Ambedkarite Perspectives on Land, Water, and Irrigation Policies in Karnataka's Agrarian Regions

Abstract

This paper looks at the land, water, and irrigation policies within the agrarian areas of Karnataka regarding the concept of social justice, redistribution of resources, and the role of the state as put forward by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar. It is concerned with the ways the contemporary land reforms, irrigation programs, and state water policy answer the question of caste inequality, ownership, and access by the Scheduled Castes and other marginalized rural population. The analysis, relying on the descriptive approach that is founded on secondary sources, such as policy reports, commission papers, and scholarly literature, emphasizes that there are structural inequalities in land tenure, lack of equal access to irrigation sources (canal and groundwater), and that the Dalit populations are largely disinterested in institutions of water governance. It maintains that the principles of equal distribution of resources, legal protection, and democratic management of common resources of the work of Ambedkar offer a serious look into the agrarian policy regime in Karnataka to substantively equalize and dignify the historically oppressed communities.