The Politics Of Empowerment: Ambedkar, Gandhi, And The Struggle Over Dalit Representation And Village Local Self- Governance
- IJLLR Journal
- 8 hours ago
- 2 min read
Ankita Bhattacharjee, B.A.LL.B., LLM (Constitutional and Administrative Law), Christ (Deemed to be University)
Agathiyan P, BBA.LLB, LLM (Corporate and Commercial Law), Christ (Deemed to be University)
ABSTRACT
This essay analyzes the intricate and persistent political dispute between Mahatma Gandhi and B.R. Ambedkar regarding Dalit representation and the idea of village self-rule in India's colonial era. At the heart of contention was their inherently different strategies towards caste, democracy, and empowerment of the disenfranchised Dalit group. Gandhi advocated the concept of Panchayati Raj - decentralized village self-rule- as a method to develop grassroots democracy and social cohesion in a one Hindu society, and against separate electorates for Dalits, fearing that they would create a split in Hindu unity. By contrast, Ambedkar, whose life experience was that of living under the yoke of caste oppression, spurned the Hindu orthodoxy and the very system of caste, and instead called for separate electorates and robust constitutional protections so that Dalits could have meaningful political representation and protection. The dispute ended in the 1932 Poona Pact, which substituted reserved seats for separate electorates within a joint electorate, a settlement that Ambedkar himself later criticized as coercive and inadequate. Through a critical analysis of their ideological stances, political tactics, and the significance of their disaffection, this paper emphasizes how competition over Dalit representation and local government represented wider tension within India's struggle for social justice and democratic inclusion. The research adds to knowledge of the historical origins of caste politics and the difficulty of reconciling social reform with political harmony in India's democratic development. This study relies on primary sources such as the writings and speeches of the leaders and secondary scholarly accounts to offer an insightful look at one of the most crucial discourses in contemporary Indian political history.
Keywords: Local self-government in India, Caste System, Democracy, political harmony
