Colonialism and liberation - Ambedkar's quest for distributive justice

Ambedkar denounced caste system for violating the respect and dignity of th e individual; yet his critique of caste-ridden society also foregrounds the limits of the theory and practice of citizenship and liberal politics in I ndia. Since membership of a caste group was not a voluntary choice, but det ermined by birth and hence a coercive association, the liberal view of the self as a totally unencumbered and radically free subject seemed plagued wi th difficulties. Though the nation state envisages a political community co -extensive with one cultural community, it need not, Ambedkar argued, neces sarily lead to abolition of discriminatory caste practices in civil society . To restore the cultural rights of stigmatised populations, unredeemed by the nation state, propelled Ambedkar to seek solution in Buddhism.