00000nam a22000008i 4500 20260913094726.0 260919s2018 ii 00 0 eng d 9789388162432 DS480.45.R36 2018 954.035 23 Rakesh Ranjan Relevance of Ambedkar's Ideology / Rakesh Ranjan. New Delhi 2018. 240 pages Even while championing social egalitarianism and popular liberties and criticising the sway of big business and landlordism, campaigning for social and economic democracy, he remained a conscious ideological and political adversary of Marxism and Communism – for the basic reason that he found them challenging in the same way he found Buddhism inspiring. He had a number of interesting things to say about tricky national problems – Kashmir, language, nationhood, citizenship, ethnicity and so on – and his analysis lit up the field for a proper democratic understanding of federalism and Centre-State relations in India. On international questions and foreign policy, his approach was that of a centrist-conservative dissenting from non-alignment and from the Nehruvian (not to mention radical) world view. The recent period of socio-political development in India has seen a blossoming of Hindutva and a majority chauvinist ideological and political offensive which can only be classified as extremist in relation to national unity. This ideological offering to the building of a new India must be ranked on a par with his signal and justly celebrated contribution to the making of a Republican Constitution. Ambedkar is of central relevance to the growing human rights movement and is fast emerging as the pan-Indian leader, a symbol of the Dalits and other oppressed masses. This book is a significant contribution to the understanding of Ambedkar’s life, ideology, and mission. Ambedkar, B. R. (Bhimrao Ramji), 1891-1956—Political and social views. India—Politics and government—20th century. India—Social conditions—20th century. SOCIAL SCIENCE / Discrimination bisacsh