Ambedkar’s Social Justice Perspective

Justice as End of Caste Exploitation

Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar, a great political and social thinker, lawyer and constitutionalist, is famous as the man who drafted the Indian Constitution. He was the first Union Law Minister after independence. However, behind this great man lies the agony, resentment and anger of those who have been victims of the historical injustice. Ambedkar was born in a Mahar family in Maharashtra, which as per the traditional Indian caste system was considered ‘untouchable’. An ‘untouchable’ caste is traditionally placed at the bottom of the caste hierarchy and is subject to distance and pollution rules of social interaction. This means members of the higher born castes maintain distance from the members of the ‘untouchable’ castes in terms of physical, social, and cultural interaction. Elsewhere in this book, we have noted that untouchability represents a novel innovation of human mind in the history of inequality. It treats even casting of shadow or touch of one human being to another as polluting, leave alone any meaningful social interaction. Untouchability has been a practice of not only social inequality but also of social exclusion. It has not only been a clinical method of excluding a section of human beings from material and economic benefit but has been morally indignifying. Ambedkar, having been born and lived in one of such caste, was aware of the implications of such a social structure for the rights, equality and dignity of the members of these castes. It was logical that he epitomized the agony, resentment and anger of all those who suffered. Dr Ambedkar wrote several books including the famous Annihilation of Caste, Who were the Shudras? The Untouchables, etc.

Dr Ambedkar was critical of the caste inequalities and fought for social justice. What he sought as social justice primarily was abolition of untouchability. The practice of untouchability excluded ‘untouchables’ from social intercourse with other castes, temple entry and access to public places and public facilities such as common drinking water, etc. He was of the opinion that Chaturvarna, i.e., the social structure based on four castes, resulted in inequality and system of untouchability. His analysis of the caste system contained in the books mentioned above, suggests that the practice of untouchability presents a unique form of inequality in society. He firmly concluded that it was not only indignifying but inimical to ‘the mental and moral progress of the untouchables.’²⁷ The logical step forward for Dr Ambedkar was to pursue the goal of social justice. Social justice aimed at abolition of the historical distortion in the form of untouchability and securing equal civil rights, protection of law and equality before the law. As a lawyer and constitutionalist, Dr Ambedkar was sure that legal rights and equality through the Constitution would be the basis of social justice.

Social justice is explained as principle of distributive justice in society which deals with ‘morally defensible distribution of benefits or rewards in society …’²⁸ For Dr Ambedkar, the aim of social justice is to rectify social injustice and restructure the social order based on principle of equality. He was instrumental in making constitutional provision for abolition of untouchability under Article 17 of the Indian Constitution. Equality before the law and equal protection of law provided under Article 14 is statement of legal equality of all irrespective the caste system. While this secured social and legal equality, equality in opportunity required reverse discrimination in favour of the section of society discriminated historically. To compensate for the historical and social discrimination and social injustice, reservation in public employment and public offices has been made.

Dr Ambedkar sought social justice from two sides—society and constitutional means. Equality before the law, abolition of untouchability and reservation in public employment and public offices for the members of the Scheduled Castes provides constitutional solution. In the realm of society, he struggled for social justice and waged movements and Satyagraha for seeking social rights of temple entry and access to water from public places. At one point of time during the independence movement, Dr Ambedkar demanded separate electorate for the suppressed castes to protect their social and political interest.

Concept of social justice against caste inequalities advocated by Dr Ambedkar was the solution for historical discrimination and injustice. Here social justice is not only concerned with distribution of benefits in society, but also removal of caste injustices, access to public places and temple entry and compensatory opportunity for public employment. As such, social justice in the Indian context and as Dr Ambedkar sought, means distributive justice in social, religious, civil and political arena. Dr Ambedkar was of the firm opinion that political democracy required social democracy and social equality and justice.