TOWARDS INCLUSIVE GROWTH: AMBEDKAR'S GENDER EQUALITY IDEALS IN 19TH CENTURY INDIA

The present study aims to explore and analyse Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s vision, ideas, and policy prescriptions concerning emancipation and empowerment of the deprived class of society, situating them within his social, economic and political framework.  Ambedkar’s thoughts on the issues are not isolated but deeply embedded in his larger vision of societal transformation. His ideas were shaped through a prolonged cognitive process, which was influenced by his experiences of caste-based discrimination and the social surroundings of his upbringing. Significant early influences included his father, who instilled in him a deep respect for rationality, justice, and the rule of law, and his education at Columbia University, which broadened his intellectual horizon, his perception towards life and his attitudes towards humanity. These experiences collectively shaped Ambedkar into a visionary reformer committed to social justice, particularly for the marginalised, deprived lower caste section of society.

Dr Ambedkar envisioned an India where unity could be built through the acceptance of diversity and the recognition of the rights of all communities, especially the underprivileged. His realisation of the divisions in Indian society along caste, gender and religious lines emphasised the need for a representative government that safeguards the rights of various social groups in proportion to their population. His vision laid the foundation for the inclusion of affirmative action and positive discrimination measures in the Indian Constitution. Ambedkar identified inequalities rooted in caste, religion and inherited social status as major barriers to progress. He critically examined Brahminical customs and male-dominated structures that restricted individual freedom, denied property rights to women, and enforced caste-based subordination. Central to his critique was the concept of ‘graded inequality’—a hierarchy within the caste system that institutionalised social oppression. Ambedkar proposed and implemented measures to liberate Dalit and underprivileged women from the oppressive structures of caste-based discrimination.