Dr Sambaiah Gundimeda, Associate Professor of Politics, SIAS, Krea University has been invited by the Centre for Development Studies (CDS), Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, to deliver the 6th Dr B R Ambedkar Memorial Lecture titled Democracy and Social Justice: Reading Ambedkar in Our Times, on 3 May, 2024.
Abstract: According to the Paris-based Reporters without Borders, India has fallen to 161st place out of 180 countries on the World Press Freedom Index. Similarly, in the V-Dem Academic Freedom Index, India is ranked in the bottom 20-30% category, below countries such as Libya, Pakistan, Ethiopia, and others.
How would Ambedkar have responded to the shrinking space for dissent in contemporary India?
For the past three decades, there has been a serious divide between some Dalit castes that accessed reservations and others who could not. While the latter demand sub-classification of SC reservations in the name of social justice, the former counter such demands in the name of unity within the Dalit category.
If Ambedkar were to be alive, what kind of solution would he have offered?
In a move toward eradication of caste, Ambedkar in his “Annihilation of Caste” argued that only ‘fusion of blood’ can truly evoke the sense of kinship.
How can we advance Ambedkar’s project of the annihilation of caste?
Drawing from Ambedkar’s insights, the proposed lecture aims to reflect upon the questions of freedom of speech, social justice and annihilation of caste in our times.
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