Ambedkar's idea of a just society
Topic: Equality and Social Justice · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 4 "Social Justice"
Meaning
Ambedkar's idea of a just society is a society in which the caste hierarchy has disappeared. In that hierarchy, people show an "ascending sense of reverence" to the castes above them and a "descending sense of contempt" to those below. B.R. Ambedkar wanted it replaced by a compassionate society (Annihilation of Caste, 1936). He saw liberty, equality and fraternity as a trinity, meaning three ideas that cannot be separated. He said he took them from the Buddha, not from the French Revolution (1954). In his view, a just society rests on dignity, fraternity (a sense of brotherhood) and legal guarantees.
Example
On 25 November 1949, Ambedkar warned that India was entering "a life of contradictions". In politics there would be one person, one vote, one value, but social and economic life would remain unequal. He said political democracy must grow into social democracy. He also supported state socialism for key industries (States and Minorities, 1947).
Don't confuse with
- Gandhi's Sarvodaya: Sarvodaya relies on moral persuasion and trusteeship by the rich. Ambedkar stressed legal guarantees and action by the state.