BR Ambedkar (1891-1956) was the first Dalit to be formally educated to the highest level, gaining his PhDs from the Columbia University and London School of Economics in 1927 and 1932, respectively. He was also the first Indian to pursue a doctorate in economics abroad. Despite building an international reputation as a lawyer, Ambedkar waged a singular and lonely battle for years against India’s Brahminical and higher-caste political establishment. This included Mahatma Gandhi, who resisted Ambedkar’s effort to formalise and codify a separate identity for “lower-caste” Hindus. Nonetheless, Ambedkar became Law Minister in the first government of independent India, and...