Abstract

The history of caste in India represents one of the most enduring forms of social hierarchy rooted in centuries of cultural religious and political structures that shaped social life and economic access. The deep entrenchment of caste relations created a system in which inequality became normalized and inherited as a rigid framework of social functioning. Within this complex background Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. B. R. Ambedkar emerged as two of the most influential leaders who sought to dismantle caste oppression yet their visions and methods fundamentally diverged in both philosophical foundations and practical strategies. Gandhi approached caste inequality through moral persuasion ethical self-reform spiritual consciousness and the transformation of social attitudes. He believed that caste could be humanized through reform viewing untouchability as a moral sin requiring collective repentance. Ambedkar viewed caste not as a mere social evil but as an institutionalized mechanism of graded