Thanthai Periyar and B R Ambedkar shared several similarities in their  analysis of Indian society. However, they held different views on the  nation-state, and women's sexuality, among other areas. V Geetha joins  us to discuss Dr Ambedkar and Periyar's thought. She also details Dr Ambedkar's views on fraternity, political change, Savarnas, the law. Dr Geetha is a feminist historian and translator who writes in English and  Tamil on gender, caste, education and labour. She has worked on the Tamil on-brahmin and anti-caste movements, and on feminist practices in  the Indian context.

She has published several articles in EPW, and we’ll focus on two today: "Of Whales and Wheels: Buddhist Lessons in Democracy" and "Invitation to Practise Social Fellowship." Also, read Geetha's article "Ambedkar and Periyar’s intellectual comradeship," which was published by Forward Press.

Audio courtesy: Summertime by Tokyo Music Walker https://soundcloud.com/user-356546060 [CC BY 3.0]