1st Edition
Ambedkar’s Vision of Economic Development for India
This book discusses Ambedkar’s engagements with the issues of social justice, economic development and caste enclosures. It highlights his significant contributions in the field of trade, public finance and monetary economics, Indian agriculture, education, among others, and examines their relevance in contemporary India.
The volume analyses the basic theoretical conceptions in Ambedkar’s writings which attributed a key role to industrialisation, favoured economic planning and progressive labour laws. It reaffirms these theories and illustrates that focus on social and economic democracy promotes productivity, equitable distribution of wealth and an inclusive society. Through an analysis of Ambedkar’s interdisciplinary works, the book discusses issues of rural poverty, lagging infrastructure growth, the persistence of an exploitative ruling class and the economic and social marginalisation of the downtrodden which are still relevant today. Further, it offers solutions for a restructuring of the society under democratic principles which would recognise the basic right of all to social dignity, and devise means to insure against social and economic insecurity.
Insightful and authoritative, this volume will be of great interest to students and researchers of economics, sociology, development studies and social exclusion.
List of Figures. List of Tables. List of Contributors. Foreword. Preface. Acknowledgements. Part I: Ambedkar’s Economic Thought 1. Dr B. R. Ambedkar’s Vision of Economic Development of India and its Relevance G. Nancharaiah 2. Ambedkar’s thought on Economic Development and Poverty Alleviation Sukhadeo Thorat 3. Dr Ambedkar: Inter-Disciplinarian with Commitment R. S. Deshpande and Khalil Shaha 4. Economics of Babasaheb Ambedkar Anand Teltumbde 5. Ambedkar’s Anti-Caste Ideology and the Making of a Nation R. Thirunavukkarasu Part II: Economic Development and Marginalised Groups 6. Performance of Indian Economy in the Post Reform Period: Growth, Inequality and Well-being R. Radhakrishna 7. Economics of Discrimination: Theory, Evidence and the Role of State P. Duraisamy and Malathy Duraisamy 8. Social Discrimination and Suicides in Higher Educational Institutions: Role of State K. Laxminarayana 9. Between Beef and Carrion: The Politics of Food Consumption Gayatri Nair 10. Changing contexts of Caste, Gender and Land Relations in India Dontha Prashanth, Patturi Balaji and Matta Srinivas 11. Inter-Group Inequality in Punjab: Does Caste Matter? Nitin Tagade, Ajaya K. Naik and Chandrani Dutta 12. Dr. B. R. Ambedkar’s View on Agricultural Holdings and Collective Farming: The Case of Telangana State Y. Sreenivasulu and Tajuddin Md. Bibliography. Index
Biography
Gummadi Sridevi is an Associate Professor at School of Economics, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad. She has completed collaborative research projects supported by ICSSR on climate change, food security and education. She’s currently working on a collaborative ICSSR-IMPRESS major research project on Commons. Her research areas cover a wide range of issues relating to food security, health, gender, climate change and economics of discrimination. She has published articles in various journals and edited volumes. She has 13 years of teaching experience at the University of Hyderabad. She has been teaching courses such as economics of discrimination, international trade and payments, microeconomics and mathematical economics.
