False Prophets of Ambedkarism

False Prophets of Ambedkarism is a bold and uncompromising examination of how a liberatory intellectual tradition has been selectively reinterpreted, politicized, and weaponized in contemporary discourse.

Drawing on history, political philosophy, and close textual analysis, G. K. Menon interrogates the growing gap between Dr. B. R. Ambedkar's original vision-rooted in constitutionalism, rational inquiry, and social reform-and the narratives advanced today in his name. The book exposes how certain self-appointed interpreters reduce a complex thinker into a rigid ideology, replacing critical engagement with dogma, and reform with perpetual grievance.

Rather than attacking Ambedkar, this work defends him-by refusing to sanctify distortion. Menon traces how selective quotations, ideological absolutism, and moral intimidation have transformed Ambedkarism from a framework of emancipation into a closed political identity, intolerant of dissent and hostile to nuance.

Written with clarity, intellectual rigor, and moral seriousness, False Prophets of Ambedkarism challenges readers to distinguish legacy from loyalty, thought from myth, and social justice from ideological opportunism. It is a book for readers who believe that ideas must remain open to scrutiny-and that no tradition, however revered, is served by uncritical devotion.

Provocative yet reasoned, critical yet respectful, this book is an invitation to reclaim Ambedkar not as an icon frozen in rhetoric, but as a thinker meant to be read, questioned, and understood in full.