Abstract
Dr. B. R. Ambedkar had a tremendous ethos and logos with which he addressed the social, political, and economic problems of Dalits and the marginalised in India in his fight for social equality and inclusivity. This chapter examines the tone of his language (English) regarding his selected works using verbal content analysis. His language inclines towards Activity and Commonality, while the language of optimism and certainty remains stable throughout, and the realism declines. This chapter suggests that Ambedkar’s writings and speeches do not address the Dalits only from a myopic perspective. Still, he addressed the country as a whole to bring positive social change as a statesman does.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
- 1.
This chapter utilises the edition available on http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00ambedkar/txt_ambedkar_waiting.html.
- 2.
Dr. B. R. Ambedkar’s works have been downloaded from https://www.mea.gov.in/books-writings-of-ambedkar.htm.
References
Aithal, P. K., Acharya, D., & Geetha, M. (2022, March 10). Analysing tone of the annual report—An Indian context. 2022 IEEE International Conference on Signal Processing, Informatics, Communication and Energy Systems (SPICES). https://doi.org/10.1109/spices52834.2022.9774247
Ambedkar, B. R. (2020). Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar: writings and speeches (Third, Vols. 1–17). Dr. Ambedkar Foundation (Original work published 1979).
Bhaskar, A. (2022). The myth of the ten-year limit on reservations and Dr Ambedkar’s stance. Contemporary Voice of Dalit. 2455328X2211016. https://doi.org/10.1177/2455328x221101674
Burke, K. (1966). Language as symbolic action: Essays on life, literature, and method. Univ of California Press.
Burke, K. (1969). A rhetoric of motives. University of California Press.
Cháirez-Garza, J. F. (2014). Touching space: Ambedkar on the spatial features of untouchability. Contemporary South Asia, 22(1), 37–50. https://doi.org/10.1080/09584935.2013.870978
Fisher, W. R. (1987). Human communication as narration: Toward a philosophy of reason, value, and action. University of South Carolina Press.
Godsmark, O. (2019). ‘Civis Indianus sum’? Ambedkar on democracy and territory during linguistic reorganization (and partition). Modern Asian Studies, 54(2), 384–431. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0026749x18000367
Hadley, G. (1997). Lexis and culture: Bound and determined? Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 26(4), 483–496. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1025086204994
Hart, P. (2013). Diction 7.2.1: The text-analysis program: User’s manual. Digitext, inc. http://dictionsoftware.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/DICTION-Manual-9-14-20.pdf.
Hart, R. (2001). Redeveloping DICTION: Theoretical considerations. In Theory, method, and practice in computer content analysis (pp. 43–60). Alex Publishing.
Hart, R. (2015). Genre and automated text analysis: A demonstration. In Rhetoric and the digital humanities (pp. 152–168). University of Chicago Press.
Hart, R. (2017). The press and the presidency in contrast: A language analysis. In Columns to characters: The presidency and the press enter the digital age (pp. 57–85). Texas A&M University Press.
Hart, R., Kaid, L. L., & Nimmo, D. D. (1985). Systematic analysis of political discourse: The development of DICTION. In Political communication yearbook, 1984 (pp. 97–134). Southern Illinois University Press.
Hart, R. P. (1976). Absolutism and situation: Prolegomena to a rhetorical biography of Richard M. Nixon. Communication Monographs, 43(3), 204–228. https://doi.org/10.1080/03637757609375933
Hart, R. P. (1984a). The language of the modern presidency. Presidential Studies Quarterly, 14(2), 249–264. https://doi.org/10.2307/27550072
Hart, R. P. (1984b). Verbal style and the presidency: A computer-based analysis.
Hart, R. P. (2009). Campaign talk: Why elections are good for us. Princeton University Press.
Kumar, A. (2015). Radical equality: Ambedkar, Gandhi, and the risk of democracy. Stanford University Press.
Kumar, A., Bapuji, H., & Mir, R. (2021). “Educate, Agitate, Organize”: Inequality and ethics in the writings of Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar. Journal of Business Ethics, 178(1), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-021-04770-y
Lakoff, G. (2008). Women, fire, and dangerous things. University of Chicago Press.
Lakoff, G. (2010). Moral politics: How liberals and conservatives think, second edition. University of Chicago Press.
Lakoff, G., & Johnson, M. (2008). Metaphors we live by. University of Chicago Press.
Paik, S. (2021). Dr Ambedkar and the ‘prostitute’: Caste, sexuality and humanity in modern India. Gender & History, 34(2), 437–457. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-0424.12557
Patil, P. (2022). Reclaiming Ambedkar within the feminist legacy. Contemporary Voice of Dalit, 2455328X2210982. https://doi.org/10.1177/2455328x221098290
Raj, J. (2022). Post-colonial caste, Ambedkar, and the politics of counter-narrative. History and Anthropology, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/02757206.2022.2096021
Ramesh, H. (2022). B. R. Ambedkar on caste, democracy, and state action. Political Theory, 50(5), 723–753. https://doi.org/10.1177/00905917211069607
Rege, S. (2013). Against the Madness of Manu: B.R. Ambedkar’s writings on Brahmanical patriarchy. Navayana.
Sengupta, S., & Sahay, A. (2017). Comparing mission statements of social enterprises and corporate enterprises in the new and renewable energy sector of India: A computer aided content analysis study. Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40497-017-0079-x
Skaria, A. (2015). Ambedkar, Marx and the Buddhist question. South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies, 38(3), 450–465. https://doi.org/10.1080/00856401.2015.1049726
Stroud, S. R. (2017). Pragmatism, persuasion, and force in Bhimrao Ambedkar’s reconstruction of Buddhism. The Journal of Religion, 97(2), 214–243. https://doi.org/10.1086/690466
Stroud, S. R. (2022). Recovering the story of pragmatism in India: Bhimrao Ambedkar, John Dewey, and the origins of Navayana pragmatism. The Pluralist, 17(1), 15–24. https://doi.org/10.5406/19446489.17.1.02
Verma, V. (2022). Ambedkar, Buddhism, and post-secularism: Inner life, politics, and subalternity. South Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal, 28. https://doi.org/10.4000/samaj.7749
Yadav, V. K., Dasgupta, S., & Kumar, B. (2022). B. R. Ambedkar on the practice of public conscience: A critical reappraisal. Journal of Human Values, 097168582211093. https://doi.org/10.1177/09716858221109318
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2024 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Chavda, V., Chavda, M. (2024). The Rhetoric of Ambedkar in Selected Works. In: Chavda, M. (eds) (Im)possible Worlds to Conquer. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-9680-3_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-9680-3_5
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-99-9679-7
Online ISBN: 978-981-99-9680-3
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)