Seminar Questions:

1. In the light of Ambedkar’s writings and his political involvements, discuss his strategies for Dalit emancipation.
2. In what ways were Ambedkar’s ideas a challenge to the politics of mainstream Indian nationalism?

Seminar Reading:

1. B.R. Ambedkar, Annihilation of Caste (1936)

Background Readings:

1. Arundhati Roy, “The Doctor And The Saint”
2. Gail Omvedt, Dalits And the Democratic Revolution: Dr Ambedkar and the Dalit Movement in Colonial India (1994)
3. Valerian Rodrigues, “Reading Texts And Traditions: The Ambedkar-Gandhi Debate”, Economic and Political Weekly, January 2011.
4. Christophe Jaffrelot, Dr Ambedkar And Untouchability: Analysing and Fighting Caste (2005)