Published on: April 2026
DIGITAL EXCLUSION AS A VIOLATION OF THE RIGHT TO EDUCATION: AN AMBEDKARITE CRITIQUE OF THE MODERN DIGITAL DIVIDE
Prof. Prashant Vithal Kadam
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Abstract
The paper examines the contemporary phenomenon of the "Digital Divide" not merely as a technological gap, but as a systemic socio-legal barrier that threatens the fundamental Right to Education (Article 21A). Drawing upon the emancipatory philosophy of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, who envisioned education as the "milk of a tigress" and the primary tool for social transformation, this study argues that digital exclusion in the 21st century constitutes a new form of structural inequality. In the wake of the rapid digitalization of pedagogy—accelerated by global shifts toward hybrid learning—access to high-speed internet and digital infrastructure has become a prerequisite for academic participation. However, data from the National Sample Survey (NSS) and recent TRAI reports (2025–2026) reveal a persistent "Silicon Gap" between urban centres and rural hinterlands, and across caste and class hierarchies. By applying Ambedkar’s critique of social stratification, this paper posits that denying digital access to marginalized communities is synonymous with the historical denial of physical entry into classrooms. It equates digital illiteracy to a modern state of "information untouchability" that restricts the "Global Perspective" of law and society to a privileged few.
How to Cite this Paper
Kadam, P. V. (2026). Digital Exclusion as a Violation of the Right to Education: An Ambedkarite Critique of the Modern Digital Divide. International Journal of Creative and Open Research in Engineering and Management, <i>02</i>(04). https://doi.org/10.55041/ijcope.v2i4.528
Kadam, Prashant. "Digital Exclusion as a Violation of the Right to Education: An Ambedkarite Critique of the Modern Digital Divide." International Journal of Creative and Open Research in Engineering and Management, vol. 02, no. 04, 2026, pp. . doi:https://doi.org/10.55041/ijcope.v2i4.528.
Kadam, Prashant. "Digital Exclusion as a Violation of the Right to Education: An Ambedkarite Critique of the Modern Digital Divide." International Journal of Creative and Open Research in Engineering and Management 02, no. 04 (2026). https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.55041/ijcope.v2i4.528.
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