What Congress and Gandhi Have Done to the Untouchables

by B.R. Ambedkar

WHAT CONGRESS AND GANDHI HAVE DONE
TO
THE UNTOUCHABLES
BY
Dr. B.R. AMBEDKAR

Genres: Politics, India, History, Nonfiction, Indian Literature

410 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 7, 2016

About the author

Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar was born in 1891 into an “Untouchable” family of modest means. One of India’s most radical thinkers, he transformed the social and political landscape in the struggle against British colonialism. He was a prolific writer who oversaw the drafting of the Indian Constitution and served as India’s first Law Minister. In 1935, he publicly declared that though he was born a Hindu, he would not die as one. Ambedkar eventually embraced Buddhism, a few months before his death in 1956.

Reviews

[Sainath Sunil · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is a stellar piece from one of the most intelligent and astute minds ever. Dr ambedkar in clinical evidence based style demolishes and uncovers the congress under Gandhi, the machinations resorted to by the congress to crush the depressed classes. this is a must read for any one who is under the illusion courtesy the systematic white washing of Gandhi and the congress by legions of historians on the payroll of the congress, that the congress under Gandhi was a vehicle of change. this book demonstrates without a shred of doubt how Gandhi and his regressive gandhism was ludicrous to the core and became in many ways how chaturvarna was the defining doctrine and how Gandhi was at best a casteist and a racist mad man completely willing to sacrifice anyone as long as it suited the brahmins and banias in helping retain power.

[Gopakumar · Rating 5 out of 5]

A blistering account by Dr. Ambedkar on not just the fallacy of Gandhism vis-a-vis the Untouchables but also a heart wrenching account of the state that millions of my countrymen have been pushed down into, over generations, based on hypocritical and illusory aggrandizement of power and authority based on caste/varna. Their tale needs telling and Ambedkar's pen wields the power of having endured this trauma, and, having survived it, empowered and emboldened to lash out against all forms of inequalities.

We owe a great deal of debt to this man for the wisdom and farsightedness as manifested in the Constitution he helped anchor for independent India.

A painful but must read.

[M C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book really exposes the great congress leaders. Their hypocracy is rightly exposed by the author. Unfortunately, even today we see/hear caste prejudice being prevalent in the society. Bridegroom from dalit are not allowed to ride horse or dalit can not grow mustache. It is really pathetic. People talk about doing away with reservation in jobs and education ,but same people do not care a damn about casteism prevalent in the society. Let us make India caste less society, things will change for better.

[Vishal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably one of the most heavyweight pieces of work from the maestro himself. In essence, it's the history of how Gandhi, Congress, and the Hindus obstructed and thwarted every attempt by the Dalit community to rise from the pits of oppression and slavery to acquire some political power.

Book is replete with references, data, passages, letters, various examples, and deep explanations about every tactic in the book of the Hindus and how they used it against the Dalit community and it will help you to see how the RSS, BJP, Congress, AAP, and other Hindu parties (including the communist parties) still use it.

Everything is explained, every reference and every proof is provided in full detail with appendices that span over a hundred pages. It's a tough book to deal with because of the sheer volume of information, but nothing is hard to understand if you can pull yourself through the massive walls of text.

Awesome book. Fulfilling read.

[Shefali Mehta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dr. Ambedkar is not a man who would rely on rhetoric to persuade his readers. Though the title gives the impression of a heated polemic, this work by Ambedkar is very much in his usual style of giving plenty of facts and evidences before presenting his views. He is a pragmatist, and his writing is completely devoid of the mostly unnecessary references to conscience, soul, sin, penance, God and truth when dealing with political issues – a characteristic of Gandhi’s style, which Ambedkar comes to question in this book owing to the repeated gaps that he finds between Gandhi’s verbal declarations and actions.

In this book, Ambedkar records the drama of Dalit politics as it unfolded in pre-independence India. He exposes the resistance of Indian National Congress towards active political and social reforms meant to benefit the Untouchables and criticizes Gandhi for his somersaults regarding his position vis-à-vis the Untouchables. He criticizes Gandhi’s support for varna system and his praise for restrictions on inter-dining and inter-marriage and calls him “the most orthodox of orthodox Hindus”. Towards the end, he reflects on the implications of ‘Gandhism’ and political dominance of the elite INC on the fate of the Untouchables in independent India, while pointing out the dangers of Gandhi’s deification.

This book is an important one considering that Indians are popularly fed with the story of Gandhi’s endeavors for the upliftment of his ‘Harijans’. The book is also important for entry into the conflicting discourses of Gandhi and Ambedkar which form an indispensable subject matter of any enquiry into Dalit politics and caste issues even today.

[Ananda Behera · Rating 5 out of 5]

A struggle for self government in the era of freedom movement

This an account of the attitude of Gandhi and other prominent people of Indian freedom movement towards the upliftment of the Depressed Classes and, how they failed to realise their rehtorics with action. it also tries to demstify the fact of Congress being the representative of Untouchables and Gandhi as the savior with factual data and precise anecdotes of individuals. Equally, it argues why safeguards are needed for such classes and what will freedom mean without these safeguards.

A good read to know lesser known but equally important events during the freedom movement which shaped the ideals for the constitution of independent India.

[Hemant Kumar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I solute Mr.B.R Ambedkar,,,,He was a great leader and noone will be as B.R Ambedkar,,,,He is God to me and also for the all poor,,,backward class,,,,I love to read the book of Dr.B.R Ambedkar"What Congress and Gandhi have done to the Untouchables"

[Rajiv Chopra · Rating 5 out of 5]

You, the reader, can regard this book to be a tale of perfidy, cynicism and manipulation. It starts in the early part of the 20th century, when India’s Nationalist Movement was underway.
Intellectuals, far removed from India’s public, founded the Indian National Congress. Not only were they too intellectual, they lacked contact, empathy, and understanding of the social problems in India. As a result, they believed social issues should be divorced from political ones.
Around this time, the wise men discussed the future of India’s governance. Those days, the British ruled us, and we fought for the right to self-rule.
People discussed the representation of the untouchables and Muslims. It is critical to note here that Dr. Ambedkar refers to Hindus and Dalits as two separate classes of people. Evidently, there is a huge divide that many of us, even today, do not acknowledge.
When Gandhi arrived on the scene, he took over the Congress, and molded it to his vision. First, he started the system of gathering subscriptions from the public. Then, he communicated his vision of the Congress to the public. When he took over, he changed the fundamental nature of the Party.
Dr. Ambedkar did not believe that Gandhi was a pious man. In fact, in the book, he has pointedly stated that Gandhi was a crafty politician, nothing more. Additionally, he stated Gandhi disliked the untouchables.
I must confess to being surprised to read this, because I have always had a different image of Gandhi. Gandhi referred to the untouchables as ‘Harijans’, or ‘People of God’. In contrast, Ambedkar called them ‘Dalits’, or ‘Broken People’.
Through the book, Ambedkar has exposed the unfair treatment that was meted out to the Dalits. Furthermore, we should keep in mind that nothing has changed in India.
His portrayal of the events of the time is blunt, hard-hitting, and shatters many preconceived notions. Additionally, none of the politicians he has mentioned comes out looking pretty. Yet, we cling to our perceptions of them as almost God-like people.
The Brahmins, he wrote, always sought to dominate the affairs of Indians. In ancient times, they aligned with the Kshatriya caste—the warriors. As times changed, they changed their allegiance to the ‘baniya’ (trader) class. In today’s world, he who has money, has power. Therefore, the Brahmins followed the money trail, to ensure they are always well funded.
I was surprised to learn that Gandhi’s ashram was largely funded by business people. Evidently, crony capitalism was not born today.
The rise of India’s Nationalist Movement was filled with deeds of perfidy, cynicism and manipulation. One group rose, and the rest of India continued to be subjugated.
This is a hard-hitting book. Be prepared to have some illusions shattered.

[Sumedh Mool · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dr. Ambedkar quite comprehensively demolishes the popular opinion that the Congress party has been a party of masses and social change. Right from its foundation in 1885, Congress has worked for the upper caste in India and against the depressed class. Gandhi led from the front in furthering the Congress' agenda of working against the depressed class.

It is often complained that this book is repetitive. I agree. But to take down a party as huge as Congress you have to be generous with the examples to support your point. In fact Babasaheb himself has mentioned in the preface that he has included a lot similar examples to prove his point so that no one accuses him of quoting out of context.

It's high time that students learn actual history in school instead of the sugar coated history of congress and India's freedom struggle that was produced by historians on Congress' payroll.

[Vijayakrishnan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an important book to understand the perspective of Ambedkar on the years of interaction between Gandhi and Ambedkar. The writing is clear, precise and to the point. Obviously the traits you expect out of a good lawyer. But here we have a thinker and social activist. But as I have read enough of Gandhi already, I understand where the differences come from. Being historical figures, both contributing enormously, no need to pass judgement on anyone. The times were hard and unsure. Each had their sound reasoning for what each thought, decided and did. This book is highly informative and essential for anyone interested in Ambedkar.

[Sanchita · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an incisive critique on the incredible marketing that the Congress party and Gandhi undertook to position themselves as the saviours of Bahujan people. A must read for anyone interested in the political history of India.

[Amarjeet Mehto · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a gem, it's a bitter truth to encounter, It's all about doings of the Gandhi & Congress for the Untouchables. Do read it.

[Maran · Rating 1 out of 5]

Someone rewritten poorly

So many erroneously typed years, words. The reading pleasure lost because of it. ! / ! / ! ? -

[Rajamani Muthuchamy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent disposition by Dr Ambedkar! His arguments are evidence based and, are compelling. Hats off to his intelligence and nuanced analysis.

[Puneet]

Author is - B.R. Ambedkar

[Iqra Tasmiae]

Read of the book in this article - https://www.thequint.com/news/india/w...