B. R. Ambedkar on Caste, Democracy, and State Action
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7353298 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Hari Ramesh (0000-0003-0764-4880, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT, USA, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2022 |
| Volume | 50 |
| Issue | 5 |
| Pages | 723-753 |
| Publication date | 2022-02-12 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Political Theory (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0090-5917 • E-ISSN: 1552-7476 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/00905917211069607 |
| OpenAlex | W4211236355 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 30 |
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
Caste · Democracy · Interpretation (philosophy · Oppression · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Polity · Scholarship · Social science · Sociology · State (computer science · Indian History and Philosophy · Law · Philosophy · Social and Economic Development in India · South Asian Studies and Diaspora
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Transfer of Power and the Crisis of Dalit Politics in India, 1945-47
Political Inclusion and the Dynamics of Democratization
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1.5 |
| Citation span | 2024 - 2026 (3) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |