A household name throughout India, B. R. Ambedkar is one of the country's most important figures, second only to Mahatma Gandhi. He played a major role in drafting the constitution for a newly independent India and led the fight against caste-based discrimination.

Ambedkar was born into a Dalit caste (the so-called 'untouchables'), but his academic brilliance saw him study at Columbia University and London School of Economics. As a politician, he fought to overturn centuries of discrimination and promoted liberal constitutionalism in a traditionally illiberal society. He did more than anyone to articulate a cogent and enduring case for the principles of democracy in a country emerging from imperial rule.

This book is also a reminder of how far the practice of politics has strayed from the high standards Ambedkar set - of intellectual distinction, policy positions animated by serious scholarship, the infusion of moral values and the upholding of democracy for the many, not just the privileged few.

Shashi Tharoor