Dr B R Ambedkar faced many an obstacle on his way to a hallowed career in academics one of them was a German submarine.
In 1917, when the First World War was at its most incendiary, the young academic had sent a draft of his PhD dissertation and a vast collection of books aboard the ship SS Salsette from London to then Bombay.
But in what is now part of folklore surrounding the author of the Problem of the Rupee, a German torpedo sent his work sinking to the bottom of the English Channel.
As it happened, the sinking was hardly enough to throw off stride Ambedkar, the Dalit icon and architect of India's Constitution, who doubled down in his pursuits and went on to win at least two doctorates, and several other honorary ones.
The incident, and the herculean academic efforts of Ambedkar, have now been given new currency in the book 'Becoming Babasaheb: The Life and Times of Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (Volume 1)' by Aakash Singh Rathore, published by HarperCollins India.
In the summer of 1917, Ambedkar was forced to return to India after his Baroda scholarship expired and the state refused to extend financial support. He departed from London, a city where he had worked tirelessly for over a year.
He had completed coursework for his MSc at the London School of Economics and was well on his way to a PhD at Columbia University.
However, he still had to submit his master's thesis, and his doctoral dissertation too was unfinished. More so, he had only just begun his legal training at Gray's Inn.
Thus forced, he sent his books and papers separately in cargo by the SS Salsette, a British steamer, and travelled onboard the SS Kaisar-i-Hind to India.
On July 20, German submarine, UB-40, fired a torpedo at the SS Salsette. The attack killed 15 crew members and sank Ambedkar's thesis along with his vast collection of books.
"The SS Salsette sank 45 minutes after the torpedo hit, taking the vast majority of Ambedkar's books and papers, including the first draft of his Columbia University doctoral dissertation ('The National Dividend'), to the bottom of the sea," writes Rathore in his book.
Ambedkar arrived in Bombay on August 21, 1917, and was greeted by members of the Mahar community with fanfare for his academic achievements.
He would eventually return to London to finish his PhD and complete his legal training.
On Monday, across the country, tributes were paid to the country's first law minister and untouchability crusader on his 135th birth anniversary.
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