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This paper attempts to demystify the antagonistic relationship between modernity and tradition as construed by Ashis Nandy. As a prominent voice in postcolonial scholarship, Nandy saw modernity as a colonial conception of rights, self, and society. Nandy's critique of modernity laid the grounds for several projects that rejected the modern consensus for its colonial origins. Juxtaposing Nandy's reiteration of early anti-modern nationalist thought with a multi-dimensional reading of colonial modernity in contemporary Ambedkarite scholarship, this paper explores the ambivalences of negotiating modern liberalism in a postcolonial order of hierarchical group identities. Despite the close imbrication of modernity with the imperial centre, Ambedkarite scholarship demonstrated how B.R. Ambedkar, synthesized a middle ground, where he incorporated the promise of modernity to liberate the 'individual' without dismissing the 'communal' collective self, construed by traditions. While postcolonial scholarship is heterogeneous, following Nandy, huge postcolonial melancholia has conflated modernity with coloniality. How do we rethink postcolonial theory from its current culturalist posturing to (re)claim the emancipatory potential of both modernity and tradition? Could it be that Nandy's anxiety and discomfort with modernity fail to 'contemporise theory'? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the concept of knowing in caste-ridden Dalit lives using the analogy of seeing in the context of the Black African-American racial society, where race is identified primarily through skin colour. Thus, the 'Black body' is marked by the act of seeing. A Dalit body, however, is usually discovered through knowing caste. Knowing is a complex mediated by caste, class, race, religion, occupation, spatiality, language and other forms of placement. Knowing is imperative in the context of a representative democracy to ensure social justice and the equitable distribution of government services. But does knowing someone's identity lead to equal treatment and equal respect, which constitute the substantive measures of democracy? I argue that knowing is a mode used to perpetuate caste, based on everyday ways in which Hindus live their lives. Pursuing this question, I problematise the concept of knowing in the trajectory of Dalit lives. I then take Ambedkar's 'Waiting for a Visa', situated in the genre of Dalit autobiographies, to illustrate the concept of knowing. Finally, I ask: given the politics of knowing, how do Dalit lives matter when practising caste? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In his 1936 essay "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction", Walter Benjamin establishes that it is the 'aestheticization of politics' or 'politicization of art' which streamlines the cultural discourse of a nation at a given moment. The present paper attempts to critically analyze the 'politics of visuality' vis-à-vis 'visuality of politics' as an elemental framework in the making of Indian national discourse. To understand or rationalize this elemental framework, the paper postulates its hypothesis, that the politicization of art is a valid inquiry into how a certain ideological discourse is pre-selected and pre-programmed with a certain grid of features and structures of perception. It is this ideological discourse that needs to be exposed through a visual text namely, Vijay Pawar's Bhim Garjana. This visual text broadly represents what Kancha Illaiah terms the Ambedkarite phase of Dalit history spanning over two decades - 1936-1956i. Bhim Garjana is an aesthetic artifact directed by a Dalit himself - an 'insider's'ii document on Ambedkar's life and philosophy. There have so far been three films on Ambedkar including Bhim Garjana, one directed by Jabbar Patel titled Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar (2000) and second by Anand Patwardha titled Jai Bhim Comrade (2011). All the visual texts though do not follow the definition of biopic strictly, but more or less, the paper places them in the category of biopics. Each text focuses on the life and struggle, both in historical and ideological terms, of Ambedkar. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the way caste is captured within the dominant and popular scholarly tradition of post-colonialism. It will also explore how Ambedkar's anthropological emphasis on the centrality of sociocultural relations for understanding caste dynamics opens up the limitation of a post-colonial understanding of caste. In doing so, the paper is oriented to advance a Dalit-centric historical anthropology of caste. The focus on the relationship between competing discourses on the histories of caste will provide critical insights into how Dalit movements negotiate with various politics of knowledge to develop varied pathways of progress for Dalits and other marginalized communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores how queer/feminist practices and articulations—by offering critical perspectives on the intersections of caste, labour and sexuality—have tried to draw attention to the marginalisation of people expressing non-normative genders and sexualities. Adapting lessons from the women's movement, which resonates with some of the principles of an Ambedkarite vision of democracy, queer and feminist activists adopt and practise a transversal politics in continuing their struggle for solidarity and justice. Specifically, the paper addresses how queer/feminists use the transversal dialogic political space to highlight contentions around sexual labour, from the 2005 ban on bar dancers to the 2017 Chalo Nagpur campaign. The practice of this politics draws upon the experience of queer and feminist collectives in western India, and finds resonance with Ambedkar's radical conception of democracy via a steadfast commitment to learn and engage in politics under changed circumstances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article brings to light the comparison of Dalit writing in Tamil and Marathi. India being one of the fastest developing countries in the world, yet well known for its rigid caste system. This paper will pitch the dark side of history of suppression and how the writers help to heal the scars of subjugation of the Dalit community with special reference to the writers Bama and Urmila. Urmila Pawar, a writer and activist, is a noticeable personality in the Dalit and feminist movements in Marathi language. Her works exhibit social discrimination and the plight of women in the subjugated community. Bama Soosairaj, a teacher and a novelist, identified, as Tamil Dalit feminist is known for her writing on the sufferings of the underprivileged community and the struggle they undergo to shed that identity. The paper also separates the unambiguous realities of dalits, specially the lives of Dalit women and their commendable attempts to upraise socially. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper will argue that B.R. Ambedkar attacked the social law of Hindu dharma for legalizing and legitimizing Brahminical sovereignty in the form of a birth-based caste order centred around the ambivalent sacrality of untouchability. Although Ambedkar inaugurated postcolonial India's transformative constitutional project, its juridical language of secular legality was not powerful enough an antidote against the social customs of caste and untouchability. Since these practices were ultimately grounded in a Hindu theology imputing responsibility for action to a fixed immutable being, Ambedkar sought to unsettle and destabilize it by proffering a counter-theology of Buddhism that delinked action from any substantial being, and thereby opened up sovereignty as an empty place of political power. His Buddhism though, was less a religion of selfless renunciation, and more a religion of rupture mediated by the political law of fraternal freedom, actualized in the excessive subjectivity of the Dalit community of converted Buddhists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the complex nature of untouchability by examining its connections to space and racialization in Ambedkar's political writings, including his experiences of using movement through space as a counter-hegemonic strategy. For Ambedkar, untouchability rested on a perpetual threat of violence which pushed Dalits to "self-racialize" or adopt bodily markers which gave away their caste status in specific places. This permitted the organization of caste hierarchies in space and its constant reproduction through time. Ambedkar became aware that places like the village facilitated the racialization of certain bodies as touchable or untouchable. Yet, the connections between space and racialization were not fixed. Ambedkar's memories of untouchability were linked to "in-between spaces", such as train stations or hotels, where the racialization of Dalits could not be assumed a priori. Such spatial indeterminacy allowed Ambedkar to challenge the behaviour Dalits were supposed to conform to in dominant caste spaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Symbols play a significant role in politics and assertion. In India, different kinds of signs are used in Dalit assertions and politics. In his struggle for Dalits' rights, Dr. B R Ambedkar had employed different modes of verbal and non-verbal communication tools. He used various symbols to popularise his ideology and messages among his followers. Ambedkar's sense of clothing, Manu Smriti burning, and Buddha all had symbolic meanings. This paper, under the theoretical framework of semiotics, seeks to ascertain how these symbols helped Ambedkar to spread his ideas of Dalit emancipation and emerged as vital tools for Dalit rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Frantz Fanon and BR Ambedkar as theorists of the marginalised communities belong to the so-called 'global south'. A comparative reading of both the thinkers aim in bringing them together in understanding their respective experience, personal history, and theorisation around the formation of the oppressed subject-hood. Experientially, Fanon and Ambedkar have a lot in common. Their thinking emanating from lived experience and an active life of learning and working diligently in their vocation, find sincere convergence. In the discussions around the formation of oppressed identity and subject-hood we find that Fanon and Ambedkar give due place to the socio-psychological diagnosis of racism and casteism. They have devoted a great amount of study into the genesis of these oppressive structures. This paper particularly looks at Fanon's and Ambedkar's prescription for emancipation of that oppressed identity and subject-hood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India's past is the history of the fight between upper and inferior castes for the long-long years ago. All kinds of problems among the humanity are the consequences of classified variation of 'Brahmanic social order'. The ancient Indian history is not only informative, but it throws abundant light on the happening of today. At that moment, there was the battle between higher castes (Savarnas) and the inferior castes. It has been going on continuously. It has assumed different names, shapes, and forms. In the Ancient period, Buddha was trying to solve these problems, but after the death of Buddha, Buddhism was decline, and Brahmanism has covered all the Buddhist achievements. In the modern era, Dr. Ambedkar has tried to solve this major issue, which was going in the Indian society. He was a social reformer, political leader and principal planner of the Indian Constitution. He extensively pointed out as much Babasaheb was an Indian economist, historian, jurist, philosopher, and politician. He was the precept architect of the Indian Constitution. Ambedkar is known as the pioneer of the renaissance of Buddhism in modern India. He wished social reformers to create public opinion to fight the uncultured inequalities in society. He has provided a very powerful force in giving energy to this movement. It was Ambedkar's efforts that, the movement for Buddhism gained energy in modern India. In addition, Ambedkar deserves unique credit for the renaissance of Buddhism in modern India. In this way, he has provided the main route to the renaissance of Buddhism in modern India. Therefore, the main objective of this paper is to Ambedkar's contribution to the renaissance of Buddhism in modern India. Consequently, this paper has been attempted to look at Ambedkar's contribution to the renaissance of Buddhism through detail analysis of his works. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on how revolts against caste-based oppression in India have been made invisible due to conceptual legacies in European social and political theory. Weber’s and Arendt’s conceptualization of Pariah agency is a case in point. Arendt’s main understanding of Pariah agency is individualized and inadequate to study freedom struggles among untouchable castes. This article argues that one not only needs to move away from analyzing individual to collective action, but it is also crucial to foreground how collective mobilization among excluded groups has focused on contingencies that embed a system of domination. Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar’s critique of caste-based domination in India is noteworthy in this regard; he foregrounds how the distinction between “Touchables” and “Untouchables” in the caste system is both embedded and contingent. Focusing on untouchability in India, Ambedkar offers insights into hegemonic analyses of social exclusion, human rights articulations before the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and add value to current debates in post-foundational thought and transnational analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper continues the commentary on Dr. B. R. Ambedkar’s posthumously published Philosophy of Hinduism. Utilizing resources from various modern continental European philosophers and social theorists, particularly of religion, we elaborate on several key passages within Ambedkar’s overall framework of analysis. The paper continues to explore how Ambedkar conceives relations between philosophy and religion, and how historical shifts in general human consciousness have occurred whereby altering both fields. At the core of his being, Ambedkar is concerned with a methodological justification that will enable him to venture into a penetrating critique of the immoral and amoral nature of Hinduism’s social system of caste. In Part I of the commentary, we followed Ambedkar until he arrived at the criteria of ‘justice’ and ‘utility’ to judge the status of Hinduism. He wanted to test whether this Eastern world religion, which descends from antiquity, meets those criteria, which shape the modern conception of religion. In Part II of this commentary, we expand further on Ambedkar’s thesis as to why Hinduism fails to meet the modern conception when those twin criteria are not met. This thought presupposes various underlying philosophical transformations of the relations of ‘God to man’, ‘Society to man’, and ‘man to man’ within which the Hindu-dominated Indian society forecloses the possibility of individual equality, freedom, and dignity. In making contributions to Ambedkar studies, the philosophy of religion, and political philosophies of justice, this paper sets up Part III of the commentary, which will examine Ambedkar’s actual engagement with the classics of Hinduism’s philosophy and thought in general. Ultimately, Ambedkar is undeterred in his original critique of the social and moral failures of the caste system, thereby intimating ambitious possibilities for its eventual eradication.

This paper analyses Ambedkar's challenge to racial theories of untouchability. It examines how Franz Boas’ ideas about race, via Alexander Goldenweiser, influenced Ambedkar's political thought. Ambedkar is situated as a thinker aware of larger changes taking place in Western academia in the early twentieth century. During his time at Columbia University, Ambedkar familiarised himself with ideas that rejected the fixity of identities and racial hierarchies; following Boas, he rejected the idea that the untouchables’ place in society was determined by their supposed racial inferiority. Instead, he argued that untouchability was a cultural problem that could be stamped out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many scholars have written on the conversion of Bhimrao Ambedkar from Hinduism to Buddhism, trying to explain it. In this paper, I argue that a hermeneutics of conversion is needed to understand what this transition means in the larger academic community. Through using the concept of the 'thematic site', a narrative trope that draws on the Lacanian idea of the 'point de capiton' (also known as the 'nodal point' or 'quilting point'), to investigate how the invisible is evoked in the visible of these scholarly accounts of Ambedkar's Buddhism, this paper argues that academic accounts of this conversion rearticulate colonial dichotomies of modern/traditional, mapping them onto the binary of West/East. That is, by tracing common academic representations of Ambedkar's conversion, this paper posits that there is an obfuscated relation that is articulated in the depiction of this event, a connection that invisibly connects Ambedkar's act to colonial constructions of knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper is to highlight the processes that have led to the reinvention of Buddhism and Buddhist sites in modern India. A major aspect of this reinvention is the conversion of members of the Scheduled Castes to Buddhism, a movement especially associated with B. R. Ambedkar. Another important factor is the exile and internationalization of Tibetan Buddhism. These have coalesced with the pervasive visibility of the material remains of ancient Buddhism; state interest in promoting spiritual tourism; global movements of pilgrim-tourists; improving bilateral ties between India and Japan; and Japanese investment in the conservation of ancient Buddhist sites in India. The convergence of all these factors has led to a revitalization of Buddhist tourism-cum-pilgrimage circuits and to a dramatic resurrection, or rather reinvention, of ancient Buddhist sites. This is demonstrated with special reference to the site of Nagarjunakonda in Andhra Pradesh. Extinct sites such as this one offer wide open spaces that can be appropriated by various religious and secular groups and by agencies seeking to strengthen their presence, visibility, and/or profit. The paper emphasises that histories of ancient sites must take cognisance of their transformations in the modern, increasingly globalized world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper argues that the conceptualisation of notions like ‘dalit’ or ‘intracaste’ or ‘multiple’ patriarchies results from a misunderstanding of the concept brahmanical patriarchy. The category ‘dalit patriarchy’ is gaining popularity in academic and political discourse of contemporary India. It is introduced by Gopal Guru in his seminal essay ‘Dalit Women Talk Differently’ only to challenge patriarchal practices within ‘lower’ caste groups. But mainstream feminists of India attempted to propagate and proliferate this vague concept. They argue that dalit men, as a part of their exploitation by ‘upper’ caste, also face taunts regarding their masculinity which results in their aggressive behaviour on dalit women; which has been called as ‘dalit patriarchy’. The paper argues that conceptualisation of such notions yields no advancement in our endeavours toward a gender-just society, rather it is misleading. Evaluating articulations in mainstream Indian feminism, we need to think through: what effect does this have on our feminist struggle? what is at stake? what possibly can be a resolution? Thus, by exposing flaws about ‘dalit patriarchy’—including a detailed discussion on the empirical, theoretical, and logical shortcomings—this paper seeks to initiate a theoretical rethinking of feminist as well as dalit scholarship, with employment of analytical, hermeneutical and critical methods.

This paper offers a critical commentary of Ambedkar's posthumously published "The Philosophy of Hinduism," which was discovered shortly after his death. Given previous, considerable contributions in the fields of law, economics, political and social theory, the work appears to be the beginnings of what remains an incomplete treatise on a new area of investigation for Ambedkar. In this work, Ambedkar tackles the murky and opaque sub-field of philosophy, namely the philosophy of religion. This paper unpacks some of Ambedkar's key insights on the nature of the philosophy of religion to test what elements - considered from a philosophical point view - constitute a religion. Furthermore, given the historical paradigmatic shifts in the nature of religion from antiquity to modernity, Ambedkar identifies two conceptual revolutions from which he will introduce two criteria - utility and justice - to evaluate the nature of Hinduism as a religion. Given his life-long quest to understand Hinduism and caste, ultimately, Ambedkar's goal to overcome what he says is the systemic and structural inequality of caste in the Indian social order leads him to certain negative conclusions: namely whether Hinduism can be characterized as a religion if in fact modern religions must have a foundation in some intrinsic dimension of social justice. This paper constitutes Part I of a longer commentary. The aspiration is that a longer Part II will ultimately extend Ambedkar's philosophical investigation into new domains for which he did not have the opportunity to explore.

Copyright of Humania del Sur: Revista de Estudios Latinoamericanos, Africanos y Asiáticos is the property of Humania del Sur. Estudios Latinoamericanos Africanos y Asiaticos and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article shows how untouchability was framed as an ethnographic problem largely through a racial and Brahmanical perspective by looking at some of the main interventions made by British and Indian social scientists on this topic, such as H.H. Risley, G.S. Ghurye and Radhakamal Mukerjee. Dalit traditions, knowledge and theories about their origin were discarded and suffered an epistemicide. Reassessing the history of untouchability as an ethnographic concept is critical as the influence of these theories can still be perceived not only in common understandings about the origin of Dalits but also in the way sociology and anthropology are practised in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is devoted to analyse the selected poems by Marathi Dalit poets who incorporate frustration, depression, irritation, etc., in their poems as the emerging themes. The paper identifies how in post-Ambedkarian era, Dalits have tried to assert their identity in various quarters of life: politics, religion, education and economics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Jagjivan Ram (1908–1986) was, for more than four decades, the leading figure from India's Dalit communities in the Indian National Congress party. In this paper, I argue that the relationship between religion and politics in Jagjivan Ram's career needs to be reassessed. This is because the common perception of him as a secular politician has overlooked the role that his religious beliefs played in forming his political views. Instead, I argue that his faith in a Dalit Hindu poet-saint called Ravidās was fundamental to his political career. Acknowledging the role that religion played in Jagjivan Ram's life also allows us to situate discussions of his life in the context of contemporary debates about religion and politics. Jeffrey Haynes has suggested that these often now focus on whether religion is a cause of conflict or a path to the peaceful resolution of conflict. In this paper, I examine Jagjivan Ram's political life and his belief in the Ravidāsī religious tradition. Through this, I argue that Jagjivan Ram's career shows how political and religious beliefs led to him favoring a non-confrontational approach to conflict resolution in order to promote Dalit rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses the way in which B.R. Ambedkar attempted to internationalise the problem of untouchability in the years prior to Partition. The move towards the international was an attempt to secure a political space for Dalits as a consequence of the Muslim League's demand for Pakistan. Unable to reach an agreement with the likes of Gandhi and Jinnah, Ambedkar looked beyond India for support. His plight gained the attention of disparate people, including Winston Churchill, Jan Smuts and the members of the Indian Conciliation Group. By exploring these events, this article seeks to rescale the history of untouchability and Partition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dr. Ambedkar is the establisher of a new society. He destroyed a society, which had been given important to inequality. He made the society to treat all men and women equally with respect. The lower class people of India enjoy a life of dignity and pride today because of him. Baba Sahib Ambedkar is the father of our constitution and not just a Dalit leader, but a national leader. The scholars argue that he is a leader to all worlds .The philosophies of Dr. Ambedkar are the hope and remedy for all the evil caused in the society. The Dalits have been facing pain and sufferings for a long period. The outcast people believe that the next era will be theirs and they wanted to discard all the evil forces, economic forces, political forces, religious forces, social cultural forces, and established Dalitism as the universal alternative. Dr. Ambedkar had clearly exposed the life style of Dalit to the world. He presented the Aryan invasion's impact on Dalit history. The declaration of Dr. Ambedkar era is the conscious and deliberate decision of the Dalits in India. It has the meaning that the Dalits too independently live in India. The paper evaluates that the Dr. Ambedkar as a multi-personal personality. It also examines his role as a social activist, humanist, Buddhist, and Dalit liberator. An understanding of the nature and scope of the caste system in India is needed for the comprehension of the social and political fabric of the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of European Journal of Sociology is the property of Cambridge University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This essay compares key essays on Buddhism by B.R. Ambedkar and Jürgen Habermas vis-à-vis the issue of Buddhism, wealth, and privilege, and the respective statements again to what the Buddha taught, from a Theravada perspective. In doing so, it can be seen that Buddhism does not indeed endorse privilege in this world—but what seems to be privilege and inherited wealth are actual merits from a former life. Since these come with their own dangers, viz. attachment and not putting wealth to good use, wealth may be nice but not more. That someone is better than someone else because of birth and inheritance rather than action is, however, established as completely non-Buddhist, again and again, even by the Buddha himself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Known primarily as the architect of the constitution of India, Babasaheb Ambedkar was also a human rights lawyer, an economist, a social justice advocate, and a polymath. Yet his story is often overlooked in favor of national leaders such as Gandhi. This study highlights Ambedkar as a visionary who called for a radical and new psychology of self that was anchored in ideas of social justice, equity and full participation. Furthermore this study fills the gap in the field of psychobiography which rarely reflects the cultural lives and experiences of the Global South. Methods: This study follows the psychobiographical method and uses memoirs, essays, speeches, and biographies as data. Results: Three "turning points" in Ambedkar's life are examined: (1) Early childhood experiences of being an "untouchable"; (2) Returning to India for employment after completing his doctorate in the U.S.; (3) Converting to Buddhism in later life. Using a decolonial theoretical lens, we analyze the multiple ways that he experienced being colonized and dehumanized. Conclusion: As he defied the caste structures within his own culture and resisted colonialism, Ambedkar developed a syncretic politics of resistance that emphasized the creation of a decolonized Dalit self and community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the importance of 'public conscience' in B. R. Ambedkar's political thought. Ambedkar consistently defended public conscience as a democratic value in his writings and speeches. Public conscience referred to collective responsibility, social justice and the public deliberation of what constitutes the social good. Ambedkar consistently expressed the unequivocal belief that public conscience would bring about a moral transformation in Indian society through a collective ethical stance against all forms of social oppression. He conceptualized public conscience as a method by which a democratic and ethical Indian society could come about and flourish. This article interrogates his ideas concerning public conscience through a detailed reading of his works, focusing particularly on his 1943 speech, Ranade, Gandhi and Jinnah. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nagaloka Centre in Nagpur, Maharashtra is a community centre for local members of the Triratna Buddhist Community. Nagaloka hosts the Nagarjuna Training Institute (NTI) which provides free training and Bachelors' degrees in Buddhism and Ambedkar Thought to Indian students from disadvantaged social backgrounds. In offering these courses, NTI's administrators aim to build a pan-Indian Buddhist network and hope to eventually enact Prabuddha Bharat, 'enlightened India.' In their view, Prabuddha Bharat will be an India built around the principles of dhamma as Ambedkar understood them. Nagaloka serves as an important crossroads for intra- and international Buddhists to debate and demonstrate their vision of India as Prabuddha Bharat and is a vital location from which SC, ST, and OBC Indian Buddhists are in conversation with international Buddhists to (re)claim India as a Buddhist homeland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent years have seen a notable surge in scholarship on the life and thought of B. R. Ambedkar (1891–1956). This essay contributes to this literature by uncovering heretofore underemphasized aspects of how Ambedkar theorized the relationships between caste oppression, democracy, and state action. The essay demonstrates that, particularly in the period from 1936 to 1947, Ambedkar closely attended to the pathological imbrications between caste society and representative institutions in India; that he theorized an alternative, ambitious conception of democracy that encompassed the social and political spheres; and that he framed the state, and Dalit presence within the state, as a uniquely appealing instrument to transition from the former arrangement to the latter. In addition to filling gaps in the scholarship on Ambedkar, this interpretation offers important resources for contemporary democratic theory—in particular by countering perspectives that remain overly skeptical of the state's capacity to move against social oppression in ways that enable, rather than inhibit, collective self-government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay will explore the significance of a distinct subgroup of South Asian popular prints. Since the late nineteenth century, ‘God posters’ (colourful, standardized religious prints) have adorned both private and public spaces. They portray Hindu gods and goddesses as icons, often depicting narrative scenes as well as attributes that comprise their iconography. From this type of depiction emerged a new category, one that propelled Indian heroes into the realm of veneration that blurred the lines between adoration and worship. One such figure was Bhim Rao Ambedkar (popularly known as B.R. Ambedkar, and also as Babasaheb, 1891-1956). Ambedkar was a hero amongst the Dalit or ‘untouchable’ people of India. He fought for their basic civil rights and even challenged the notions of Hinduism. As a result, he sparked the conversion of hundreds of thousands of Dalits to Buddhism. This Buddhist movement helped reignite the practice of the religion on the subcontinent since it was founded approximately 2500 years ago. This essay will examine the process of Ambedkar’s iconisation through a selection of these popular prints. It will demonstrate, through an analysis of their iconography, how his actions identified him as not only a significant historical figure during the formation of modern India but also, based on his promotion of Buddhism, as a contemporarybodhisattva. Some images go further to suggest that he was the reincarnation of the Buddha himself. This essay will shed light on the existence of these images, as well as contribute to the study of Indian popular imagery as a whole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article considers three interlocking ways in which we can understand the concurrence of antiracismand anti-casteism in the Indian diaspora. First, at the level of experience--ofUKactivists and campaigners--it has been found that the concurrence of anti-racismand anti-casteismis not conclusively determined at this level. Second, by a juxtaposition of the conceptual apparatus of 'caste' and 'race' the article considers the fault lines--illuminating or obfuscating--that appear in conceptualising anti-casteism as a form of anti-racism. Here, the sociality of caste is found to be important, the operation of racialisation underpinning anti-racist practice. Finally, by considering the legal apparatus available in a given jurisdiction (UK), the article evaluates the feasibility of measures thatmight facilitate the actualising of anti-casteism as a form of anti-racism through the practice of litigation to allow a pragmatic capturing of the experience of casteism as a form of racism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marr's critique of Indo-European philology is analysed in the light of contemporary postcolonial theory, showing how Marr considered "Indo-Europeanism" to be something very close to a Foucauldian discourse of power/knowledge. It is suggested that here one finds both the strengths and weakness of Marr's ideas, which alerts us to certain problems in much postcolonial theory today. Genetic connections between Marr's ideas and contemporary postcolonial studies are revealed. Marr's ideas are then compared to the critique of the ideology of the Aryan supremacy developed by the Indian anti-caste intellectuals Phule and Ambedkar, in which the symbiotic relationship between imperial philology and brahman domination over the lower castes were revealed and subjected to critique. Important continuities are identified, and it is suggested that an approach to the interaction between European powers and colonial peoples' needs to pay particular attention to the social divisions among the latter and the complex modes of dialogue that accompanied colonialism and its aftermath. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dalit women in India suffer multilayered form of marginalization. They are discriminated not only based on their gender, but also because of their caste identity. This impacts their literacy, life expectancy, among other human indicators. Despite the emphasis on the intersectionality between caste and gender by Dr. BR Ambedkar and later by other social reformers like Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia, the mainstream movements have failed to provide a separate discourse on safeguarding the rights of Dalit women. The question of caste-based discrimination has by and large focused on the identity of a Dalit, irrespective of the gender, and the injustices inflicted on the social group as a whole. The upper caste led feminist discourse has been equally ignorant of the multiple oppressions faced by Dalit women. This paper deals with the critique of the Dalit movement as well as the feminist movement, and attempts to envision a broader global social justice by reading the ideas of Ambedkar and Lohia together.

Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar was a feminist at heart. Contrary to popular perception that he championed the cause of Dalits and dalit women, Babasaheb, as Ambedkar is fondly referred to, worked as a socio-political advocate for Dalit as well as upper caste Indian women concomitantly. In his quest to ensure freedom, equality, and individuality of Indian women, he resorted to the legalized mechanism and proposed sweeping constitutional provisions, famous as the Hindu code Bill, placing women at par with men in matters of inheritance and allowing them freedom to marry outside their caste. Contemplating the predicament and marginalized position of Indian women, he posited that caste and gender are intertwined. To maintain the system of caste, endogamy is a necessary condition that has an immense bearing on women. The imposition of endogamy was made compulsory by the Brahminical hierarchy, which was endorsed by Hindu religious scriptures to ensure women’s sustained subjectivity within the same caste groups or varnas. Ironically, the Bill, in Ambedkar’s own words was ‘killed and died unused and unsung’ following which he resigned from then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s cabinet in 1951 but the same bill was passed as four different bills between 1955 and 1956 during Nehru’s second term as prime minister (Elancheran, 2018). Unfortunately, Ambedkar’s contribution to the Indian women’s struggle has not been given its due. This paper attempts to explode the myth of the golden age of Indian womanhood and critiques the role of women reformist organizations in nineteenth century India as well as Ambedkar’s yeoman service to Indian women that has largely remained unacknowledged in public discourse. Key Words: Ambedkar, Hindu Code Bill, Manusmriti, Indian Women, Dalit Women, Indian Feminism, Caste, Patriarchy

The paper examines the criterion of sustainability and the establishment of an ecological worldview with particular reference to India, both in regard to the natural and the built environment, with sundry remarks on ethical and political issues. There cannot be a green city without social justice. Decision-makers worldwide must apply Gandhi’s Talisman and what might be called Ambedkar’s Talisman. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The paper surveys the energy problem in relation to global warming and the social criteria of India. India's failure to develop a policy on global warming is highlighted and her economic policy judged in relation to her energy options, including such notable work as jatropha development and nuclear energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organization of space in a modern urban locale is apparently secular and unmotivated by any divine or religious principal. Yet it always functions on the basis of exclusion. Simultaneously the dread of the excluded returns to haunt the stability of the city structures its organization of space. In this paper we shall see how the pre-modern system of Casteism has similarities with as well as difference from the modern democratic system of governance across the world and its distinct form of abandonment. It shall also be suggested how abandonment becomes an indispensable technique through which a governmental apparatus comes into existence both in pre-modern Caste Society in the Indian subcontinent and in modern democracy. This work shall focus on the Bengali Dalit author Manoranjan Byapari, belonging to Namashudra(Dalit) subcaste in Bengal, in order to show how autobiographical form of writing resurfaces the quintessential question of caste, pushed back in modern normative arrangement of space.

By reading Pan-African writing with anti-caste writing together, this article examines the uses of "conscience" and "consciousness" across Third World solidarity movements. By drawing out the relationship between "consciousness" and "conscience" in political writing, this essay reveals the intertwined intellectual genealogies of Global South political theory. This genealogy is indebted to sociological projects in the early twentieth century. This article focuses particularly on Ghanaian Pan-Africanist Kwame Nkrumah and Indian anti-caste activist B.R. Ambedkar. By connecting these the two thinkers, and by tracing their shared intellectual genealogies, I illuminate the sociological experimentation at the center of anticolonial philosophy. For early twentieth-century sociology, these were normative claims about "society" as a heteronomous and egalitarian collective. By tracing these experimentations through the Global South, I show that the most ground-breaking sociologists in the North Atlantic world were, in fact, anticolonial thinkers who used the field to reimagine human emancipation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dr. B. R. Ambedkar was a twentieth century socio-political and religious reformer whose activities impacted millions of lives, especially among India's Dalit community. This article illustrates his lifework and its lessons for social work scholarship on religion. Using the examples of Ambedkar and Navayana Buddhism, I discuss three sources of complexity for social work scholarship on religion: 1) religion may function as both oppressive and emancipatory; 2) religion is malleable, not monolithic; and 3) religion is situated in and interactive with contexts. I conclude with suggestions for how social work scholarship on religion may account for complexity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bhimayana: Experiences of Untouchability by Srividya Natarajan and S .Anand reveals the bitter truth of casteism as prevalent in Indian society. Through the use of graphic novel format and reviving the traditional Gond art form, the text not only verbalizes the experience of Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, a major activist who battled against the various modes of oppression and aggression faced by the Dalit community, but also opens up the untouchable's experiences of existence for the naïve readers. This essay shows how Bhimayana uses a multimodal structure to create a post colonial literacy about caste and caste based marginalizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A few critics of Periyar E.V. Ramasamy have accused him of paying inadequate attention to the Dalit question or ignoring it altogether. Others have said that he was merely anti-Brahmin and not anti-caste, alleging that he favoured the intermediate castes over the Dalits. Contrary to allegations that Periyar tried to silence, or was indifferent to the particular interests of Dalit castes, Periyar's works reveal that he placed Dalit liberation as an important element of the Dravidian project. Acknowledging his indebtedness to Ambedkar, Periyar was uncompromising in attacking the graded system of caste hierarchy and difference and discouraged accommodation within the system through 'sanskritization'. In cases of conflict between intermediate castes and the Dalits, he stood on the side of the latter. Addressing caste divisions within the non-Brahmin bloc, he advocated both secular and religious forms of Dalit militancy. This article provides a systematic account of Periyar's approach to the Dalit question, substantially focusing on his engagement with Ambedkar. It uses Periyar's primary works to demonstrate the centrality of Dalit empowerment and liberation in Periyar's political thought. It concludes with a discussion of his responses to anti-Dalit incidents in his lifetime, where he clearly sides with the Dalits against powerful intermediate castes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of Muslim performativity and the perception of the image of an ordinary Muslim are the central themes of this article. It outlays V. D. Savarkar's and B. R. Ambedkar's views on Muslim performativity – performance of Muslimness or Islamic religiosity. It primarily engages with Savarkar's Essentials of Hindutva (1923) and Ambedkar's Pakistan or the Partition of India ([1945] 2013) and extracts their comments on Muslimness with reference to Muslim invasions and alleged divided loyalty. Apart from highlighting the convergences and divergences in their views on Muslim performativity, it describes their debate as performance. Further, this article argues that a hangover of Savarkarite and Ambedkarite comments on Muslim performativity permeates through the legal production of the Muslim community. By discussing the Muslim community's multifarious attempts to reform family law, this essay engages with the lived reality of Muslim performativity to stress the heterogeneity of Muslimness. By posing the lived reality of Muslim performativity against the dominant discourse in the aforementioned thinkers' works, it contributes a novel approach towards the conceptualization of performativity and departs from Judith Butler's concept of performativity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decolonisation is a creative process, as well as a historical and political one. This article outlines key issues in researching the creative processes of decolonisation with reference to dance and music in the Indian Diaspora. It begins with Gandhi's 'experiments with truth', which first developed a political reach in the context of Indian indenture within the British Empire but left a fractured legacy in the decolonising era. Their conceptual import frames a discussion on participatory research, dialogic pedagogies and intellectual responsibility. The notion of dialogue contextualises examples of musical collaborations, as well as intellectual exchanges between Gandhi and two of his interlocutors: Ambedkar and Tolstoy. These shift discussion from an oppositional narrative of decolonisation towards more complex views of cultural and intellectual interactions in decolonising processes. The final section introduces the volume's case studies, which collectively encourage a pluralist reading of dance and music in the cultures of decolonisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 1981 Dalit mass conversion to Islam at Meenakshipuram, Tamil Nadu, arguably began the Hindu Right's political rise. The conversion raises two different concepts for understanding mass conversion's relationship to democracy. Though it is commonly framed in terms of B. R. Ambedkar's thought, whereby conversion's core is an interior psychic process of changing principles to see the world differently, I suggest that Meenakshipuram's event may more appropriately be framed by E. V. Ramasami's [EVR] thought, whereby conversion's core is an exterior somatic process of changing appearances to be seen differently in the world. These concepts of conversion raise alternative engagements with issues of text, force, foreignness, time, and Marxism. The argument is prefaced by a discussion of freedom's typology (Berlin), subaltern representation (Spivak), and religious mass (Geertz/Asad), which I argue favors EVR's concept of conversion over Ambedkar's. Such issues are not unimportant in an age of rising right-wing populisms globally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The question of what constitutes the content of civility even as we seek to empty it of rigidly conceptualised Western understandings remains important. An interesting possibility is to reanimate the idea of civility with the notion of trust, but that again begs the question: 'what is trust?' My thinking on this subject is framed by constitutional values, and from that perspective, I perceive the 'civility–trust' dyad as being the social evocation or impression of the constitutional value of fraternity about which Ambedkar spoke in the Constituent Assembly. He suggested something of a content to fraternity which can then be employed to think through our understanding of civility. Against this backdrop, I listen to the voices of Tamil-speaking Dalit Christians and activists and the ways in which they try to come to terms with and struggle against the forms of incivility and 'second-class' citizenship they are up against, and how they make any sense of this with regard to constitutional values and Christian ones, both of which they should be able to lay claim to, but in which they are denied full participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]