Search

Education is and can be a source of empowerment and human flourishing. Mahatma Gandhi and B.R. Ambedkar not only were born in two different communities in India, but also had different ideologies regarding the ways and means for the wellbeing and development of Indians, specially those who belonged to the lowest rung in the society. Gandhiji who promoted basic education aimed at the economic and cultural empowerment of all people, whereas Ambedkar viewed education as a tool to uplift the marginalised, the underprivileged and depressed classes in the society. Education for a long time has been in the hands of the affluent and the elite, depriving the people in the lower strata from its benefits. The need for education today is to be a tool that not only liberates the weaker sections, especially Dalits, from ignorance and injustice but also becomes an instrument that strengthens their resolve to face the challenges that life and society places before them in a creative and confident manner.