Ambedkar' Ambedkar's long neglected philosophy of education s ng neglected philosophy of education Written by Upendra Sonpimple and Amritha Mohankumar Published on 04 October 2014 Upendra Sonpimple Amplifying ignored voices through education: Drawing lines with Ambedkar Abstract Education deals with philosophy- from its pedagogy to its impact on individuals and members of society. While individuals and communities carry their identities, in social and educational spheres the pedagogy of oppression also had its roots in education, where one side or the corrupted voices trained the larger sections of the country. The learners' voice still maintains the steady culture of silence and hegemony of oppressors. This paper aims to discuss the philosophy of education in reference to Dr. B. R Ambedkar. His contribution ranges from educational reforms made by the British Indian government in the education system from before independence to the post-Independence era. This paper would study the philosophical contributions of Ambedkar in context of its practices, nature, process, outcomes and ideals of education. His emphasis on education advocated an educational system which serves all. Yet the thoughts of this revolutionary leader have been rather ignored in the Indian school education system. The paper looks at the necessity of inclusion of Ambedkarite thoughts in Indian textbooks. Key Words : Educational Philosophy, Dr. B. R Ambedkar, Emancipation, Depressed Class, Academia Introduction ''The backward classes have come to realize that after all education is the greatest material benefit for which they can fight. We may forgo material benefits, we may forgo material benefits of civilization, but we cannot forgo our right and opportunities to reap the benefit of the highest education to the fullest extent. That is the importance of this question from the point of view of the backward classes who have just realized that without education their existence is not safe.''- (BAWS- Vol.2, 1982). Ambedkar is an intellectual who led the upliftment of the depressed classes in society. He has been strongly critiqued by the existing fundamentalist ideologies which are perpetuated by the proponents of traditional values (like Gandhian ideology). Ambedkar though, had suggested the way of upliftment of depressed classes was through schooling. He consolidated his views in a letter to the Anti-Untouchablity League and stated that the upliftment of depressed classes depends on schooling (education) of the community as a whole (Chatterji, 2008). The government agencies are not prompted to secure the educational rights of the depressed classes who have been ignored. The educational status of dalits and tribals is much lower in comparison to other communities. The role of educational policies for depressed classes is emancipatory, as education has been identified as a primary factor in development and as an