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On 3 April 1927, Ambedkar launched the Marathi fortnightly ‘Bahishkrit Bharat’. In one of its many editorials severely critical of upper-caste Hindu society, Ambedkar likened the British rule and the Brahmanical rule to two leeches incessantly sucking the blood of the Indian people, writes Siddharth

Who is Swaraj (self-rule) for? Would this be the ostracized Untouchables’ Swaraj, too? Would they be equal participants? Or would this Swaraj be the self-rule of the upper-castes who have been committing atrocities against the Untouchables for centuries? These are the searching questions Ambedkar asked through the fortnightly Mooknayak, writes Siddharth

As a journalist, Ambedkar worked towards liberating the India of the outcastes (Bahishkrit Bharat) and building a new, enlightened India (Prabuddha Bharat). Dr Siddharth contributes the first piece to a special series in the run-up to the centenary of the launch of ‘Mooknayak’

Ambedkar studied in depth the interrelationship between nationalism and women and found the idea of ‘Bharat Mata’ to be anti-women. Neha Singh explains what, according to Ambedkar, the place of women in a nation ought to be

It is clear that until every section of society does not get due representation in the media, the one-sided, solicitous and unbalanced dissemination of information will continue. It was to counter this imbalance that Ambedkar wanted Dalits to have their own media outlets. He believed that only Dalit journalism could battle injustice faced by Dalits

Ambedkar realized early on the importance of financial independence when one worked for the public good. Hence, while he ran the newspaper, he never gave up practising law. Finances were a concern for a newspaper then as they are today