Who Is Savita Ambedkar? More About The Second Wife Of Father Of Indian Constitution

Popularly referred to as Mai or Maisaheb, Savita Ambedkar was the second wife of Babasaheb Ambedkar, the architect of the Indian Constitution. She was a doctor and a social activist.

In an unpublished preface of The Buddha and His Dhamma Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar's last book, he credited her for extending his life by 8 to 10 years.

Who Is Savita Ambedkar?

Savita Ambedkar was born in 1909 in erstwhile Bombay in a Marathi Brahmin household in the Ratnagiri district. Her birth name was Sharada Kabir she took the name Savita Ambedkar after her marriage to Dr Ambedkar. 

Savita Ambedkar gained her early education in Pune. After that, around 1937 she did MBBS from Grant Medical College, Mumbai. After completing her degree she started working as a first-class medical officer in a hospital in Gujarat however she quit the job and returned to Mumbai due to her health. Savita had eight siblings had six of them had inter-caste marriages, an extraordinary thing for any Marathi Brahmin in those days. Savita said, "Our family did not oppose inter-caste marriages, because the whole family was educated and progressive."

Suggested Reading:

Not Only Dalits, Bababsaheb Ambedkar Advocated Women’s Empowerment Too

In 1947, during the time Dr Ambedkar was drafting the Indian Constitution he had some health issues. Dr Ambedkar had diabetes and high blood pressure and he could not sleep. He was having neuropathic pain and went to Mumbai for treatment. This is where he first met Dr Sharada Kabir and eventually they came closer.

Marriage To Dr Ambedkar

Babasaheb Ambedkar's first wife, Ramabai Ambedkar, passed away in 1935 after a prolonged illness. Dr Sharada and Dr Ambedkar debated over many topics and had regular correspondence. They exchanged 40-50 letters. In 1948 in a letter to Dadasaheb Gaikwad Ambedkar wrote, "To keep a woman nurse or to take care of the house for service, there will be doubts in people's mind, so marriage is a better way." The two married in April 1948 in New Delhi, 13 years after Ramabai's death. 

She converted to Buddhism along with her husband Dr Ambedkar, however, due to her Brahmin roots aspirations were made regarding her dedication to the Dalit-Buddhist movement. She was even blamed for Dr Ambedkar's death in 1956.

Mai was instrumental in setting up the Symbiosis Society’s Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Museum and Memorial in Pune. She even donated many of his belongings to the Memorial.

Savita Ambedkar passed on in May 2003 at the J.J. Hospital in Mumbai after a prolonged illness. She was 94 at the time of her death.