Alternative Narratives as Vehicles for Social Transformation: Learning from Ambedkar’s Approach to Buddhism and Particularized Justice

Abstract

Alternative narratives serve a specific public function. They often enable critical reflection of entrenched institutional and structural relationships and provide avenues for reimagining and recentering the role of those otherwise silenced by prevailing traditions. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s approach to Buddhism can be linked to his radical and transformative constitutionalism and his commitment to principles of pragmatism because they share a commitment to particularized experiences of marginalization and a goal of social transformation. In doing so, Ambedkar utilizes an alternative conception of justice, which I will argue in many ways reflects Amartya Sen’s realization-focused account of justice, to address the lived reality of inequality. This paper will explore in more detail how that focus on particularized justice centered not only women but the daily and routine experiences of the Dalit community in order to transform constitutional and religious structures, empower the downtrodden, and to help create a new consciousness that would enable a more meaningful equality.