radical equality Cultural Memory in the Present Hent de Vries, Editor RADICAL EQUALITY Ambedkar, Gandhi, and the Risk of Democracy Aishwary Kumar stanford university press stanford, california Stanford University Press Stanford, California © 2015 by the Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or in any informa- tion storage or retrieval system without the prior written permission of Stanford University Press. Printed in the United States of America on acid-free, archival-quality paper Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Kumar, Aishwary, author. Radical equality : Ambedkar, Gandhi, and the risk of democracy / Aishwary Kumar. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 978-0-8047-9195-3 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Ambedkar, B. R. (Bhimrao Ramji), 1891-1956—Political and social views. 2. Gandhi, Mahatma, 1869-1948—Political and social views. 3. Anti-imperialist movements—India—History—20th century. 4. Equality—India—History—20th century. 5. Democracy—India—History—20th century. 6. Nonviolence—India— History—20th century. 7. Nationalism—India—History—20th century. 8. India— Politics and government—1919-1947. I. Title. ds481.a6k86 2015 954.03'5—dc23 2014033656 isbn 978-0-8047-9426-8 (electronic) Typeset by Bruce Lundquist in 11/13.5 Adobe Garamond For my parents Chitralekha and Amulya Kumar Ghosh Contents Acknowledgments xi 1 Of Faith in Equality: Toward a Global Measure 1 part i. beginnings: elements of a critique of force 2 Spirits of Satyagraha: A History of Force 59 3 Laws of Force: Ambedkar and the Mystical Foundation of Authority 109 part ii. interwar: sovereignties in question 4 Apotheosis of the Unequal: Gandhi’s Harijan 165 5 The Freedom of Others: Annihilation of Caste and Republican Virtue 219 part iii. reconstitutions: of belief and justice 6 Gandhi, the Reader 277 7 Responding Justly: Ambedkar, Sunnyata, and Finitude 289 Epilogue: Citizenship and Insurrection 337 List of Abbreviations 345 Notes 347 Index 381