Introduction
For Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, social justice was not an abstract distributive arithmetic or formal legalism, but an emancipatory praxis aimed at dismantling 'graded inequality'—a rigid, sanctified hierarchy marked by ascending reverence and descending contempt. Deeply influenced by John Dewey's pragmatism, Ambedkar conceptualized social justice as an ethic of 'associated living' anchored in liberty, equality, and fraternity, viewing fraternity as the indispensable moral foundation of democracy.
Recognition and Redistribution
Prefiguring modern egalitarian frameworks such as Nancy Fraser's synthesis of recognition and redistribution, Ambedkar rejected class reductionism as well as mere symbolic reform:
- Division of Labourers: Ambedkar asserted that the caste system is not merely a division of labour, but a division of labourers, compartmentalizing human beings into water-tight compartments and binding social identity directly to economic exploitation.
- Interlocking Oppression: He demonstrated that socio-cultural misrecognition and material deprivation reinforce each other, meaning neither pure economic restructuring nor mere social philanthropy could deliver true justice in isolation.
Constitutional Morality and Compensatory Justice
Ambedkar sought to institutionalize social justice through legal-constitutional architecture rather than relying on the goodwill of dominant castes:
- Negative and Positive Rights: He harmonized universal civil equality (such as the abolition of untouchability under Article 17) with substantive compensatory discrimination through affirmative action in public employment and education under Articles 15(4) and 16(4).
- Economic Democracy in States and Minorities: In his 1947 memorandum States and Minorities, Ambedkar proposed state socialism—demanding state ownership of key industries and agricultural land—to ensure that private capital and caste power could not collude to subjugate depressed classes.
Ethical Reconstruction through Navayana Buddhism
Recognizing that institutional mechanisms remain fragile without an underlying public culture of fraternity, Ambedkar turned to moral transformation:
- Critique of Sacred Hierarchy: He identified the root of caste injustice in divinely sanctioned scriptural texts, arguing that authentic equality required the destruction of religious sanctity accorded to caste.
- Civic Morality of Dhamma: Through his formulation of Navayana Buddhism, Ambedkar replaced religious dogma with a rational social morality anchored in compassion (karuna), equality (samata), and intellect (prajna), providing an enduring moral foundation for associated life.
Conclusion
In his final address to the Constituent Assembly, Ambedkar presciently warned that a political democracy resting on unaddressed socio-economic hierarchy enters a 'life of contradictions'. Realizing his vision today requires advancing beyond transactional quota politics toward universal capability expansion, structural economic reform, and the sustained eradication of systemic caste consciousness.