Nehru refused state help to publish Ambedkar’s Buddhist conversion text

Evidence

On 14 September 1956, Ambedkar wrote a letter to Prime Minister Nehru. “The cost of printing is very heavy and will come to about Rs 20,000. This is beyond my capacity, and I am, therefore, canvassing help from all quarters. I wonder if the Government of India could purchase 500 copies for distribution among the various libraries and among the many scholars whom it is inviting during the course of this year for the celebration of Buddha’s 2,500 years’ anniversary.” Nehru did not help him. The book was published posthumously. — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 588

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to accounts of Nehru-Ambedkar friction over separate electorates and caste policy in the constituent assembly era.