A panel appointed by the government has identified four works of the Father of the Constitution, B.R. Ambedkar, for translation into Tamil and publication as a critical edition.
It has selected Annihilation of Caste, Riddles in Hinduism, Philosophy of Hinduism and Who Were the Shudras? in the first phase.
Though a Tamil translation of some of these works was available, the critical edition would have notes and short explanations on personalities or historical events being discussed in the book for the benefit of young readers or those who may not be aware of the historical context in which the work was authored by Ambedkar, said Villupuram MP D. Ravikumar, one of the members of the committee.
The first drafts of the Tamil translation of two works – Annihilation of Caste and Philosophy of Hinduism – have been prepared, and the panel expects to release them on Ambedkar’s death anniversary on December 6.
A recent meeting of the panel, chaired by Information Minister M.P. Saminathan, discussed the prospects of including the Secretaries of the Tamil Development and Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare Departments in the panel.
In April, Chief Minister M.K. Stalin had announced in the Assembly that select works of Ambedkar would be translated into Tamil and published as a critical edition.
