AMBEDKAR AND THE BHARATIYA JÑĀN PARAMPARĀ: RECLAIMING KNOWLEDGE, RESISTING CASTE

Abstract

This paper explores B. R. Ambedkar’s critical engagement with the Bharatiya Jñān Paramparā (Indian Knowledge Tradition), highlighting his efforts to reclaim epistemic agency for the oppressed while simultaneously challenging the caste-based exclusions deeply embedded in traditional Indian thought. Ambedkar did not outright reject Indian philosophical traditions but selectively engaged with them, especially Buddhist epistemology, to articulate a vision of social justice grounded in rationality, ethics, and equality. By interrogating Brahminical hegemony over knowledge production, Ambedkar aimed to democratize access to learning and reinterpret Indic intellectual heritage through the lens of emancipation. His emphasis on pragya (wisdom), karuṇā (compassion), and samata (equality) represents a counter-tradition within Indian thought that resists caste while remaining rooted in indigenous frameworks. (1) This work situates Ambedkar within broader debates on epistemic justice, postcolonial theory, and subaltern agency, arguing that his project offers a radical reinterpretation of the jñān paramparā as a site of both resistance and reconstruction. In doing so, Ambedkar emerges not only as a political reformer but also as a transformative thinker within Indian intellectual history.