Open Political Science, 2020; 3: 175–182

Research Article

Harsha Senanayake*, Samarth Trigunayat

Brahmanical Patriarchy and Voices from Below:

Ambedkar‘s Characterization of Women’s
Emancipation
https://doi.org/10.1515/openps-2020-0014
received May 8, 2020; accepted June 2, 2020.

Abstract: Western feminism created a revolution on the international stage urging the world to look at things through
the perspective of women who were historically suppressed because of their gender, yet in many instances, it failed
to address the issue of women in the Indian subcontinent because of the existence of social hierarchies that are alien
concepts to the western world. As a result, the impact of western feminist thinkers was limited to only the elites in
the Indian subcontinent. The idea of social hierarchy is infamously unique to the South Asian context and hence,
in the view of the authors, this evil has to be fought through homegrown approaches which have to address these
double disadvantages that women suffer in this part of the world. While many have tried to characterize Ambedkar’s
political and social philosophy into one of the ideological labels, his philosophy was essentially ‘a persistent attempt
to think things through’. It becomes important here to understand what made Ambedkar different from others; what
was his social condition and his status in a hierarchal Hindu Society. As a matter of his epistemology, his research and
contribution did not merely stem from any particular compartmentalized consideration of politics or society, rather it
encompassed the contemporary socio-political reality taking into consideration other intersectionalities like gender
and caste. The paper argues for a system of convergence of casteism and sexism rather than an isolated approach to
counter the gender inequalities. This convergence is important to be considered because most of the Indian feminist
thinkers of our times are qualifying patriarchy with the term ‘Brahmanical’.

Keywords: Gender; Caste; Emancipation; Women Rights; Ambedkar; Feminism; India.

1 Introduction
As an avid thinker, reformer and social engineer, Dr Ambedkar was one of the strongest symbols of revolt against the
oppressive features of Hindu society1. While many have tried to characterize Ambedkar’s political and social philosophy
into one of the ideological labels, his philosophy was essentially ‘a persistent attempt to think things through’2. It
becomes important here to understand what made Ambedkar different from others was his social condition and his
status in a hierarchal Hindu Society. As a matter of his epistemology, his research and contribution did not merely stem
from any particular compartmentalized consideration of politics or society, rather it encompassed the contemporary
socio-political reality taking into consideration other intersectionalities like gender and caste. Unlike his other
counterparts, Ambedkar was neither merely a dogmatic scholar nor merely a normative thinker. Rather, he challenged

1 See generally, Matthew Thomas, Ambedkar: Reform or Revolution, (New Delhi; Segment Books, 1991); Mahesh Ambedkar, The Architect of
Modern India: Dr Ambedkar, (New Delhi; Diamond Books, 2012).
2 A. M. Rajsekhariah and Hemlata Jayaraj, “Political Philosophy of Dr Ambedkar,” (Indian Journal of Political Science, Vol. 32, No. 3, 1968),
p. 358.

*Corresponding author: Harsha Senanayake, Department of International Relations, South Asian University, New Delhi, India, e-mail: shar-
[email protected]
Samarth Trigunayat, Department of Legal Studies, South Asian University, New Delhi, India

Open Access. © 2020 Harsha Senanayake, Samarth Trigunayat, published by De Gruyter. This work is licensed under the
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.
176 Harsha Senanayake, Samarth Trigunayat

the social order using a pragmatic and relativist approach and argued that the inhuman treatment of women in Indian
society cannot be seen in isolation and hence has to be viewed from within the social hierarchy.
This paper attempts to discuss the discourse of Ambedkar’s ideas focusing on the interaction between caste and
gender which often put women in a situation of double disadvantage. In the discussion, the authors argue that while
western feminism did bring a revolution on the international stage to look at things through the perspective of women
who were historically suppressed because of their gender, yet in many instances, it failed to address the issue of women
in the Indian subcontinent because of the existence of social hierarchies that are an alien concept to the western world.
As a result, the impact of western feminist thinkers was limited to only the elites in the Indian subcontinent. The idea
of social hierarchy is infamously unique to the South Asian context and hence, in view of the authors, this evil has to
be fought through homegrown approaches which have to address these double disadvantages that women suffer in
this part of the world. In conclusion, the authors argue for a system of convergence of casteism and sexism rather than
an isolated approach to counter the gender inequalities. This convergence is important to be considered because most
of the Indian feminist thinkers of our times are qualifying patriarchy with the term ‘Brahmanical’. This recent trend in
understanding the oppression of women kind of summarizes the interaction between caste and gender in itself.
A Brahmanical social order in itself is based on a certain hierarchy attached to people based on their birth and
gender. Hence it becomes important to trace the nature and basis of this subordination of women, especially in cases
of women from a lower caste. In the discussion, the authors have reaffirmed the importance of Ambedkar’s relevancy
in the contemporary scenario. In this section, the authors argue that Ambedkar’s ideas for women’s emancipation
are not merely helpful in making the current discourse more effective, but is something that the 21st-century feminist
movements in this part of the world should turn to. The last portion of the paper deals with the conclusion based on the
abovementioned discussions.

2 Limitations of Western Feminism and Need for a Home-grown Approach

Most scholars divide western feminism into four major waves. Highly successive, these waves not merely theorize
differently on the idea of women’s emancipation but also try to address the loopholes present in their preceding waves.
The first wave of feminism emerged out of an environment of urban industrialism and liberal, socialist politics with the
goal to open up opportunities for women, with a focus on suffrage3. This wave essentially addressed the formal equality
question, with a focus on equal pay for equal work and overall general treatment of women for equality of opportunity.
However, there were many issues which went unaddressed during this wave. These issues were subsequently brought
up by the Second Wave, which emerged during the rise of the New Left movement making it increasingly radical
focusing mainly on the questions of sexuality and reproductive rights4.
The second wave is often characterized as a Marxist movement, as it brought in the class theory of Marx to criticize
the major forces such as patriarchy which was re-strengthened by contemporary capitalism. However, this movement,
being too radical in approach, was easily side-lined. The Third wave came into picture aiming at destabilizing older
notions common to the first and second waves of feminism like “universal womanhood”, body, gender, sexuality and
heteronormativity5. This wave out-lived most of its predecessors because of its omnipresence on nearly all the fronts.
However, the third wave allegedly lacked a cohesive goal and was often seen as an extension of the second wave6. There
still exists doubt as to whether this wave could be termed as a ‘wave’ or merely an extension of the second wave7. The
Fourth Wave of feminism for many started with the use of social media in 2012. A number of feminist thinkers call it
neo-imperialistic feminism where the women in power try to re-strengthen the patriarchal framework by use of market

3 Martha Rampton, “Four Waves of Feminism,” (Pacific University Press, 2019).

4 Ibid.
5 Ibid.
6 Rowe Finkheinher and Kristin, the F Word: Feminism in Jeopardy, (Emeryville; Seal Press, 2004), p. 85.
7 Jennifer Baumgartner and Amy Richards, Manifesta: Young Women, Feminism and the Future, (New York; Farrar Straus and Giroux, 2000),
p. 77.
 Brahmanical Patriarchy and Voices from Below: Ambedkar‘s Characterization of Women’s Emancipation 177

forces. For many, the fourth wave is inherently ‘classist’ and ‘ableist’, created by and limited to, giving the biggest voice
to those who can afford and use technology8.
While the above discussion encompasses major accomplishments and limitations of the waves of western feminist
understanding, various other scholars argue that such a wave construct of feminist philosophy is against the idea
of feminism itself9. These scholars argue that the idea of a wave construct in itself ignores the important progress
between the periods10. For example, ‘wave construct’ focused on white women’s suffrage and continued to marginalize
the issues of women of colour and lower-class women11. However, as Nancy Harstock has remarked, ‘at the bottom,
feminism is a mode of analysis, a method of approaching life and politics, a way of asking questions and searching for
answers, rather than a set of political conclusions about the oppression of women’12. It becomes important to consider
feminism as not an all-pervading single universal thought of womanhood but also to include the various underlying
nuances which every society offers in different ways. Hence, feminism should be seen not merely as a political theory
aiming at woman empowerment but also as a treatise of women’s experiences over centuries and across civilizations.
The inherent flaws in western feminism limit it when it comes to exploring the intersections which are not
recognized internationally by communities. These flaws also extend to the idea of first world feminists dictating terms
for the empowerment of women in third world countries like India13. For instance, caste is still not a vulnerable category
under International Law. Although various third world jurists from this part of the world have tried to bring it into
consideration on the international stage, yet the international community has failed to recognize it.
This ensures that most of the international forums, resulting from feminist movements across the globe, aiming
to improve the standards of life of women globally by making laws for their empowerment, do not explore the caste
question. The best example for this is the Convention on Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women
(CEDAW). The double discrimination that the women have to face in the name of gender as well as caste and the
affirmative action required for their upliftment often goes unnoticed and is neglected when an international community
makes a uniform law at these global platforms for the upliftment of women.
Hence, in light of the above discussion, it becomes important to develop conducive homegrown approaches
towards women’s empowerment. The roots of homegrown approaches often trace themselves to sociological and realist
school of thought. The homegrown approaches essentially focus on problems native to a certain social order. For the
proponents of this movement, every society has its unique system and a universalized system of supranational theory
or law cannot be applied in every circumstance. This essentially furthers the idea that feminism is itself a collection
of women experiences across civilizations and over centuries of oppression. It is not a political or legal theory in the
most traditional sense as there is no one-size which fits all. At this point, Ambedkar becomes relevant when it comes to
understanding women’s emancipation in the Indian context. The difference between the previously discussed western
feminism and a homegrown approach towards women’s emancipation is that while one might lead to ‘entitlement’
but the other leads to true ‘empowerment’. It is important to understand and appreciate that any policymaking at the
international level, which is highly western-centric cannot be applied universally in every part of the world. Hence, it is
important to understand and implement any particular policy in the context of local conditions, making contextualism
more important than universalization of methods to achieve women empowerment.

8 Ragna Rok Jons, “Is the ‘4th Wave’ of Feminism Digital,” (Bluestockings Magazine, 2013).
9 Catherine Harnois, “Re-Presenting Feminisms: Past, Present and Future,” (NWSA Journal, Vol. 1, No. 1, 2008), p. 73.
10 Shira Tarrant, When Sex become Gender, (New York; Routledge, 2006), p. 22.
11 Catherine Harnois, “Re-Presenting Feminisms: Past, Present and Future,” (NWSA Journal, Vol. 1, No. 1, 2008), p. 73.
12 Nancy Hartsock, “Feminist Theory and the Development of Revolutionary Strategy,” Z. R. Eisenstein (Ed.), (New York; Monthly Review
Press, 1979), p 58.
13 Karen Engle, “Feminism and It’s (Dis)contents: Criminalizing Wartime Rape in Bosnia and Herzegovina,” (The American Journal of
International Law, Vol. 99, No. 4, 2005), pp. 778-816.
178 Harsha Senanayake, Samarth Trigunayat

3 The convergence of Casteism and Sexism as a revolt against

Brahmanical Patriarchy
The recent trends in gender studies in the Indian context have shifted the focus from the ‘status’ of women to the
‘nature’ and ‘basis of gender relations14. Previously, most of the social reform movements for women’s emancipation
in India focussed essentially on the aspects pertaining to property, marriage, conjugal rights etc. However, with recent
trends, this has shifted to more nuanced questions of extent and form of subordination conditioned by the environment
and society in which women have been put historically15. The approach and method now adopted by feminist scholars
are to look into the interaction between patriarchy and social structure16. While social reforms pertaining to women
empowerment are not new to the subcontinent, the approaches taken by the previous reformers and Ambedkar differ
in the same context as described above. The reformers like Raja Ram Mohan Roy or Mahatma Gandhi did advocate for
the emancipation of women but their approach did not explore the nuances of caste. These reformers never challenged
the social hierarchy as one of the fundamental forces which reinforce the patriarchy through religion and customs.
The Indian Civilization has historically maintained its power dynamics by controlling three primary things- territory,
the sexuality of women and the piousness of rituals. These three things can still be found in the right-wing narrative of
Indian policymaking. As Lerner17 observes that even in early Mesopotamian society, total control of women’s sexuality
by men of the dominant class was a crucial element. While women seemed to have greatly differing statuses, some
holding high positions and enjoying economic independence,their sexuality was essentially controlled by men18. This
intersectionality is well explored in the works of Ambedkar. Ambedkar was different from other reformers because he
challenged the social structure as in his view it reinforced the subordination of lower castes as well as women.
As historical accounts of discrimination, general reading of Manusmriti or Arthshastra is good evidence to explore
the control exerted by upper-caste males on the sexuality of women. Brahmanical patriarchy conveys similar ideas that
are deep and complex. It describes how we live in societies that are shaped by gender, caste, and economic relationships,
and in turn shape them through our decisions and actions19. In light of the emerging notions of neoliberal feminism20,
where feminist reformers take to social media to register their concerns as well as protests against patriarchy, it becomes
more important to focus on those who do not have access to such means and technology. As a note of caution, the
authors do not completely neglect the idea of neoliberal feminism, but to a great extent, this west-centric feminist
philosophy becomes irrelevant in the context of marginalized women, especially in Indian society. As Sharmila Rege
observes, “the inseparability of caste and gender in Dr Ambedkar’s conceptualisation and his interpretations of history
and the place and role of marriage in the social construction of graded inequality provides an important understanding
of the issue of women’s emancipation in the Indian context.21” Hence it has to be understood that the issue of women’s
empowerment is very complex and multidimensional. Mere provision of rights and creating awareness does not solve
the problems of women. What is required is to see women’s issues as a part of the broader issue of development22.
While most of the international instruments claiming to empower women seek to address the issues of women
coming from all the factions of society, this is where their limitation begins. The idea of intersectionality becomes
important here. A universal model law made in the green rooms of these international platforms dictating terms for the
empowerment of women cannot, however, adequately address the issues on a social order which is rooted in religious
understanding. They can be good when it comes to rhetoric, but in practice, the exercise has to be undertaken differently

14 Uma Chakravarty, “Conceptualizing Brahmanical Patriarchy in Early India: Gender, Caste, Class and State,” (Economic and Political
Weekly, Vol. 29, No. 14, 1993), pp. 579-585.
15 Ibid.
16 See generally, Gerda Lerner, The Creation of Patriarchy, (New Delhi; Oxford University Press, 1986).
17 Ibid.
18 Uma Chakravarty, “Conceptualizing Brahmanical Patriarchy in Early India: Gender, Caste, Class and State,” (Economic and Political
Weekly, Vol. 29, No. 14, 1993), pp. 579-585.
19 Vasuda Katju, “Brahmanical Patriarchy: A Term That Opens Up In Changing, Painful But Ultimately Liberating Way,” (Firstpost, 2018).
20 See generally, Catherine Rottenberg, The Rise of Neoliberal Feminism, (London; Oxford University Press, 2017); Linda Colley and Catherine
White, Neoliberal Feminism, The Neoliberal Rhetoric on Feminism by Australian Political Actors, (Willy Journal, 2018).
21 Rahi Gaikwad, “Need for Feminists to Reclaim Ambedkar Seen,” (The Hindu, 2010).
22 K. Vijay Kumar and Vanaja Rani, “Empowerment of Women; A Myth or Reality,” (Journal of Social Changes, Vol. 31, No. 3, 2001), pp. 42-52.
 Brahmanical Patriarchy and Voices from Below: Ambedkar‘s Characterization of Women’s Emancipation 179

in a much realist and pragmatic manner. In this regard, it is right to mention the words of Sharma23 “that women should
not be treated as a homogenous category, with regard to their development. The development programmes and policies,
which aim at women’s empowerment, should categorise women based on their age, caste, class, region (rural or urban),
education etc.”24 Hence, as discussed in the earlier section, Ambedkar’s approach exploring this intersectionality
between caste and gender becomes important.
The feminist movement in India up till recently has primarily been dominated by the women of upper caste.
Right-wing orthodoxy and global consumer capitalism have fostered populist feminism where politics and media play
an important role25. The problems presented as ‘problems of Indian women’ have mostly been limited and have not
extended their ambit to include the problems of marginalized women26. Therefore, for many, the mainstream feminist
movement in India has followed and drawn theories from western feminist movements which have made it irrelevant
to the cause of marginalized women.
In the 1980s, with the emergence of ‘Dalit feminism’, more limitations of the mainstream feminist movement in
India were exposed. This movement, often regarded by many scholars as the “feminism of difference”27, created an
altogether parallel theoretical interface quite successfully suggesting existing lacunae and loopholes in the mainstream
feminist movement of India. As Gopal Guru observes in his article, “Dalit women justify the case for talking differently
based on external factors (non-Dalit forces homogenising the issue of Dalit women) and internal factors (the patriarchal
domination within the Dalits)”28. Guru’s twofold observation justifies the double disadvantage argument discussed
earlier in the previous section in a more nuanced way. Further to support this, as Gabriele Dietrich notes in her essay29,
“Dalit women have been targets of upper-caste violence. At the same time, Dalit women have also functioned as the
“property” of Dalit men”30. Scholars like Rege31, take this approach to one step forward by going beyond Guru’s focus
on authenticity and Dalit women’s voice and suggests—in the spirit of critiques by women of colour in the United States
about the relationship between race and gender—that Dalit feminism carries the potential, more generally, to transform
upper-caste feminists’ understanding of gender and feminism32.
However, her approach doesn’t go unchallenged. Chhaya Datar33critiques the position taken by Rege, argues that
the focus on “difference” and identity ignores the centrality of economic exploitation and market fundamentalism in
disenfranchising women34. It can be said that coming from the Marxist school of thought, the ideas of Chhaya Datar
have been highly influenced by the class theory and the economic exploitation narrative. However, here the position of
Rege seems much more relevant as caste and gender is one such intersectionality where problems cannot be countered
by merely focusing on economic empowerment. Even the women who are economically empowered, have their own
set of problems which the Marxist narrative ignores by calling it the part of neoliberal feminism which is often wrongly
seen by many as a perversion of the original feminist thought35. Similarly, the politics of identity and difference is one
such problem which is suppressed in the Marxist narratives. Rege’s position which tries to reclaim Ambedkar’s ideas at
the beginning of the 21st century asserts that the major problems in the present mainstream feminist narrative in India are
that it has ignored a vital contribution by Ambedkar who highlighted the intrinsic relationship between gender, sexuality

23 S. L. Sharma, “Empowerment without Antagonism, A Case for Reformulation of Women’s Empowerment Approach,” (Sociological Bulletin
the Journal of Indian Sociological Society, Vol. 49, No.1, 2000), pp. 19-39.
24 Ibid.
25 Roshan G. Shahani and Shoba V. Ghosh, “Indian Feminist Criticism, In Search Of New Paradigms,” (Economic and Political Weekly, Vol.35,
No. 43, 2000), pp. 3813-2816.
26 Ashwaq Masoodi, “Dalit Women Brewing Their Own Social Relations,” (Livement, 2018).
27 Gopal Guru, “Dalit Women Talk Differently,” (Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 20, No. 41, 1995), pp. 2545-2550.
28 Ibid.
29 Gabriele Dietrich, “Caste, Class and Patriarchy,” (Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 28, No. 10, 1993), pp. 389-391.
30 Ibid.
31 Sharmila Rege, “Dalit Women Talk Differently a Critique of Differences and to was a Dalit Feminist Standpoint Position,” (Economic and
Political Weekly, Vol. 33, No. 44, 1998), pp. 39-46.
32 See generally, Anupama Rao, Gender and Caste, (New Delhi; Kali for Women, 2003).
33 Chhaya Datar, “Non-Brahmin Reading of Feminism in Maharastra- Is It a More Emancipatory Force,” (Economic and Political Weekly, Vol.
34, No. 41, 1999), pp. 2964-2968.
34 See generally, Anupama Rao, Gender and Caste, (New Delhi; Kali for Women, 2003).
35 Michaele Ferguson, “Neoliberal Feminism as Political Ideology: Revitalizing the Study of Feminist Political Ideologies,” Journal of Political
Ideologies, Vol. 22, No. 3, 2017), pp. 1- 15.
180 Harsha Senanayake, Samarth Trigunayat

and caste36. Ambedkar himself believed that the absence of intermarriage or endogamy is the one characteristic that
can be called the essence of caste and hence he famously remarked that “endogamy is caste and caste is endogamy”37.
Hence in light of the above discussion, it is pretty much evident that the tools through which Brahmanical social order
exerts its control over the women are manifold. These tools include regulating individual choices, subordinate role and
status to men, the institution of marriage, other sacramental rites and rituals, etc. Ambedkar’s contribution to women’s
emancipation can be realised by understanding the context in which a Dalit forced the upper caste parliamentarians
to consider and pass the Hindu Code Bill. Ambedkar, who wanted to have one civil code for the entire nation, couldn’t
do it because of the appeasement policies of the contemporary parliamentarians38. With protests against Brahmanical
Patriarchy taking the mainstage lately, it becomes important to revisit Ambedkar and his philosophies.
Discrimination in itself is an outcome of religious and social practices. While addressing such practices, it becomes
important to understand the dichotomy between entitlement and empowerment. While entitlement is merely formal
and legal, empowerment comes through affirmative action to be taken by State agencies to restore equality. What must
be understood further is that while dealing with the issue of women’s empowerment it is important not to derogate
from the principles of equality and chase secularism simultaneously. While attaining one, the other might be affected,
and rightly it has to be. None of the ‘essential practices of the religion’ should be allowed in the name of secularism if
they tend to violate the very basic principle of equality enshrined in the constitutional framework of this country. The
recent debate on Sabrimala issue39 is a classic example of secularism and equality being placed at exact contradictory
positions.
In modern times, it is not wrong to say that men in power tend to maintain their power through the principles of
secularism by moulding it into their favour. As Ambedkar said, “it is by placating the sentiments of smaller communities
and smaller people who are afraid that the majority may do wrong, that the British Parliament works. Sir, my friends tell
me that I have made the Constitution. But I am quite prepared to say that I shall be the first person to burn it out. I do not
want it. It does not suit anybody. But whatever that maybe, if our people want to carry on, they must not forget that there
are majorities and there are minorities, and they simply cannot ignore the minorities by saying, ‘Oh, no. To recognise you
is to harm democracy.’ I should say that the greatest harm will come by injuring the minorities.40”
Hence, Ambedkar’s idea remains relevant in not merely the context of women but in the case of every political
minority. The power structure, which essentially dwells in majoritarianism expressed as a will of popular conscience
can be located in populist politics, but for an egalitarian democratic society, the essence of good governance should not
limit it only to the concerns of ones who have the voice and the means to express it. Democracy belongs to those as well
who have been marginalized historically and cannot express their conscience.

4 Conclusion: Ambedkar still relevant?

Based on the discussion in the above sections the following conclusions can be drawn. First, the notions of western
feminism based primarily on equitable sharing of economic resources and access to opportunity cannot be a benchmark
for the empowerment of marginalised women in the Indian context. In the authors’ view, the approach of western
feminism, which is echoed in the corridors of mainstream policymaking is a superficial attempt at providing a solution
for the empowerment of women in the Indian Context, which is essentially based on an oversimplification of the
problems faced by Indian women.
Second, it is important to appreciate and accept the fact that caste system rooted in Indian social order has become
an inherent feature of Indian society and hence a home-grown approach striking at the same is required to bridge the
disparity between men and women. This homegrown approach has to take into consideration the double disadvantage
that marginalised women suffer as discussed in the above sections, and approach the problem is a much more nuanced

36 Sharmila Rege, “Dalit Women Talk Differently a Critique of Differences and to was a Dalit Feminist Standpoint Position,” (Economic and
Political Weekly, Vol. 33, No. 44, 1998), pp. 39-46.
37 B. R. Ambedkar, “Castes in India: The Mechanism, Genesis and Development,” (Indian Antiquary, Vol. XLT, No. III, 1917), pp. 1111- 1150.
38 Vaibhav Purandare, “How Ambedkar and Other Pushed for a Uniform Cord before Partition,” (Times of India, 2017).
39 Indian Young Lawyers Association and Ors vs the State of Kerala and Ors, (Civil, No. 373, 2006).
40 Dr B. R. Ambedkar, Parliamentary Hanzad, (Rajya Sabha, 9.2, 1953).
 Brahmanical Patriarchy and Voices from Below: Ambedkar‘s Characterization of Women’s Emancipation 181

way. The response of the government to the problems of women should not merely be limited to entitlements but should
also include pragmatic empowerment.
Third, the approaches taken by various mainstream feminist thinkers have limited the diffusion of feminist ideas
only to a certain elite population of India as most of the marginalized women have not been able to relate to their
demands or their ideas of liberation. The mainstream feminism is challenged by the ones like Rege41, Guru42, Datar43,
Rao44 etc, who bring in and explore the politics of difference and even go beyond it. They bring in the question of
identity which has been missing in the past few decades of the mainstream feminist movement in India.
Fourth, the writings and the narrative of the feminism of difference in India which have been inspired hugely from
the methodology of Ambedkar, have been quite successful in organising women coming from marginalised sections.
This includes the creation of forums like National Federation for Dalit Women (NFDW)45, contribution to political
literature in the form of Dalit Feminism46, etc. Creation of such organised structures reduces perplexions and makes the
voices of the downtrodden much clearer.
Lastly, the contemporary feminist discourse has to go beyond the existing realms of institutions created by the
patriarchal society and rather dwell into the question of identity, sexuality and the interactions of intersectionality. For
a long time, the mainstream feminist movement has exclusively focused on the problems of a certain group of women
and has presented them as the problem of all Indian women.
The relevancy of Ambedkar in the current political discourse becomes even more important. In the light of the
growing right-wing Hindutva agenda and simultaneous emergence of opposition to nationalism by the left-oriented
scholars, Ambedkar’s ideas can be a prudent middle path to walk upon. Ambedkar who was against any form of
discrimination unequivocally challenged not merely the flaws in Hindu society but also in the Muslim social order.
For Ambedkar, religion and minority appeasement were secondary and the basic notion on which he framed the
constitution were the ideas of liberty and equality. In a scenario where mainstream feminist narrative overlooks the
origins of patriarchal considerations rooted in minority groups, where utterly unacceptable statements like ‘Burqa
is my right, Ghoonghat patriarchy47’, become a battle-cry for feminist marches, Ambedkar’s absence is felt by those
scholars who remain intellectually honest to their research. Feminist scholars who openly claim at media forums that
Muslim law is too modern to be brought under uniform civil code48, often forget the fact that Ambedkar was not merely
against the Hindu social order but also the hierarchies in other religious minorities. Before converting to Buddhism, he
studied every religion and their philosophy in a much deeper sense, and after rejecting Islam and Christianity on the
account of their foreignness and Sikhism on account of its elitism, he ultimately converted to Buddhism, calling it the
most logical and scientific religion49. This shows he was not merely critical of the inequalities persisting in the Hindu
religion but also other religions as well. This makes it clear that while reforming society, Ambedkar did not merely
target the majority group but also tried to break the hegemony created by minority groups within their social systems,
by crusading against inequality wherever it existed.
In a time where people are mostly motivated by their ideological leanings which are represented in their academic
contribution, Ambedkar-ism, which to a great extent is politically free from such ideologies, becomes more relevant
than ever. The feminist discourse in India has not failed yet. Being constantly ranked top in crimes against women and
often called as a rape capital, feminism and gender sensitisation is the response which we can have to such atrocities.
However, the success or failure of such a discourse depends a lot on where this discourse ultimately turns to. Hence,

41 Sharmila Rege, “Dalit Women Talk Differently a Critique of Differences and to was a Dalit Feminist Standpoint Position,” (Economic and
Political Weekly, Vol. 33, No. 44, 1998), pp. 39-46.
42 Gopal Guru, “Dalit Women Talk Differently,” (Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 20, No. 41, 1995), pp. 2545-2550.
43 Chhaya Datar, “Non-Brahmin Reading of Feminism in Maharastra- Is It a More Emancipatory Force,” (Economic and Political Weekly, Vol.
34, No. 41, 1999), pp. 2964-2968.
44 See generally, Anupama Rao, Gender and Caste, (New Delhi; Kali for Women, 2003).
45 United Nations, (OCHCR Document on National Federation for Dalit Women, WG 12, 2006).
46 See generally, Niharika, “the Dalit Feminism Standpoint: Revisiting a Debate on Feminism and Intersectionality,” (Political and Economic
Weekly, 2017).
47 See generally, Indian Society, “the debate over Burqa and Hijab where activists portray Burqa as a part of their personal preference and not
as a tool for the endowment of patriarchy,” (TheNewsMinit, 2016).
48 Nivedita Menon, “It isn’t about Women,” (The Hindu, 2016).
49 Adrija Roychowdhury, “Three reasons why Ambedkar embrace Buddhism,” (Indian Express, 2017).
182 Harsha Senanayake, Samarth Trigunayat

it becomes important to keep our subjectivities aside and look at the women question objectively by not looking at it
in compartmentalized isolation in a mere formalist perspective, but by exploring the intersectional interactions and
power dynamics beneath it.