The Mind as Revolution: Psychological Reform Towards a Democratic Society

सार

This paper examines the complex relationship between caste, gender, and democracy in India through the writings of B. R. Ambedkar and feminist scholars such as Uma Chakravarti. It argues that Brahminical patriarchy, deeply embedded in religious practices and legitimised through scriptures, continues to structure social relations and political life in contemporary India. Despite constitutional guarantees of equality and repeated political reforms, caste-based hierarchies and gendered domination remain firmly entrenched, limiting the democratic ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity. Drawing on Ambedkar's critique of social reform and Chakravarti's analysis of caste gender relations, the paper highlights how caste operates not only as a political or economic system but also as a deeply internalised social consciousness. Engaging with Frantz Fanon's theorisation of colonial consciousness and Antonio Gramsci's concept of hegemony, and with Gopal Guru's analysis of Dalit humiliation, it introduces the concept of psychological reform to emphasise the need for an inner transformation that involves unlearning inherited hierarchies, moral prejudices, and social instincts. The paper argues that without such psychological reform, democratic transformation in India remains incomplete and largely symbolic.