Journal Name:
- Uluslararası İnsan Bilimleri Dergisi
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Abstract (2. Language):
In establishing an egalitarian society in India which is based on liberty , equality and fraternity and
social justice, Ambedkar, the great Indian Constitution maker, struggled to find out avenues and
means – intellectual, organizational and in terms of programs throughout his life. This study
attempts to throw light on Ambedkar’s quest for socialism in India with special reference to
Marxism and Buddhism. He accepted the concept of class struggle but he felt that in the Indian set
up, it had to be substantially redefined and ascribed a similar agenda to the Buddha and agreed that
one of the major contradictions of capitalism was the social basis of its production in contrast to
private appropriation. He criticized Marxism for subscribing to economic determinism, for its
inadequate grasp of liberal democracy, for its inability to adequately understand the realm of
ideologies and for considering moral values as historically conditioned. Though Ambedkar
described his scheme of economic organization of the Indian society as state socialism, in view of
its other features, we believe it appropriate to identify it democratic socialism. Moreover, collective
farming, one of the major features of his model of democratic socialism, needs to be thoroughly
reconsidered as it lacked viability. It is somewhat inconceivable how he could achieve socialism by
eliminating socio-economic inequality without undermining the basic economic foundation of
society on which the system of inequality was founded. The inability to resolve this contradiction
ultimately led Ambedkar to find solace in Buddhism, with an attempt to present its teachings ‘in a
new light to suit modern class realities’. In fact, Ambedkar’s conversion to Buddhism was a ‘selfdeception’
and channeled the whole movement of workers and peasants led by him into
‘reactionary and metaphysical conceptions’.
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FULL TEXT (PDF):
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