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| B. R Ambedkar: An Untiring Warrior of Dalit Movement and Social Democracy — A representative image. |
File Information
| Document Information | Details |
|---|---|
| Title | B. R AMBEDKAR: AN UNTIRING WARRIOR OF DALIT MOVEMENT AND SOCIAL DEMOCRACY |
| Article Credit | International Journal of Legal Studies and Research (IJLSR), ISSN: 2278-4764, Vol.: Vol. 8 No. 2, Issue: No. 2, Year: 2019, (Pubd in: researchgate.net) |
| Author | Dr. Subir Kumar Roy (Associate Professor and Head, Department of Law, Bankura University) |
| Subject | An academic discussion of Ambedkar's philosophy of social democracy, social justice, caste annihilation, untouchability, and Dalit rights. |
| Category | Academic article |
| Institution | International Journal of Legal Studies and Research (IJLSR) |
| Main Topics | Social democracy, Social justice, Caste system, Untouchability, Dalit movement, Human rights, Constitutional morality, Reservation and affirmative action |
| Number of Pages | 15 |
| Language | English |
| File Type | |
| File Size | 300.6 KB |
Summary Note of this Document
B. R AMBEDKAR: AN UNTIRING WARRIOR OF DALIT MOVEMENT AND SOCIAL DEMOCRACY
This article examines B. R. Ambedkar's political and jurisprudential thought on social democracy and the struggle against caste oppression. Its central concern is Ambedkar's view that political democracy cannot survive unless Indian society first removes glaring social and economic inequalities. The paper connects his ideas to social justice, human rights, fraternity, and constitutional morality, arguing that equality must be understood as more than formal equality before law. It emphasizes his critique of caste hierarchy, untouchability, and hereditary social exclusion, and it presents Buddhism as part of his wider search for ethical social transformation. The discussion also links Ambedkar's thought to the constitutional order, especially equality, reservation, and anti-untouchability provisions in the Indian Constitution. A major theme is his insistence that the state should protect the downtrodden through positive action and preferential treatment where necessary, so that Dalits and other oppressed groups can obtain real equality of status and opportunity. The article also touches on his disagreements with Gandhi over caste and untouchability, his emphasis on the dignity of women, and his broader vision of an inclusive society built on liberty, equality, and fraternity.
Core Themes
- Ambedkar's theory of social democracy
- Critique of caste hierarchy and untouchability
- Social justice and equal opportunity
- Dalit emancipation and rights
- Constitutional safeguards and reservation
- Liberty, equality, and fraternity
- Buddhism as social transformation
- Women, dignity, and social reform
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.
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