B.R. Ambedkar

Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar was an Indian jurist, economist, and philosopher who became the principal architect of the Indian Constitution and the most influential voice for Dalit rights in Indian history. Born into an "untouchable" caste, he overcame extraordinary social barriers to earn doctorates from Columbia University and the London School of Economics before returning to India to transform its political landscape.

Ambedkar was a fierce critic of the caste system and of the Hinduism he argued provided its ideological justification. Late in life he converted to Buddhism, leading hundreds of thousands of Dalits with him in what he called the Dhamma Revolution. His philosophical work draws on John Dewey's pragmatism, western liberalism, and Buddhist ethics to construct a vision of social equality incompatible with caste hierarchy.