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File Information
| Document Information | Details |
|---|---|
| Title | The Architect of Social Justice: Ambedkar’s Enduring Relevance in the Dalit Struggle |
| Article Credit | International Journal of Social Science Research (IJSSR), ISSN: 3048-9490, Vol.: 2, Issue: 3, Year: 2025, (Pubd in: researchgate.net) |
| Author | Sanskrati Sharma (Ph.D. Scholar, University of Lucknow, Lucknow) |
| Subject | This study examines B. R. Ambedkar’s role in the Dalit movement, focusing on caste discrimination, social justice, political mobilization, and constitutional reform. It discusses his interventions in education, law, and activism as foundations for Dalit upliftment. |
| Category | Academic article |
| Institution | International Journal of Social Science Research (IJSSR) |
| Main Topics | Dalit movement in India, B. R. Ambedkar’s leadership, Caste discrimination and untouchability, Social justice and equality, Mahad Satyagraha, Political representation and reservations, Indian Constitution and affirmative action, Dalit women and intersectional discrimination |
| Number of Pages | 8 |
| Language | English |
| File Type | |
| File Size | 225.2 KB |
Summary Note of this Document
The Architect of Social Justice: Ambedkar’s Enduring Relevance in the Dalit Struggle
This article examines B. R. Ambedkar’s role in the Dalit struggle and his continuing relevance to social justice in India. It situates Ambedkar within the longer history of Dalit movements, from anti-caste reform efforts before independence to post-independence political mobilization. The paper emphasizes his activism against untouchability and caste hierarchy through public satyagrahas, journalistic interventions, organizational work, and constitutional politics. It highlights the Mahad Satyagraha, the Kalaram Temple Entry Satyagraha, the Poona Pact, the Scheduled Castes Federation, and Ambedkar’s involvement in drafting the Indian Constitution. The discussion also connects his ideas to education, legal protection, political representation, and affirmative action, showing how these tools were intended to challenge exclusion in schools, employment, and governance. A further theme is Ambedkar’s critique of the caste system as a structure of social, economic, and political inequality. The article also notes his concern for Dalit women, the significance of Buddhism in his ethical vision, and the continuing relevance of his thought in contemporary activism and scholarship. Overall, the paper presents Ambedkar as a central architect of Dalit emancipation and a durable reference point for debates on democracy, dignity, and equality.
Core Themes
- Dalit emancipation
- Anti-caste critique
- Constitutional reform and affirmative action
- Education as empowerment
- Political mobilization and representation
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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