1PhD Scholar, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Indore, Simrol, Indore, Email: phd1601161004@iiti.ac.in
2Assistant Professor, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Indore, Simrol, Indore, Email: shomikdasgupta@iiti.ac.in
3Associate Professor, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Tirupati, Tirupati, E-mail: bharathk@iittp.ac.in
This paper is an institutional and ethical reading of B. R. Ambedkar's ideas on the caste system in India. It also draws attention to Ambedkar's profound understanding of the social institution of caste system and its unethical practice, which, he shows, is majorly responsible for many of Indian Society's social injustices and inequalities. The paper advances three arguments which form the three respective sections of the paper. The first shows how Ambedkar's focus on the ‘institution’ of caste was influenced by his own professional training at Columbia University. The second highlights how his critique of caste transitioned from a mere description of its sociological and anthropological origins to philosophical discussions around humane values, human dignity and equality. The third concludes by arguing that Ambedkar's moral and ethical critique of immoral social practices can be considered as the work of a public philosopher who was concerned with the ethics of everyday social life in India.
B. R. Ambedkar, Social inequalities, Caste system, Social practice, Endogamy, Ethics
