CONTEMPORARY RELEVANCE OF AMBEDKAR’S THOUGHTS

Contemporary Relevance of Ambedkar’s Thoughts attempts a fresh look at the various challenges confronting India today from the point of view of Ambedkar. This book brings together the critical reflections of his critiques and admirers on his philosophical and ideological roots, his conception of new social order, just society and democracy, his idea of history writing, women’s emancipation, separate settlements, and nationalism. It also throws light on the constitutional rights of the Dalit and Adivasi communities in the context of increasing privatization and globalization, and on the growing leadership crisis among these communities in the changing economic and political contexts.

Avatthi Ramaiah is a Professor of Sociology at Centre for Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. His areas of academic interests include caste, religion, Dalit human rights, Ambedkarism and nationalism. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Department of Anthropology, Columbia University, New York in 2009-10 under the Fulbright Senior Scholar Programme. In 2010, he was a Visiting Fellow at the Wilberforce Institute for the Study of Slavery and Emancipation, University of Hull, UK, and in 2015 at the Asia Research Centre, London School of Economics, London. In January 2015, he was a Visiting Fellow at the Centre for the Study of Social Systems, School of Social Sciences, JNU, New Delhi. He has published extensively on issues pertaining to Dalits, including a book Laws for Dalit Rights and Dignity (2007).