Keywords
Social justice
normativity
anticaste
social action
India
How to Cite
Abstract
Buddhism, beyond its outlook as a religion and philosophy, has multiple dimensions and meanings, particularly in the form of social action with a universal and egalitarian appeal. The social justice movements in India, primarily based on anti-caste ideals, seek to employ Buddhism as a means to escape caste hierarchy. This article examines the role of Buddhist normativity in building a resistance movement for social transformation in the theoretical realm and explores its praxis, especially in the form of the creation of alternative cultural spaces through neo-Buddhist mobilisation in contemporary India. While analysing the instrumentality of Buddhist philosophy in achieving freedom and equality in a caste-bound society with a special focus on anti-caste cultural assertion in India, the study seeks to redefine the idea and operationalisation of the concept of social justice from the vantage point of Buddhist principles. The article further substantiates the theoretical proposition of Buddhism's instrumentality in reclaiming a just social order, drawing on in-depth interviews with people from marginalised castes who primarily engage with Buddhism as a social action.
References
1. Ahir, D.C. (1996). Dr. B.R. Ambedkar: Buddhist revolution and counter-revolution in ancient India. B.R. Publishing Corporation.
2. Ambedkar, B.R. (1997). The Buddha and His Dhamma. Buddha Bhoomi Publication.
3. Audi, M.J.(1989). Ambedkar’s struggle for untouchables: Reflections. The Indian Journal of Political Science, 50(3), 307-320. https://www.jstor.org/stable/41855436
4. Balaramamoorty, Y. (1970). Buddhist philosophy. In R. Sankrityayan, D. Chattopadhyaya, Balaramamoorthy, R.B. Sharma & M.R. Anand (Eds.) Buddhism: the Marxist Approach. People’s Publishing House.
5. Chatterjee, M.S., & Ursula S. (1994). Contextualising caste: Post-Dumontian approaches. Blackwell Publishers.
6. Chew, L. (2004). Reflections on buddhism, gender and human rights. In K.L. Tsomo (Eds.) Buddhist women and social justice: Ideas, challenges and achievements. State University of New York Press.
7. Dangwal, R.R. (1997). New focus towards social justice. Raj Publishing House.
8. Deshpande, A. (2011). Colonial modernity and historical imagination in India. Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, 72(2), 1311-1324. https://www.jstor.org/stable/44145742
9. Diwakar, D.M. (1998). Distributive justice through social mobilisation. Manak Publications.
10. Eppsteiner, Fred. (1985). The Path of Compassion. Parallax Press.
11. Gellner, D.N. (2004). Buddhism, women, and caste: The case of the newar buddhists of the Kathmandu valley. In K. L. Tsomo (Eds.) Buddhist Women and Social Justice: Ideas, Challenges and Achievements. State University of New York Press.
12. Green, P. (2004). Transforming conflict, transforming ourselves: Buddhism and social liberation. In K. L. Tsomo (Eds.) Buddhist Women and Social Justice: Ideas, Challenges and Achievements. State University of New York Press.
13. Guru, Gopal. (2018). The classical and the radical in the concept of social justice. In C.J. Thomas and P. Kakoti (Eds.) Towards social justice. Pentagon Press.
14. Jatava, D.R. (1998). Social Justice in India. Ina Shree Publishers.
15. Jayanth, M. (2022). Struggling for freedom from caste in colonial India: The story of Rettaimalai Srinivasan. CASTE: A Global Journal on Social Exclusion, 3(1): 137-152. https://doi.org/10.26812/caste.v3i1.352
16. Jodhka, S.S. (2012). Caste: Oxford India Short Introductions. Oxford University Press.
17. Krishnan, P.S. (2018). Social Exclusion and Justice in India. Routledge.
18. Lankina, T. & Lullit G. (2013). Competitive religious entrepreneurs: Christian missionaries and female education in colonial and post-colonial India. British Journal of Political Science, 43(1),103-131. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007123412000178
19. Mendelsohn, O. (2014). Law and Social Transformation in India. Oxford University Press.
20. Meshram, P. S. (2021). Buddha and Dr. Ambedkar. 14th October 1956. The greatest-ever religious conversion, Nagpur. Buddhist World Press.
21. Oommen, T.K. (2014). Social inclusion in independent India: Dimensions and approaches. Orient BlackSwan.
22. Sandanshiv, D.N. (1986). Reservations for social justice: A socio-constitutional approach. Law Publishers.
23. Shah, G.. (1998). Social Justice: A Dialogue. Rawat Publications.
24. Sharma, K.L. (2001). Reconceptualising Caste, Class and Tribe. Rawat Publications.
25. Shinde, R. (2023, August 26). “Made in Heaven’ made India Curious about Buddhist Weddings-This is how they Happen”. The Print. https://theprint.in/ground-reports/made-in-heaven-made-india-curious-about-dalit-buddhist-weddings-this-is-how-they-happen/1754900/
26. Suri, K.C. (1994). Caste Reservations in India: Policy and Politics. The Indian Journal of Political Science, 55(1), 37-54. https://www.jstor.org/stable/41855679
27. Swaris, N. (2011). The Buddha’s Way to Human Liberation: A Socio-Historical Approach. Navayana Publishers.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 2026 South India Journal of Social Sciences