B.R. Ambedkar > Quotes

“For myself I shall find as much pleasure in a positive destruction of my own ideology, as in a rational disagreement on a topic, which, notwithstanding many learned disquisitions is likely to remain controversial forever.”
― B.R. Ambedkar, Castes in India

“That, religion is the source of power is illustrated by the history of India where the priest holds a sway over the common man often greater than the magistrate and where everything, even such things as strikes and elections, so easily take a religious turn and can so easily be given a religious twist.”
― B.R. Ambedkar, Annihilation of Caste

“The first and foremost thing that must be recognized is that Hindu Society is a myth. The name Hindu is itself a foreign name. It was given by the Mohammedans to the natives for the purpose of distinguishing themselves. It does not occur in any Sanskrit work prior to the Mohammedan invasion. They did not feel the necessity of a common name because they had no conception of their having constituted a community. Hindu society as such does not exist. It is only a collection of castes. Each caste is conscious of its existence.”
― B.R Ambedkar, Annihilation Of Caste

“as long as caste in India does exist, Hindus will hardly intermarry or have any social intercourse with outsiders ; and if Hindus migrate to other regions on earth, Indian caste would become a world problem.”
― B.R. Ambedkar, Castes In India: Their Mechanism, Genesis and Development

“People sometimes ask the idle question, why the Pope does not introduce this or that reform? The true answer is that a revolutionist is not the kind of man who becomes a Pope and that a man who becomes a Pope has no wish to be a revolutionist.”
― B.R. Ambedkar, Annihilation of Caste

“The Hindus hold to the sacredness of the social order. Caste has a divine basis. You must therefore destroy the sacredness and divinity with which Caste has become invested. In the last analysis, this means you must destroy the authority of the Shastras and the Vedas.”
― B.R. Ambedkar, Annihilation of Caste

“Now the first thing that is to be urged against this view is that the caste system is not merely a division of labour. It is also a division of labourers56.”
― B.R. Ambedkar, Annihilation of Caste by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar: A Bold Critique of Social Hierarchies

“Nationalism is an irrational instinct, if not a positive hallucination, and the sooner humanity got rid of it the better for all.”
― B.R. Ambedkar, Pakistan or Partition of India

“Caste is inconsistent with conversion. Inculcation of beliefs and dogmas is not the only problem that is involved in conversion. To find a place for the convert in the social life of the community is another and a much more important problem that arises in connection with conversion. That problem is where to place the convert, in what caste? It is a problem which must baffle every Hindu wishing to make aliens convert to his religion. Unlike the club the membership of a caste is not open to all and sundry.”
― B.R. Ambedkar, Annihilation of Caste

“सुधारक के शस्त्रागार में तर्कशक्ति और नैतिकता, ये दो सब से ज्यादा शक्तिशाली हथियार होते हैं।”
― B.R. Ambedkar, Jati ka Vinash: Prasiddha bhashan, Jise Bhimrao Ambedkar ko dene nahi diya

“He that will not reason is a bigot. He that cannot reason is a fool. He that dare not reason is a slave—H. Drummonda”
― B.R. Ambedkar, Annihilation of Caste: The Annotated Critical Edition

“The first and foremost thing that must be recognized is that Hindu society is a myth. The name Hindu is itself a foreign name. it was given by the Mohammedans to the natives for the purpose of distinguishing themselves. it does not occur in any Sanskrit work prior to Mohammedan invasion. They did not feel the necessity of a common name because they had no conception of their having constituted a community. Hindu society as such does not exist.”
― B.R. Ambedkar, Annihilation of Caste

“It took Gautama four weeks of meditation to obtain enlightenment. He reached final enlightenment in four stages. 4. In the first stage he called forth reason and investigation. His seclusion helped him to attain it easily. 5. In the second stage he added concentration. 6. In the third stage he brought to his aid equanimity and mindfulness. 7. In the fourth and final stage he added purity to equanimity and equanimity to mindfulness.”
― B.R. Ambedkar, The Buddha & His Dhamma

“Turn in any direction you like, caste is the monster that crosses your path. You cannot have political reform, you cannot have economic reform, unless you kill this monster.”
― B.R. Ambedkar, Annihilation of Caste

“For in India, Bhakti or what may be called the path of devotion or hero- worship, plays a part in its politics unequalled in magnitude by the part it plays in the politics of any other country in the world. Bhakti in religion may be a road to the salvation of the soul. But in politics, Bhakti or hero-worship is a sure road to degradation and to eventual dictatorship.”
― B.R. Ambedkar, Ambedkar's India

“In the Dhammapada the Buddha says: "There is no greater benefit than. health, and there is nothing more valuable than the spirit of contentment.”
― B.R. Ambedkar, The Buddha & His Dhamma

“Being born in the untouchable community, I deem it my first duty to strive for its interests and my duty to India as a whole is secondary.”
― B.R. Ambedkar

“The conception of secular state is derived from the liberal democratic tradition of west. No institution which is maintained wholly out of state funds shall be used for the purpose of religious instruction irrespective of the question whether the religious instruction is given by the state or any other body.”
― B.R. Ambedkar

“True calm and the self-possession of the mind is properly obtained by the constant satisfaction of the body's wants.”
― B.R. Ambedkar, The Buddha & His Dhamma

“He, who will not reason, is a bigot; he, who cannot, is a fool; he, who dares not, is a slave.”
― B.R. Ambedkar, Annihilation of Caste by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar: A Bold Critique of Social Hierarchies

“चातुर्वर्ण्य का आदर्श प्लेटो के आदर्श[57] से काफी मिलता-जुलता है। प्लेटो के अनुसार, मनुष्यों को स्वभाव के आधार पर तीन वर्गों में बांटा जा सकता है। प्लेटो को लगा कि कुछ व्यक्ति सिर्फ भूख द्वारा नियंत्रित होते हैं। इसलिए उसने उन्हें श्रम और व्यापार करने वाले वर्ग में रखा। दूसरों के बारे में उसे लगा कि भूख के साथ-साथ उनमें साहस की प्रवृत्ति भी होती है। उन्हें उसने युद्ध में रक्षक और आंतरिक शांति के अभिभावक का दर्जा दिया। कुछ और लोगों में उसने चीजों के पीछे काम कर रहे सार्विक तर्क को समझने की क्षमता देखी। उन्हें उसने लोगों के लिए कानून बनाने वालों के वर्ग में रखा।”
― B.R. Ambedkar, Jati ka Vinash: Prasiddha bhashan, Jise Bhimrao Ambedkar ko dene nahi diya

“सिख या मुसलमान वह शक्ति कहां से ग्रहण करता है, जो उसे बहादुर और निर्भय बनाती है? मुझे विश्वास है, यह शारीरिक शक्ति की श्रेष्ठता, खुराक या कसरत की वजह से नहीं है। इसका स्रोत इस भावना से पैदा होने वाली ताकत है कि जब कोई सिख खतरे में पड़ेगा तो सभी सिख उसे बचाने के लिए दौड़ पड़ेंगे या किसी मुसलमान पर हमला होगा, तब सभी मुसलमान उसे बचाने के लिए पहुंच जायेंगे। 11.2 हिंदू यह ताकत हासिल नहीं कर सकता। वह इस बात से आश्वस्त नहीं हो सकता कि उसके लोग उसकी सहायता करने के लिए आयेंगे। अकेला होने और अकेला होने की किस्मत के कारण वह शक्तिहीन रह जाता है,”
― B.R. Ambedkar, Jati ka Vinash: Prasiddha bhashan, Jise Bhimrao Ambedkar ko dene nahi diya

“दरिद्र लोग क्यों अपने छोटे-मोटे गहने बेच कर, जब कि उनके पास यही एकमात्र संपत्ति होती है, बनारस और मक्का जाते हैं? धर्म शक्ति का स्रोत है,”
― B.R. Ambedkar, Jati ka Vinash: Prasiddha bhashan, Jise Bhimrao Ambedkar ko dene nahi diya

“धर्म, सामाजिक स्थिति और संपत्ति, ये तीनों शक्ति या सत्ता का स्रोत होते हैं, जो दूसरे की स्वतंत्रता को नियंत्रित करने में किसी व्यक्ति को सक्षम बनाते हैं।”
― B.R. Ambedkar, Jati ka Vinash: Prasiddha bhashan, Jise Bhimrao Ambedkar ko dene nahi diya

“Religion, social status and property are all sources of power and authority, which one man has, to control the liberty of another.”
― B.R. Ambedkar, Annihilation of Caste

“Religion does not compel the Non-Hindus to take the same attitude towards caste. If Hindus wish to break caste, their religion will come in their way. But it will not be so in the case of Non-Hindus. It is, therefore, a dangerous delusion to take comfort in the mere existence of caste among Non-Hindus, without caring to know what place caste occupies in their life and whether there are other “organic filaments”, which subordinate the feeling of caste to the feeling of community. The sooner the Hindus are cured of this delusion the better.”
― B.R Ambedkar, Annihilation Of Caste

“The Mahatma is not an immortal person....There have been many Mahatmas in India whose sole object was to remove untouchability and to elevate and absorb the Depressed Classes but every one of them have failed in their mission. Mahatmas have come and Mahatmas have gone. But untouchables have remained as untouchables.”
― B.R. Ambedkar

“Religion, in the sense of spiritual principles, truly universal, applicable to all races, to all countries, to all times, is not to be found in them; and if it is, it does not form the governing part of a Hindu’s life. That for a Hindu dharma means commands and prohibitions is clear from the way the word dharma is used in the Vedas and the smritis and understood by the commentators. The word dharma as used in the Vedas in most cases means religious ordinances or rites. Even Jaimini in his Purva Mimamsa157 defines dharma as “a desirable goal or result that is indicated by injunctive (Vedic) passages”.”
― B.R. Ambedkar, Annihilation of Caste: The Annotated Critical Edition

“In every country the intellectual class is the most influential class. This is the class which can foresee advice and lead. In no country does the mass of the people live the life for intelligent thought and action. It is largely imitative and follows the intellectual class. There is no exaggeration in saying that the entire destination of the country depends upon its intellectual class. If the intellectual class is honest and independent, it can be trusted to take the initiative and give a proper lead when a crisis arises. It is true that the intellect by itself is no virtue. It is only a means and the use of a means depends upon the ends which an intellectual person pursues. An intellectual man can be a good man but he may easily be a rogue. Similarly an intellectual class may be a band of high-souled persons, ready to help, ready to emancipate erring humanity or it may easily be a gang of crooks or a body of advocates of narrow clique from which it draws its support.”
― B.R. Ambedkar

“It must be recognized that the Hindus observed caste not because they are inhuman or wrong-headed. They observed Caste because they are deeply religious. People are not wrong in observing Caste. In my view, what is wrong is their religion, which has inculcated this notion of caste.”
― B.R. Ambedkar, Annihilation of Caste