I AM A MAN OF CHARACTER 215
Dr. Ambedkar’s letter to Mr. Pandit, on the Baroda State
Government’s move to file a suit for the recovery of the
amount. Written in his own magnificient way and style give
a very interesting reading. The same is reproduced verbatim :
Private Damodar Hall.
B. R. Ambedkar Parel, Bombay
9-12-1924
Dear Mr. Pandit,
Thank you very much for your letter of the 6th instant. I have very carefully noted the contents of the same. If you had seen my previous correspondence with the Baroda Government you would not have found much necessity to remind me of my obligations to the State. For, I have written to them many a times that whatever be the legal relations between me and the Baroda State I hold myself bound to pay the money the State has spent on my behalf. And believe me that if I had the money with me here and now I would have discharged my obligations without a moment’s delay. For I long to feel that I am free to say that I want to say regarding the treatment the Baroda Government has given to me and of which you seem to be entirely unaware. But situated as I am I have not sufficient to live on much less to spare anything to my credits. You say that I am now “established” in Bombay and that you don’t see any difficulty why I should not fulfil my obligations. It is rather difficult to understand what you mean by the word “established”. If you mean that I am earning by heaps I am sorry to tell you that you are entirely mistaken. You seem to forget that I am only a Barrister struggling to get work. First of all there is the fact that I am only year old in practice. Secondly there are all the caste prejudices which are rampant in this profession and which I have to face at every step in my onward march. The struggle