My favourite newspaper no longer exists. It was called the Bombay Chronicle, and it was founded in 1910 as a nationalist alternative to the British-owned and British-oriented Times of India. In the first half of the 20th century, Bombay was an incredibly exciting place to live and work in. It was British India’s commercial capital, and also the epicentre of the film industry, of nationalist politics, and of much else besides. The excitement and intensity of the times was vividly captured in the pages of the Bombay Chronicle. The newspaper had many fine reporters and two outstanding editors: BG Horniman, who was at the helm in its early years, and SA Brelvi, who edited it in the 1920s and 1930s.

When I thought of writing a column on BR Ambedkar’s conversion to Buddhism, it was to the old files of Bombay Chronicle that I turned. I knew the paper had covered Ambedkar’s activities ever since he entered public life, and it would be interesting to see what it said about the last major event of his career. Fortunately, the newspaper was still around to cover the event, although by this time Horniman and Brelvi were both dead.

Ambedkar converted to Buddhism in Nagpur on October 14, 1956, that is, exactly 70 years ago today. I shall come presently to the ceremony and its coverage in the Bombay Chronicle, but first I must provide some context. In October 1935, upper-caste Hindus in a Gujarati village named Kavitha boycotted untouchables for daring to ask for their children to be admitted to the local school. When Ambedkar heard of this incident, he said that “if we were members of another faith none would dare treat us so”. He told his followers to “choose any religion which gives you equality of status and treatment”.

On Ambedkar’s advice, a meeting of the Depressed Classes held in Nasik passed a resolution urging them to leave Hinduism and instead embrace a religion that gave them equal status with its other members.

Ambedkar expressed his intention to severe his connection with Hinduism in October, 1935. Yet it took him another 21 years to act on this. Why? One reason was that he wished to carefully consider all the options. Another was his preoccupation with urgent questions of reform and representation, that needed attention on a daily basis.

After Ambedkar said he would leave Hinduism, both Muslim and Christian missionaries reached out to him. He rejected their overtures, in part because these religions were........

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