 |
| Dalit Movement as a Tool of Social Justice — A representative image. |
File Information
| Document Information | Details |
|---|---|
| Title | DALIT MOVEMENT AS A TOOL OF SOCIAL JUSTICE |
| Article Credit | International Research Journal of Commerce Arts and Science, ISSN: 2319-9202, Vol.: 8, Issue: 5, Year: 2017, (Pubd in: Academia.edu) |
| Author | Anand Kanpet (Researcher, Dept of Sociology, Karnatak University, Dharwad) |
| Subject | This article discusses the Dalit movement as a means of challenging caste hierarchy, Brahmanical authority, and untouchability in India. It focuses on education, social reform, political mobilisation, and Ambedkarite resistance as instruments of social justice. |
| Category | Sociology |
| Institution | CASIRJ |
| Main Topics | Dalit movement, social justice, Brahmanism, untouchability, education, B. R. Ambedkar, Jyotiba Phule, caste system |
| Number of Pages | 6 |
| Language | English |
| File Type | |
| File Size | 121.9 KB |
Summary Note of this Document
DALIT MOVEMENT AS A TOOL OF SOCIAL JUSTICE
This article examines the Dalit movement as a tool for social justice in India, tracing its anti-caste roots and its criticism of Brahmanical Hinduism. It argues that Dalit politics emerged as a challenge to untouchability, caste hierarchy, and the authority of texts and traditions that legitimated social inequality. The discussion places special emphasis on the role of education, agitation, and organisation in transforming Dalit consciousness, with Jyotiba Phule presented as an early reformer and Dr. B. R. Ambedkar as the central modern figure. Ambedkar's critique of Hindu scriptures, his conflict with Gandhi over Hindu social order, and his call to 'Educate, agitate and organise' are used to frame Dalit emancipation as both intellectual and political struggle. The article also reflects on the later fragmentation of Dalit politics, the limits of reservation-based mobilisation, and the tensions between identity, representation, and broader coalition-building. Its conclusion urges Dalit movements to retain their anti-Brahmanical core while linking with other oppressed groups and democratic associations.
Core Themes
- Anti-caste resistance
- Education as emancipation
- Critique of Brahmanical Hinduism
- Ambedkarite politics
- Dalit political fragmentation
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