B. R. Ambedkar: The man who gave hope to India's dispossessed

A household name throughout India, B. R. Ambedkar is one of the country’s most important figures, second only to Mahatma Gandhi. He played a major role in drafting the constitution for a newly independent India and led the fight against caste-based discrimination.

Ambedkar was born into a Dalit caste (the so-called ‘untouchables’), but his academic brilliance saw him study at Columbia Universityand London School of Economics. As a politician, he fought to overturn centuries of discrimination...