Gray's Inn Barrister Certificate
Legal Education
When Dr. Ambedkar began his legal education in the United Kingdom in 1916, it was necessary to join an Inn of the Courts to begin one’s legal training. There were four Inns at that time: Inner Temple, Middle Temple, Lincoln's Inn, and Gray's Inn. Dr. Ambedkar was admitted to the Gray’s Inn in 1916. To this day, Gray’s Inn retains the following entry in its Index of Admission:
“Nov. 1916, Ambedkar, Bhimrao Ramji, B.A. Bombay, M.A. Columbia; of Baroda State, India; the youngest son of Ramji Ambedkar of Bombay, deceased” (Gasztowicz, 2022)
The details of the courses that he studied as part of his law degree are documented in an edited book ‘Ambedkar in London’ (2022). In 1922, he was called to the bar by Gray's Inn and became a barrister-at-law.
Later in 1934-35, he delivered lectures on English Constitutional Law at the Government Law College, Bombay. These lectures are available in Volume 12 of his collected writing and speeches, published by the Government of India.
