ABSTRACT
Both Gandhi and Ambedkar through their writings played a crucial role in shaping the public discourse on social justice in the Indian context. Both were involved in constructing India’s post-colonial legal and political structure. Their lives are notable for their whole-hearted engagement in the struggle against inequality and for their astute analysis of the human impulse towards freedom in the colonial context. Both were not hesitant to make trans-historical judgements condemning slavery, oppression and colonization. The aim of this chapter is to show not just that their thought remains philosophically relevant but that it is relevant to an even wider range of issues today. In addition to examining philosophical concerns that arise from political decolonization movements, the chapter will take up the challenge of suggesting ways that political theory might liberate itself from the colonial assumptions.
