Situating Democracy in Ambedkar’s Moral Discourse

Abstract

This article aims to look at the idea of moral democracy in Ambedkar and his reconstruction of democracy as a ‘way of life’. Much of the work on Ambedkar’s idea of democracy has been significantly understood within the context of social, political and economic democracy. This article asks a different question: what could be a moral foundation of democracy in Ambedkar’s thought? His engagement with democracy addresses the issue of caste and injustice in Indian society. A moral approach to Ambedkar’s thought may guide us to understand his path towards democracy. This article explores Ambedkar’s notion of everyday democracy, which is foregrounded in his last work Buddha and His Dhamma. For him, democracy is thoroughly grounded on the concept of Dhamma as a righteous relation between people in every sphere of life.