Opinion Ambedkar, the forgotten internationalist

In this 75th year of India’s Constitution, it is a worthy endeavour to study Ambedkar beyond the constitutionalist, but Ambedkar the Internationalist. It is a compelling dimension on which there is little scholarship. He is known as a leader of the subaltern, a leader of the marginalised, as the maker of the Indian Constitution, and as the first Union Law Minister. However, his role as a foreign policy visionary and thinker remains largely unexplored.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech at the G7 conference this June spoke about the Global South, countries that are still on the developing scale. There is a vision of how India can become a voice for the voiceless and a beacon of hope for a disoriented world. This is not unlike the role Ambedkar envisaged for India on the global stage at a time when the world was also undergoing transformation.

Ambedkar believed in cultural commonwealth, or a sharing of the diverse cultural heritage and values across nations. India has had a deep cultural impact across the region, as seen by the spread of Buddhism and monuments dedicated to the Ramayana in Southeast Asia. This, he felt, India must leverage.

Ambedkar’s internationalist thoughts and vision are inspired by his time in the US. Ambedkar consciously chose to go to Columbia University in New York for his Master’s and PhD degrees in Economics, studying under Professor John Dewey, considered the father of pragmatism and of experiential learning. Dewey’s philosophy on education, liberty, and practical reasoning profoundly influenced Ambedkar’s vision. It shaped his vision of democracy, equality, liberty, and his thoughts on realism and moral responsibility.

In the 1940s, Ambedkar contacted W E B Du Bois, a prominent African American intellectual and activist, to enquire about the National Negro Congress petition to the UN, which attempted to secure minority rights before the UN. He wanted to raise awareness globally about untouchability as an international human rights violation. The Untouchability Abolition Act was eventually passed in 1955. While Ambedkar took inspiration from the civil rights movement in the US, both he and Mahatma Gandhi served as inspiration for Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela. This is the cultural commonwealth that Ambedkar wanted India to build. His ideas found reflection across the globe, in the Indian Constitution and in the Indian enactment of it.

Ambedkar’s beliefs on foreign policy were diametrically opposite to those of then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, who had been emphasising closer ties with China. Ambedkar repeated these warnings in 1954, when there was an agreement between India and China, which was a precursor to the 1962 war. While addressing and cautioning Prime Minister Nehru, he said that if Mao, the then ruler of China, had any faith in the principles of Panchsheel, he would have treated the Buddhist minorities in his country with respect. He was sensitised to Buddhism, which he would convert to five years later.

When addressing a group of students at Lucknow University in 1951, he said, “India has failed to develop a strong foreign policy. Tibet has been garrisoned by China; it will be a long-term threat to India.” For him, Tibet as an autonomous, sovereign nation was a necessity for India’s foreign policy independence. In the same vein, he advocated for India to draw closer to the US, believing in the commonality of democratic values. He saw too that Chinese interference and occupation of Tibet could be a precursor to similar moves on Kashmir.

What if Ambedkar led India’s foreign policy? He strongly advocated that India first try to solve its problems internally before extending itself internationally. He was also vocal about the deficiencies in communism as an ideology and envisioned a league of democracies to counter communism.

Ambedkar’s impact on the principles of equality was international. Only Mahatma Gandhi has had a similar impact on the world. New Hampshire in the US, and Burnaby in Canada have declared April 14, the birth anniversary of Dr Ambedkar, as a Day of Equality. In April 2025, on the 135th birth anniversary of Ambedkar, New York City Mayor Eric Adams proclaimed the date “Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar Day”. Michigan and Minnesota have announced April 9 to April 15 as Social Equity Week. Jamaica recently inaugurated Ambedkar Avenue, and there is an Ambedkar chair at Columbia University and an Ambedkar Centre in London, where he also studied.

Narendra Jadhav, a member of the Planning Commission and National Advisory Council during the UPA administration, had said, “Restricting the legacy of Ambedkar only as [the] leader of depressed classes is a disservice to his legacy.”

The writer is national spokesperson, BJP