Chinmoyin at 18:51, 9 April 2026

2026-04-09T18:51:44Z

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{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Nanak Chand Rattu
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1922|02|06|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Sakruli]], [[Punjab, British India]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2002|09|15|1922|02|06|df=y}}
| occupation = Typist, [[personal assistant|personal secretary]]
| known_for = Companion of [[B. R. Ambedkar]]
| notable_works = ''Reminiscences and rememberances of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar'', ''Last Few Years of Dr Ambedkar''
}}
'''Nanak Chand Rattu''' (1922–2002) was the [[personal assistant]] of [[B. R. Ambedkar]], India's first [[Ministry of Law and Justice (India)|Minister of Law]]. Like Ambedkar, Rattu was born in a [[Dalit]] family that was considered [[untouchability|untouchable]] in the traditional caste-based society. He came from [[Punjab, British India|Punjab]] to [[Delhi]] in search of a job, and became known to Ambedkar as a government employee. Even after Ambedkar resigned from his position, Rattu continued to serve him, and typed most of his writings, including the manuscripts of ''[[The Buddha and His Dhamma]]'' and ''[[Riddles in Hinduism]]''. After Ambedkar's death, he wrote books on Ambedkar's life that were published in the 1990s.

== Early life ==

Nanak Chand Rattu was born on 6 February 1922 in the [[Sakruli]] village of [[Hoshiarpur District]] of [[Punjab Province (British India)|Punjab]].<ref name="DCA_1992"/> He belonged to a poor [[Ad-Dharmi]] family, considered untouchable in the traditional caste-based society.<ref name="DCA_1992"/><ref name="SI_2016"/> After passing the [[matriculation exam]] in 1938, he could not find a job in Punjab. In August 1939, he came to Delhi for an interview, but was not selected for the job. He did several odd jobs, including as a gatekeeper in a [[movie theater]] and the [[Delhi Cloth & General Mills|Delhi Cloth Mills]]. In 1940, he got a clerical job at a [[Government of India]] office.<ref name="DCA_1992">{{cite book |author=D. C. Ahir |title=Dr. Ambedkar and Punjab |publisher=B.R. |year=1992 |isbn=9788170187363 |pages=49–52 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9ABIAAAAMAAJ }}</ref>

== As Ambedkar's secretary and factotum ==

Rattu served as Amebdkar's secretary for over 17 years, from 3 January 1940 to Ambedkar's death on 6 December 1956.<ref>{{cite book |author=Raosaheb K. Kale |chapter=Ambedkar's Passion for Education—Overcoming Historical Deprivation and Ensuring Provision for the Deprived |title=Mapping Identity-Induced Marginalisation in India |year=2022 |publisher=Springer Nature Singapore |isbn=9789811931284 |page=141}}</ref> Ambedkar served as the [[Ministry of Law and Justice (India)|Minister of Law]] in the [[First Nehru ministry]], and during 1942–1951, Rattu visited Ambedkar's official residence (first 22 [[Prithviraj Road]] and then 1 Hardinge Avenue) several times.<ref name="DCA_1992"/>

In September 1951, Ambedkar resigned from Nehru's cabinet, following the impasse over the [[Hindu Code Bill]]. Since he no longer had any official secretarial staff, he asked Nanak Chand Rattu to be his secretary and factotum, since Rattu had earlier expressed a keen interest in helping him. Rattu, who retained his job as a typist in a central government office, readily agreed. After his resignation, Ambedkar and his wife Savita lived at [[26 Alipur Road]], a rented bungalow. Rattu would come to Ambedkar's residence every evening and work there until well past midnight. He typed nearly all of Ambedkar's writings between October 1951 and December 1956, when Ambedkar died.<ref name="SI_2016">{{cite book |editor1=S. Anand |editor2=Shobhna Iyer |author=B.R. Ambedkar |title=Riddles in Hinduism: The Annotated Critical Edition |year=2016 |publisher=Navayana |isbn=9788189059774 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rgDVjwEACAAJ |pages=8–9 }}</ref> These writings included the manuscripts of the books ''[[The Buddha and His Dhamma]]'' and ''[[Riddles in Hinduism]]''.<ref name="DCA_1992"/>

Like Ambedkar, Rattu eventually converted to [[Buddhism]].<ref>{{cite news |author=Aparna Banerji |title=8,000 Punjab Buddhists, majority loyal to Ambedkar |url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/archive/punjab/8-000-punjab-buddhists-majority-loyal-to-ambedkar-694124 |date=6 December 2022 |work=The Tribune }}</ref>

== After Ambedkar's death ==

[[Savita Ambedkar]] continued to live at [[Dr. Ambedkar National Memorial|26 Alipur Road]] after her husband's death. Ambedkar's papers, including the ones typed by Rattu, were kept in a storeroom: Rattu would dust and fumigate them occasionally. In 1967, many of these papers were destroyed in rain, after the new owner of the house dumped them in a yard.<ref name="SI_2016"/> After Savita Ambedkar officially evacuated 26 Alipur Road on 31 August 1967, as per a court order, Rattu sheltered her at his own house for a few months.<ref name="VS_2022_letters"/> Later, he helped her sell her [[Mehrauli]] house, when she decided to move to [[Mumbai]]. After she moved to Mumbai, he kept in touch with her via correspondence by mail. He visited Mumbai several times, and treated her with reverence and respect.<ref name="VS_2022_NCRattu"/>

=== Allegations against Savita Ambedkar ===

Despite maintaining cordial relations with Savita Ambedkar, Rattu told biographers of B. R. Ambedkar that he suspected her of poisoning her husband. According to him, she slowly poisoned Ambedkar by giving him insulin overdoses, and a post-mortem would not have revealed this. The writings by these biographers encouraged misgivings against Savita Ambedkar. She was unaware of Rattu's allegations against her, until Vijay Surwade gave her photocopies of Rattu's typed and signed statements to the biographers [[Dhananjay Keer]] and C. B. Khairmode. One day, in 1994 or 1995, when Rattu visited her, she asked him about the allegations. When Rattu denied making any such allegations, she showed him the photocopies. According to her, Rattu was "completely nonplussed": she asked him to leave and never visit her again. The two did not interact again after this incident.<ref name="VS_2022_NCRattu">{{cite book |contributor=Vijay Surwade |contribution=Epilogue - Nanak Chand Rattu (1922-2002) |author=Savita Ambedkar |title=Babasaheb: My Life With Dr Ambedkar |translator=Nadeem Khan |year=2022 |publisher=Penguin Random House India |isbn=9789354927959 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=diyWEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT335 }}</ref>

In his own book, published in the 1990s, Rattu implies that Savita Ambedkar ensured that her husband did not get adequate medical care in the final years of his life, leading to his death.<ref name="SI_2016"/>

=== Later life ===

Rattu retired from government service in February 1980.<ref name="DCA_1992"/> Rattu wrote a book titled ''Reminiscences and rememberances of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar'', published in 1995 by Falcon Books for the Babasaheb Ambedkar Memorial Committee of Great Britain.<ref name="VS_2022_letters">{{cite book |contributor=Vijay Surwade |contribution=Appendix 1: Four unpublished letters written by Dr. Ambedkar to his fiancée Dr Sharada Kabir |author=Savita Ambedkar |title=Babasaheb: My Life With Dr Ambedkar |translator=Nadeem Khan |year=2022 |publisher=Penguin Random House India |isbn=9789354927959 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=diyWEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT342 }}</ref> In 1997, ''Last Few Years of Dr Ambedkar'', another of his books, was published.<ref name="SI_2016"/>

Rattu donated several items to an Ambedkar-themed museum established by Wamanrao Godbole at Shantivan in Chincholi (near [[Nagpur]]). These items had been gifted to him by Savita Ambedkar, and included several things used by the Ambedkars. In 2001, there was a conflict among the museum's committee members, and Rattu learned that Godbole was being ousted from the committee. Rattu decided to demand his donations back, but for this, he needed a certificate from Savita Ambedkar stating that she had gifted these to him. Since he was not on talking terms with her anymore, he drafted the certificate, and requested Vijay Surwade to get her signature on the document. However, Vijay Surwade did not get the document signed because Savita Ambedkar was in an "unbalanced state of mind" at the time.<ref name="VS_2022_NCRattu"/> Rattu died shortly after, on 15 September 2002, and Savita Ambedkar died in 2003.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rattu, Nanak Chand}}
[[Category:B. R. Ambedkar]]
[[Category:Indian civil servants]]
[[Category:2002 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Hoshiarpur district]]
[[Category:Converts to Buddhism]]
[[Category:Navayana Buddhists]]
[[Category:Secretaries]]
[[Category:1922 births]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian Buddhists]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian Buddhists]]

Nanak Chand Rattu - Revision history

Chinmoyin at 18:51, 9 April 2026