in 1945), to her. Frances’ reply was, “I should think so.”
If as per the 1st reference she died in 1945 (as per Rathore it is in 1946 [no reference]) how is it possible that K.K. Khade met her in 1964?
The author quotes a candidly passionate passage from the shady reference and claims that “Ambedkar did seriously consider marrying Frances, but after a great deal of anguished deliberation, ultimately decided against it. He would sacrifice love for the pursuit of his life’s aim and mission. But all of this comes later. We will delve more deeply into the long-lasting relationship between Frances and Ambedkar in the next volume.” Why the next volume? (without even telling us about his references.)
This is all speculation, without any authenticity, based on references which are full of factual errors regarding dates and facts. How did the author miss these errors, with regard to so-called dates and facts?
It is also questionable why the author missed the below remarks in Nanak Chand Rattu’s book ‘Little known facets of Dr. Ambedkar’ [Page 42] – after the death of Ramabai Dr. Ambedkar lived a lonely life, for about fifteen years, at least. “I have had,” he (Ambedkar) said, “No companions but I had learned to live a happy life without thinking anyone to bestow personal affection to me. My books have been my companions, they are dearer to me than wife and children.”
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References
For detailed analysis of the book also read, Rediscovering Ambedkar with Aakash Singh Rathore’s ‘Becoming Babasaheb’ by Raja Sekhar Vundru at: https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/reviews/story/rediscovering-ambedkar-with-aakash-singh-rathores-becoming-babasaheb-497878
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Dr. Bhushan Amol Darkase is an Assistant Professor in BJMC and Sassoon Hospital, Pune, and has an M.D. Dermatology, and Fellowship in Diagnostic Dermatology.
