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| The English Language as an Instrument of Dalit Emancipation — A representative image. |
File Information
| Document Information | Details |
|---|---|
| Title | The English Language as an Instrument of Dalit Emancipation |
| Article Credit | International Journal of English Literature and Social Sciences, ISSN: 2456-7620, Vol.: 5, Issue: 4, Year: 2020, (Pubd in: researchgate.net) |
| Author | Dr. Veena R. Ilame (Assistant Professor, Department of English, A. G. College, Nagpur-440013, Maharashtra, India) |
| Subject | A discussion of English as a means of Dalit emancipation through education, mobility, and resistance to caste exclusion. It also links language policy, Dalit writing, and Ambedkarite thought. |
| Category | Research article |
| Institution | International Journal of English Literature and Social Sciences |
| Country of Publication | India |
| Main Topics | English language and Dalit emancipation, Dalit access to education, Language, caste, and social discrimination, Ambedkarite thought and English education, English as mobility and employability, Dalit literature in English, Mother English and the Banka village temple, Language policy and national integration |
| Number of Pages | 5 |
| Language | English |
| File Type | |
| File Size | 136.6 KB |
Summary Note of this Document
The English Language as an Instrument of Dalit Emancipation
The English Language as an Instrument of Dalit Emancipation argues that English can work as a practical means of Dalit liberation in India and the wider subcontinent. It links language learning to education, employability, social mobility, and resistance to caste-based exclusion. The paper repeatedly contrasts English with Indian languages and Sanskrit, presenting English as a democratic medium that Dalit students can use to enter schools, colleges, and the job market. It also draws on Ambedkarite thought, especially the idea that education and intellectual regeneration are necessary for social change. Ambedkar’s support for English, his role in modern education, and his place in Dalit political imagination are central to the discussion. The article uses examples such as the temple of Goddess English at Banka village, the English Day celebration associated with Chandrabhan Prasad, and the limited but important presence of Dalit writers in English such as Kancha Ilaiah, Meena Kandasamy, Narendra Jadhav, and P. Shivakami. It also addresses the barriers Dalit children face in government schools, including poverty, discrimination, weak pedagogy, and poor access to quality English instruction.
Core Themes
- English as liberation from caste oppression
- Dalit educational inequality
- Ambedkar’s views on language and education
- English-medium pedagogy and school access
- Dalit writing and recognition in English
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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