Oxford University Press has just published a five-volume box-set entitled B.R Ambedkar: The Quest for Justice. In this post, the collection’s editor Aakash Singh Rathore discusses the origins and rationale of this massive project devoted to the life and legacy of the famous jurist and social reformer and briefly sketches its contents across the five volumes. Dr B.R. Ambedkar is a celebrated LSE alumnus. You can find out more about his life and his time at LSE on LSE History blog. B.R. Ambedkar: The Quest for Justice. Aakash Singh Rathore (ed.). Oxford University Press. 2021

Singh Rathore, Aakash

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LSE Research Online

Feature	Essay:	B.R.	Ambedkar:	The	Quest	for	Justiceby	Aakash	Singh	RathoreOxford	University	Press	has	just	published	a	five-volume	box-set	entitled	B.R	Ambedkar:	The	Quest	for	Justice.In	this	post,	the	collection’s	editor	Aakash	Singh	Rathore	discusses	the	origins	and	rationale	of	this	massiveproject	devoted	to	the	life	and	legacy	of	the	famous	jurist	and	social	reformer	and	briefly	sketches	its	contentsacross	the	five	volumes.	Dr	B.R.	Ambedkar	is	a	celebrated	LSE	alumnus.	You	can	find	out	more	about	his	life	and	his	time	at	LSE	on	LSEHistory	blog.	B.R.	Ambedkar:	The	Quest	for	Justice.	Aakash	Singh	Rathore	(ed.).	Oxford	University	Press.	2021.Find	this	box-set	(affiliate	link):	The	Quest	for	JusticeSocial	activism	in	India	today	–	from	farmers’	and	students’	protests	to	movementsfor	caste,	religious	or	gender	equality	to	advocacy	for	the	economically	exploited	andculturally	marginalised	–	is	much	inspired	by	the	profound	and	lasting	legacy	of	B.R.Ambedkar.	Known	abroad	primarily	as	the	chief	architect	of	the	Indian	Constitution,Ambedkar’s	influence	across	the	social,	political,	ideological,	cultural,	religious	andlegal	spheres	of	the	land	of	his	birth	cannot	be	overestimated.	It	appears	that	the	restof	the	world	is	also	slowly	beginning	to	more	deeply	feel	or	appreciate	his	widerimpact.Each	14	April,	Dr	Ambedkar’s	birthday	is	celebrated	on	a	large	scale	in	India.	Beyondbeing	simply	a	national	holiday,	Ambedkar	Jayanti	is	a	day	where	local	communitiescome	alive	with	cultural	activities,	NGOs	and	other	institutions	ramp	up	variouscampaigns	for	social	awareness,	political	parties	organise	massive	rallies	to	extol	thestatesman	and	claim	him	as	their	own	and	all	of	academia	is	abuzz	with	special	lectures,	seminars	and	conferencesof	various	scales:	regional,	national	and	international.	This	new	multivolume	collection,	B.R.	Ambedkar:	The	Questfor	Justice,	originated	precisely	during	one	such	large-scale	event,	an	international	conference	on	Dr	Ambedkarcalled	‘The	Quest	for	Equity,	Reclaiming	Social	Justice’,	organised	by	the	Government	of	Karnataka	and	held	inBangalore	in	2017.	There	were	more	than	350	speakers	from	around	the	world	presenting	papers,	and	severalthousand	participants.The	conference	was	a	forum	for	serious	scholars,	but	it	was	also	a	social	forum.	It	was	launched	keeping	in	viewthat	the	values	of	social,	political	and	economic	justice	that	Dr	Ambedkar	had	relentlessly	struggled	towardthroughout	his	life	and	political	career,	and	that	he	had	finally	managed	to	enshrine	within	the	democraticConstitution	of	the	Republic	of	India,	were	under	attack	at	numerous	levels.	Constitutional	norms	and	publicinstitutions	created	in	order	to	fight	against	dominance	and	subservience	were	proving	inadequate	or	beingsubverted;	norms	and	policy	were	often	merely	paying	lip	service	to	Ambedkarite	egalitarian	considerations;	andthe	rise	of	social	intolerance	and	exclusion	tended	to	effectively	whittle	down	and	even	sabotage	Ambedkar’sinclusive	conception	of	polity	and	citizenship.LSE Review of Books: Feature Essay: B.R. Ambedkar: The Quest for Justice by Aakash Singh Rathore Page 1 of 3		Date originally posted: 2021-02-15Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/2021/02/15/feature-essay-b-r-ambedkar-the-quest-for-justice-by-aakash-singh-rathore/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/Ambedkar	had	understood	social	inequality	and	diversity	to	be	layered	and	multidimensional,	and	that	the	state	hadto	reckon	with	several	competing	centres	of	religious,	communal	and	cultural	allegiances.	Naturally,	the	complexityof	the	social,	political	and	economic	environment	in	which	the	value	of	social	justice	must	be	envisaged	hadundergone	significant	changes	over	the	last	70	years	of	the	Indian	Republic.	Inspired	by	the	clarity	of	Ambedkar’svision	and	the	unflinching	nature	of	his	commitment,	new	sites	for	social	and	political	assertions	have	been	re-emerging	to	face	the	new	contemporary	challenges,	each	evoking	the	legacy	of	Ambedkar,	each	renewing	the	callfor	justice.	While	working	my	way	through	the	hundreds	of	academic	papers	presented	at	the	AmbedkarInternational	Conference	and	editing	these	five	volumes	of	scholarship,	it	became	clear	to	me	that	Ambedkar’ssophisticated	yet	practical	and	grounded	approach	to	critical	intellectual	and	policy	challenges	might	actually	inspiresimilar	interventions	elsewhere	in	the	world,	particularly	in	the	Global	South.Thus,	in	the	light	of	the	conference,	the	box-set	emerged	as	an	invitation	to	scholars	and	perhaps	evenpolicymakers	to	substantially	rethink	current	social,	political	and	economic	paradigms,	driven	by	Dr	B.R.Ambedkar’s	imaginative	and	insightful	work.	Since	justice	was	the	foremost	concern	of	Ambedkar,	and	since	bothAmbedkar	and	the	contributing	authors	approached	the	idea	of	justice	in	a	multidisciplinary	way,	I	decided	toorganise	the	five	volumes	thematically	around	eight	different	spheres	of	justice:	that	is,	in	terms	of	political,	social,legal,	economic,	gender,	racial,	religious	and	cultural	justice.These	five	volumes	of	papers	collectively	explore	the	major	themes	of	research	surrounding	the	rather	massiveoeuvre	of	Dr	B.R.	Ambedkar.	They	provide	a	summary	evaluation	of	the	state	of	Ambedkar	studies	internationally,highlight	research	trends	both	about	and	inspired	by	Ambedkar	and	open	up	lines	of	future	enquiry.Volume	One	focuses	specifically	on	the	theme	of	political	justice.	With	a	Foreword	by	Shashi	Tharoor	andcontributions	from	foremost	political	theorists,	the	volume	begins	with	a	piece	on	the	intellectual	and	political	legacyof	Ambedkar	by	Bhikhu	Parekh.	Several	chapters	then	focus	on	the	centrality	of	democracy	and	equality	toAmbedkar’s	political	philosophy	as	a	whole,	and	juxtapose	Ambedkar’s	political	thought	to	other	important	thinkersof	preceding	or	succeeding	generations,	including	Antonio	Gramsci,	John	Dewey,	M.K.	Gandhi	and	John	Rawls.Volume	Two	focuses	on	social	justice.	With	contributions	from	foremost	sociologists,	social	theorists,	social	andpolitical	philosophers	and	social	activists,	the	volume	begins	with	a	piece	on	Ambedkar’s	theory	of	the	social	byMartin	Fuchs.	This	is	followed	up	by	an	exploration	of	the	centrality	of	Ambedkar’s	social	vision	to	his	thought	andwork	as	a	whole.	Several	contributors	focus	on	social	justice	at	the	local	or	state	level.	Others	focus	at	thetransnational	level:	for	example,	Meena	Dhanda	on	the	UK	and	David	Gellner	on	Nepal.	Suraj	Yengde	thensupplements	these	contributions	through	an	analysis	of	Ambedkar’s	internationalisation	of	social	justice.LSE Review of Books: Feature Essay: B.R. Ambedkar: The Quest for Justice by Aakash Singh Rathore Page 2 of 3		Date originally posted: 2021-02-15Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/2021/02/15/feature-essay-b-r-ambedkar-the-quest-for-justice-by-aakash-singh-rathore/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/Volume	Three	covers	the	two	themes	of	legal	justice	and	economic	justice.	The	first	part	explores	literature	on	theConstitution	of	India	and	its	institutions,	the	idea	of	constitutional	morality,	rights	and	the	rule	of	law	as	well	asAmbedkarite	jurisprudence.	With	contributions	from	leading	jurists,	the	volume	begins	with	a	piece	on	the‘insurgent’	legal	theory	of	Ambedkar	by	Upendra	Baxi.	The	second	part	turns	to	a	variety	of	issues	in	economicjustice	anchored	in	Ambedkar’s	own	economic	methodology	and	philosophy.Volume	Four	treats	of	gender	justice	and	of	racial	justice.	The	first	part	explores	Ambedkar’s	impact	on	efforts	toachieve	gender	justice	in	India,	and	effects	various	readings	of	Ambedkar	as	a	feminist.	The	second	part	turns	tocomparisons	of	race	and	caste,	and	explores	the	ways	in	which	the	movements	for	racial	justice	and	caste	equalitycan	learn	from	one	another	and	seek	strategies	of	synergy.	With	contributions	from	feminist	theorists	and	criticalrace	theorists,	the	volume	covers	caste,	class	and	gender	intersectionality,	stigma	and	humiliation	and	issues	ofgender	justice	both	at	the	theoretical	level	as	well	as	specific	empirical	case	studies.	Other	chapters	offercomparisons	of	Ambedkar	with	American	stalwarts	of	racial	justice	such	as	W.E.B.	Du	Bois	and	Martin	Luther	King,and	applications	of	Ambedkarite	praxis	to	diverse	landscapes	such	as	post-Apartheid	South	Africa	as	well	as	theUnited	States.Volume	Five	covers	religious	justice	and	cultural	justice.	The	first	part	addresses	conversion,	Navayana	Buddhismand	liberation	theology.	The	second	part	explores	timely	issues	in	cultural	justice	inspired	by	Ambedkar’s	ownactivism	and	struggles.	With	contributions	from	across	a	wide	spectrum	of	disciplines	in	the	humanities	and	socialsciences,	the	volume	begins	with	a	piece	by	Laurence	Simon	on	Ambedkar’s	prophetic	role	in	liberating	anoppressed	people	through	religious	leadership.	In	the	second	part,	issues	of	cultural	justice	are	presented	with	afocus	on	dignity,	myth,	cultural	rights	and	academic	space.Despite	the	wide	range	of	themes	spread	across	these	five	volumes,	the	collection	as	a	whole	is	oriented	towardarticulable	specific	aims	and	objectives.	These	are	inspired	by	and	fully	consistent	with	the	life	and	legacy	of	DrAmbedkar,	a	man	who	was,	on	the	one	hand,	a	scholar	of	indubitable	genius,	and	on	the	other	hand,	a	dynamicagent	of	social	and	political	action.Firstly,	B.R.	Ambedkar:	The	Quest	for	Justice	seeks	to	explore	the	multifaceted	idea	of	justice	in	dialogue	withAmbedkar’s	opus	for	a	society	that	encompasses	manifold	social	inequalities,	deep	diversities,	exclusion	andmarginality.	Secondly,	in	dialogue	with	Ambedkar’s	writings,	the	contributions	to	the	collection	overall	aim	tosuggest	constitutional,	institutional	and	policy	responses	to	the	concerns	of	justice,	and	to	reformulate	theconceptual	and	policy	linkages	between	social	justice	and	other	related	norms	and	concerns.	Thirdly,	through	high-level	scholarship,	this	collection	aims	to	help	identify	modes	of	thought	and	agency	and	social	and	political	practicesinimical	to	the	pursuit	of	justice.	It	seeks	to	delineate	social	and	political	agency	and	modes	of	action	conducive	tothe	furtherance	of	justice	in	line	with	Dr	Ambedkar’s	own	writings	and	mission.Thus,	in	sum,	Dr	Ambedkar’s	conception	of	justice	and	his	life’s	work	shaping	the	idea	of	India	offer	this	collectionvantage	points	for	sustained	reflection	on	concerns	of	justice	and	its	relation	to	other	human	values.	This	isparticularly	relevant,	indeed	urgent,	in	our	present	day,	not	only	in	India	but	also	throughout	the	world.Note:	This	review	gives	the	views	of	the	author,	and	not	the	position	of	the	LSE	Review	of	Books	blog,	or	of	theLondon	School	of	Economics.	The	LSE	RB	blog	may	receive	a	small	commission	if	you	choose	to	make	a	purchasethrough	the	above	Amazon	affiliate	link.	This	is	entirely	independent	of	the	coverage	of	the	book	on	LSE	Review	ofBooks.Image	Credit:	Central	statue	of	Dr	Ambedkar	in	Dr.	Babasaheb	Ambedkar	Marathwada	University,	India	(JAIBHIM5CC	BY	SA	3.0).	LSE Review of Books: Feature Essay: B.R. Ambedkar: The Quest for Justice by Aakash Singh Rathore Page 3 of 3		Date originally posted: 2021-02-15Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/2021/02/15/feature-essay-b-r-ambedkar-the-quest-for-justice-by-aakash-singh-rathore/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/

Feature essay: B.R. Ambedkar: the quest for justice by Aakash Singh Rathore

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Feature essay: B.R. Ambedkar: the quest for justice by Aakash Singh Rathore

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