 |
| Gandhi and Ambedkar's Philosophy: Inclusion, Equality and Dignity — A representative image. |
File Information
| Document Information | Details |
|---|---|
| Title | GANDHI AND AMBEDKAR'S PHILOSOPHY: INCLUSION, EQUALITY AND DIGNITY |
| Article Credit | Year: 2025 |
| Author | Ashu Pasricha (Professor (Dr.), Chairperson and Honorary Director Gandhi Bhawan, Department of Gandhian and Peace Studies, Panjab University, Chandigarh) |
| Subject | A collected volume on the philosophies of Gandhi and Ambedkar, with emphasis on inclusion, equality, dignity, education, social justice, and democratic reform. |
| Category | Book |
| Institution | SLM Publishers |
| Country of Publication | India |
| Main Topics | Gandhi and Ambedkar philosophy, social justice, equality and dignity, education and empowerment, Dalit upliftment, Indian Constitution, women's rights, Buddha and Dhamma |
| Number of Pages | 16 |
| Language | English |
| File Type | |
| File Size | 8.49 MB |
Summary Note of this Document
GANDHI AND AMBEDKAR'S PHILOSOPHY: INCLUSION, EQUALITY AND DIGNITY
This volume presents a collection of essays on Gandhi and Ambedkar's philosophy, centered on inclusion, equality, and dignity in Indian social and political thought. The contents show a sustained concern with Ambedkar as a contemporary Indian thinker and with the wider relevance of Gandhian and Ambedkarite ideas for reforming society. Across the chapters, the book examines education as a tool of empowerment, social justice, women’s rights, labour welfare, environmental responsibility, nationalism, and the relationship between constitutional principles and democratic life. Ambedkar’s role in challenging caste hierarchy, untouchability, and discrimination is a recurring focus, especially in discussions of Dalit upliftment, equal citizenship, and the moral basis of social equality. The book also links Ambedkar’s thought to constitutional guarantees, Directive Principles, and the framing of a welfare state, while exploring his views on politics, economics, and religion, including his interpretation of Buddhism and Dhamma. Gandhi appears through comparative and thematic essays on leadership, social justice, sustainability, and nation-building. Overall, the collection argues for an egalitarian social order grounded in liberty, fraternity, human dignity, and inclusive democracy.
Core Themes
- comparative Gandhian and Ambedkarite thought
- social equality and human dignity
- education as empowerment
- constitutional democracy and welfare state
- Dalit liberation and anti-caste critique
Keywords
About Dr. B. R. Ambedkar
Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar was born in 1891 as the fourteenth and youngest child of an army Subedar in Mhow. Born into the Mahar caste, which was considered untouchable, Bhimrao faced many hardships at school. He had to sit on a gunny sack that he brought from home. He was not allowed to touch the water vessel or cup, so he could drink water only when the school peon was present to pour it for him. He later described this experience with the words, “No peon, no water.” His mother died when he was very young, and he had a difficult childhood. However, he was the only one of his siblings to pass his examinations and continue to high school, becoming the first person from his community to attend Elphinstone College. With a scholarship from the Maharaja of Baroda, he went on to study at Columbia University and the London School of Economics. He earned doctorates in economics and trained as a barrister at Gray’s Inn. According to the account supplied for this biography, his books were lost when his ship was torpedoed during the First World War.
Despite his education, Ambedkar continued to face prejudice. When he returned to India, he was required to work in Baroda but had to leave the position because of discrimination. His business providing investment consultancy failed when clients learned that he belonged to a community considered untouchable. While working as a professor in Mumbai, his colleagues objected to the idea of him sharing a water jug with his students. These experiences helped spur his activism. He established newspapers to give a voice to marginalized people. He led the Mahad Satyagraha, asserting Dalits’ right to collect water from a public tank, and publicly burned the Manusmriti in 1927. In 1932, he negotiated the Poona Pact with Mahatma Gandhi. Although it involved a difficult compromise, the pact provided reserved seats in legislatures for the Depressed Classes. Ambedkar was outspoken in public life but private by nature. His wife Ramabai died in 1935, and he filled his home in Bombay with a large personal library reported to contain more than 50,000 books. He declared, “I am born a Hindu, but I will not die as one.”
During the period of Indian independence, Jawaharlal Nehru invited Ambedkar to become India’s first Law Minister. Ambedkar chaired the Drafting Committee that prepared the Constitution of India, which abolished the practice of untouchability and established civil liberties and constitutional safeguards, including reservations for historically oppressed communities. He acknowledged the contribution of other constitutional experts, including B. N. Rau, who had prepared an earlier draft. Because of his poor health, including diabetes, Ambedkar married Savita, a doctor who cared for him. In October 1956, he converted to Buddhism in Nagpur along with a vast gathering of followers, commonly estimated at around half a million. He died in his sleep just weeks later, shortly after completing his final major work, The Buddha and His Dhamma. He was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna in 1990. His message, “Educate, agitate, organise,” continues to inspire people seeking equality and social justice.
Complete Ambedkar Research Collection
Download the entire collection of Ambedkar research PDFs available on HISTORY MARG