Ambedkarization and Dalit Assertion: Notes from Banaras District in East Uttar Pradesh

Abstract

More than two decades ago, political scientist Jagpal Singh coined the term “Ambedkarization” to describe a process happening in west Uttar Pradesh. This was about the increasing presence of the images and ideas of one of the founding fathers of India, B. R. Ambedkar, among the Dalits of west Uttar Pradesh. This was based on Singh’s fieldwork in Meerut district between 1992 and 1994. My article revisits the concept and tries to find out its relevance in east Uttar Pradesh. This is based on my fieldwork in a village in Banaras district, which was carried out intermittently between 2018 and 2021. My research question is how relevant is the concept of Ambedkarization in today’s context, where it has succeeded and where it has failed, and finally what could be its impact on India’s democracy. It posits that the process of Ambedkarization is still relevant to understand social change among Dalits of rural Banaras in east Uttar Pradesh. The article takes up the issues of religion and political economy in the process of Ambedkarization and the upward social mobility of Buddhists and Ravidasis. Lastly, the article argues that the Ambedkarization process has newer challenges in the form of neoliberal policies of Indian state and the growth of Islamophobia. Only by resolving these challenges Ambedkarization process can fully actualize its potential to make India an inclusive democracy.