Revisiting B. R. Ambedkar's Annihilation of Caste: A Critical Study of its Contemporary Relevance in the Twenty-First Century

Abstract

The dissertation re-examines B. R. Ambedkar’s Annihilation of Caste (1936) not as a historical text, but as a living and analytically powerful framework for interpreting caste in twenty-first-century India. Moving beyond conventional readings that treat Ambedkar as a moral critic of inequality, the study foregrounds his work as a rigorous theory of social transformation that integrates religion, ideology, and institutional structures into a unified critique of caste. Adopting a qualitative and interpretive methodology grounded in close textual analysis, the dissertation advances a thematic reconstruction of Ambedkar’s argument through five key dimensions: the religious foundations of caste hierarchy, caste as a self-reproducing system of social control, the limits of reformist ethics, education as a mode of emancipatory consciousness, and a democratic vision rooted in the lived realisation of liberty, equality, and fraternity. By synthesising these themes, the study demonstrates that Ambedkar offers not merely a critique of caste, but a comprehensive blueprint for its annihilation. A central contribution of this dissertation lies in extending Ambedkar’s framework to critically evaluate contemporary constitutional provisions, legislative measures, reservation policies, and welfare schemes. It argues that while these interventions have achieved measurable progress in addressing legal and economic inequalities, they remain insufficient in transforming the deeper ideological and social foundations that sustain caste. The analysis reveals that caste has not declined but reconfigured itself within modern institutions, adapting to democratic and developmental frameworks without losing its structural logic. By directly connecting Ambedkar’s theoretical insights with present-day policy outcomes, the dissertation fills an important gap in existing scholarship. It repositions Annihilation of Caste as an indispensable analytical tool for evaluating India’s democratic project. The study ultimately argues that Ambedkar’s insistence on the inseparability of social and political democracy remains not only relevant but essential, offering a critical standard for reimagining equality, dignity, and justice in contemporary India.