Touching space: Ambedkar on the spatial features of untouchability

Although B.R. Ambedkar, the chief architect of the Indian Constitution, is well known for his struggle against caste and the practice of untouchability, his ideas have seldom been linked to concepts such as nationalism or space. In an attempt to shed some light upon this under-explored subject, I analyse the relationship between the village, the city, the practice of untouchability and the emergence of nationalism in Ambedkar's thought. Focusing primarily on his writings, post 1935 concerning untouchability, I will argue that for Ambedkar, space played a critical role in both the perpetuation and evanescence of untouchability and similarly in the neglect and emergence of nationalism. More specifically, a small locus with tightly knit social and commercial associations, such as the Indian village, facilitated the ongoing differentiation of the population into two distinct groups, touchables and Untouchables. This social and spatial segregation perpetuated the practice of untouchability while preventing the growth of nationalism. However, a bigger and more crowded setting, such as the city, not only complicated the observance of social norms such as untouchability, but also benefited the creation of a corporate feeling of ‘oneness’ among individuals, which according to Ambedkar, was a condition for the emergence of nationalism.