Dhananjay's Humanizing Power is an innovative study of the political philosophy of Dr B. R. Ambedkar, one that both synthesizes and analyses Ambedkar's thoughts on power and politics. Dhananjay brings Ambedkar into conversation with his Western predecessors in philosophy, with his Indian contemporaries in politics and with our contemporaries actively working on some of the most pressing questions of war and peace, democracy and populism and equality and justice. It is a sharp academic work-and also a humanizing one.

Aakash Singh Rathore, Author of Ambedkar's Preamble and Becoming Babasaheb

Humanizing Power brings together Dr Ambedkar's pragmatic reflections on the responsible and humanist harnessing of power for social transformation towards an emancipated and egalitarian society. The relevance of Ambedkar's ideas about social conscience, about constitutional morality and about the democratic means to prevent the capture of institutions and processes by damaging political power
struggles among elites has never been greater than now.

Barbara Harriss-White, Emeritus Professor and Fellow, Oxford University

Drawing on the wisdom of the philosophical tradition of pragmatism, this timely work depicts how Dr B. R. Ambedkar offered a powerful humanist vision to highlight how power can be utilized to transform
modern societies and achieve genuine liberty and equality for all. This is critical in our times when some argue that political democracies in the West and East are descending into neo-authoritarian forms of power of the state, which justify violence against minority citizens in the name of national unity. Ambedkar's legacy is indeed alive and well today as exemplified by new works of scholarship such as Humanizing Power.

Rajesh Sampath, Associate Professor of the Philosophy of Justice, Rights and Social Change, Brandeis University

Dhananjay's book analyses the major dimensions of Ambedkarism which have probably never been more topical in post-Independence India in detail. He shows that in the Indian context, in contrast to what
we observe in many other countries, society oppresses the marginalized classes whereas state power can liberate them. Ambedkar, as this book deftly demonstrates, showed the way decades ago-he may be followed one day too.

Christophe Jaffrelot, Professor of Indian Politics and Sociology, King's College London

Dhananjay's work highlights how Dr B. R. Ambedkar created strong political institutions capable of securing and advancing individual rights. He also stressed the importance of a democratic culture that
would recognize and embody the value of all human beings. Dhananjay does valuable work in elaborating Ambedkar's rejection of pure power politics, and of a system that would rely solely on check and balance mechanisms to contain the pursuit of power. Humanizing Power should advance our understanding of the distinctiveness and significance of Ambedkar's approach.

Luis Cabrera, Professor of Political Science, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia, Author of Humble Cosmopolitan: Rights, Diversity and Trans-state Democracy

Humanizing Power does a remarkable job following Dr Ambedkar's intellectual ideas about how to use state power to advance humanistic ends. More than that, this word depicts how Ambedkar maintained that responsible state power needed a social conscience based on fraternity. This book is a valuable resource to understand the meaning and importance of Ambedkar's political philosophy.

Nicholas Tampio, Professor of Political Science at Fordham University, Author of Teaching Political Theory: A Pluralistic Approach