Social Justice as Therapy: The Profound Emotional Revolution of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar

By Dr. Balaji Niwlikar and Srishti Sharma

Introduction

Dr. B.R. Ambedkar wasn’t just a revolutionary jurist or the architect of India’s Constitution—he was, in many ways, a therapist for a wounded society. Long before “mental health” became a buzzword or therapy became trendy, Ambedkar understood a profound truth: you can’t truly heal individuals until you heal the social systems that break them. He viewed social justice as therapy.

What is therapy?  According to American Psychological Association (2018), ‘Therapy is the treatment of physical, mental, or behavioral problems, intended to relieve or heal a disorder or maladjustment.’ Therapy empowers, instead of only focusing on symptom reduction, this therapy helps clients find their voice, advocate for themselves, and reclaim personal and collective power. It builds resilience and identity strength in marginalized individuals.

Traditional therapy often focuses on intra-psychic or interpersonal causes.  But social justice understand root causes of distress;  how casteism, sexism, poverty, racism, ableism, or marginalization contribute to mental health issues. This helps clients externalize some of the distress rather than blaming themselves.

The American Psychological Association (APA) defines social justice in psychology as:

“The promotion of access and equity to ensure full participation of all people in the life of a society, particularly for those who have been systematically excluded based on race/ethnicity, gender, age, physical or mental disability, education, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, or other characteristics of background or group membership.”

What if we told you that Ambedkar’s fight for justice wasn’t just legal—it was deeply psychological? That civil rights, in his eyes, weren’t just about equity—they were about emotional survival?

Welcome to the idea of social justice as therapy—where revolution meets recovery.

The Personal Is Political—and Psychological

“I measure the progress of a community by the degree of progress which women have achieved.”
— Dr. B.R. Ambedkar

Ambedkar’s work wasn’t just policy-focused; it was person-focused. He saw caste not just as a social hierarchy but as a psychic wound. Caste was trauma embedded in culture, reinforced by rituals, and lived in the minds and bodies of those it oppressed. In modern psychology, we’d call this systemic trauma—a condition where oppressive systems create chronic emotional, psychological, and physiological stress.

The implications? Caste didn’t just hurt individual or communities; it hurt psyches.

Read More- Mental Health and How to Develop It

 

Caste, Trauma, and the Dalit Psyche

Imagine being told, from birth, that you’re impure. That your touch pollutes. That your dreams don’t matter. That you must “know your place.”

This isn’t just social injustice—it’s psychological abuse. Dr. Ambedkar recognized that oppression impacts mental health, long before trauma studies gained popularity in psychology. In many ways, his work was a response to collective PTSD caused by centuries of marginalization.

Modern trauma theorists like Judith Herman argue that “recovery requires empowerment.” Ambedkar’s life was a living embodiment of that idea.

 

Social Justice as Emotional Liberation

Ambedkar didn’t stop at diagnosing the disease—he prescribed healing. For him, social justice was the cure. Upliftment through education, dignity through rights, identity through self-respect—all of this was about emotional well-being as much as social equity.

When he famously said:

“Turn in any direction you like, caste is the monster that crosses your path.”

It wasn’t just metaphorical. That “monster” was internal too—living in minds colonized by centuries of discrimination.

His call for annihilating caste was also a call to liberate the self from shame. He offered Dalits not only legal rights but psychological permission to believe: I am worthy. I am human.

Reclaiming Identity: A Psychological Uprising

Ambedkar didn’t just fight for laws—he fought for narratives. He redefined what it meant to be a Dalit—not a victim of history, but a survivor who could rewrite it. This act of reclaiming identity is deeply psychological.

Psychologist Erik Erikson talked about “identity crises” in youth. Now imagine an entire community going through an identity crisis for centuries. Ambedkar helped resolve that by offering a new narrative of dignity, education, and resistance.

His conversion to Buddhism in 1956 wasn’t just spiritual—it was symbolic. He chose a religion that rejected caste and embraced compassion, turning a personal choice into a collective act of healing. It was group therapy, at scale.

Therapy Without a Couch

Today, therapists talk about self-advocacy, boundary-setting, cognitive reframing. Dr. Ambedkar did all of that—without jargon or clinical offices. He was, in a sense, the people’s therapist. His sessions? Public speeches. His treatment plan? Justice, dignity, education, and courage.

He didn’t ask people to adjust to society—he asked society to adjust to humanity.

The Legacy is Still Relevant, Still Healing

In a world still grappling with systemic injustice—caste, race, gender, class—Ambedkar’s model of social justice as therapy is not just relevant, it’s revolutionary. His work reminds us that healing doesn’t always begin in clinics. Sometimes, it begins in classrooms, courtrooms, and constitutions.

Final Thought

“Freedom of mind is the real freedom,” Dr. Ambedkar once said. “A person whose mind is not free, though he may not be in chains, is a slave.”

That’s the essence of his psychological revolution: healing begins when the mind is no longer shackled by society’s lies.

So perhaps the next time we think of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, we shouldn’t just see him as a political leader or scholar—but as a healer of collective wounds. A social doctor. A therapist in a suit.

References

Ambedkar, B.R. (1945). Annihilation of Caste. Retrieved from [Columbia University archive]

Erikson, E. H. (1968). Identity: Youth and Crisis. New York: W. W. Norton & Company.

Herman, J. (1992). Trauma and Recovery. Basic Books.

Guru, G. (2009). “Humiliation: Claims and Context.” Oxford University Press.

Rege, S. (2013). Against the Madness of Manu: B. R. Ambedkar’s Writings on Brahmanical Patriarchy. Navayana Publishing.