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Annihilation of Caste

B.R. Ambedkar

4.62 · Rating details · 6,099 ratings · 700 reviews

“What the Communist Manifesto is to the capitalist world, Annihilation of Caste is to India.” —Anand Teltumbde, author of The Persistence of Caste

B.R. Ambedkar’s Annihilation of Caste is one of the most important, yet neglected, works of political writing from India. Written in 1936, it is an audacious denunciation of Hinduism and its caste system. Ambedkar – a figure like ...more

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Published January 1st 2000 by Blumoon Books (first published May 15th 1936)

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Mar 30, 2014 Sumirti Singaravel rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: All Indians especially the young ones.

Shelves: amazing-work, readings-worth-a-lifetime, favorite-authors, politics, dangerous-books, 6-stars, references, favorites, to-be-read-before-i-bid-adieu, india

Annihilation of Caste is a prolific work by Dr. Ambedkar. It encapsulates the ideas of a rebel of how caste and religion oppresses people - socially, morally and economically. Originally conceived as a speech for Jat-Pat-Todak Mandal, an organization of Caste Hindu Social Reformers, it was later published by Ambedkar himself, for the organization refused to allow him to give his speech in the original form. Lucid, powerful and scholarly the treatise provides a thorough insight of how and why cas Annihilation of Caste is a prolific work by Dr. Ambedkar. It encapsulates the ideas of a rebel of how caste and religion oppresses people - socially, morally and economically. Originally conceived as a speech for Jat-Pat-Todak Mandal, an organization of Caste Hindu Social Reformers, it was later published by Ambedkar himself, for the organization refused to allow him to give his speech in the original form. Lucid, powerful and scholarly the treatise provides a thorough insight of how and why caste plagues the life of millions. There is an underlying indignation, fierce and untainted, rightfully directed towards years of unwarranted injustice.

The boon and the bane of Hinduism is the fact that both the philosophy and religion is so intricately weaved around its core faith. Although caste, a necessary adjustment by the society to keep the religion intact, has been objected by many other forerunners previously to Ambedkar, from Raja Ram Mohan Roy to Mahatma Gandhi, it has always sprung back with a rejuvenated force, for it derived its root from the fundamental philosophy of the Hinduism. What is more revolutionary and indomitably courageous about Ambedkar and this work is that he questions the very authority of the vedas, upanishads and manu smritis itself.

"There should be one and only one standard book of Hindu Religion, acceptable to all Hindus and recognized by all Hindus. This of course means that all other books of Hindu religion such as Vedas, Shastras, and Puranas, which are treated as sacred and authoritative, must by law cease to be so, and the preaching of any doctrine, religious or social, contained in these books should be penalized"

The mandal refused to allow an audience for Ambedkar's speech for the very reason that, "at least the word "Veda" be left out for the time being."

Citing and drawing parallels from history to western philosophy, from Plato to French Revolution, Ambedkar's argument dazzles and dares with objectivity and erudition.

Another important section in this book is his reply to the criticism of Gandhi to this work. Ambedkar spares no one, especially not Gandhi, and gives back a direct, logical and completely awe-inspiring reply. For instance, his reply to Gandhi's argument that everyone should follow his own ancestral calling according to his/her caste, Ambedkar flashes back with fervor:

"Does the Mahatma practise what he preaches? One does not like to make personal reference in an argument which is general in its application. But when one preaches a doctrine and holds it as a dogma, there is a curiosity to know how far he practises what he preaches......The Mahatma is a Bania by birth. His ancestors had abandoned trading in favour of ministership, which is a calling of the Brahmins. In his own life, before he became a Mahatma, when the occasion came for him to choose his career he preferred law to [a merchant's] scales. On abandoning law, he became half saint and half politician. He has never touched trading, which is his ancestral calling."

Caste in India still persist even in this 21st century. There are still interior rural hinterlands where Caste system prevails, much not exposed by the urban-centric media. Even the young minds are not without any prejudice(Check the twitter, Quora, Facebook for evidence. There are plenty out there with caste based name handles and tags attached to their identities).

I recommend this book to be read by every Indian, especially by every 'Hindu' and by all youngsters. It must question your perspectives and mindset on Indian society and Hinduism. If it does, then India is still in safe hands.

P.S: I do not recommend that edition of this book published with Arundhati Roy's 'Introduction'. Honestly, Ambedkar requires no Introduction at all.

P.S.S: Compliment reading this book along with Ambedkar's another significant work, originally a paper submitted at LSE, "Caste: Their genesis, origin and development' . ...more

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Jul 03, 2019 William2 rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This is extraordinary. I have just finished Arundhati Roy’s The Doctor and the Saint, which is the introduction here, though I read it in its form as a separate publication. Now I’m reading Ambedkar whose clarity and cogency are fascinating. Caste has always been an enigma to me, specifically the Dalits. Why would a major religion have coreligionists who are considered, not only unequal to others, but literally foul: that is, embodiments of pollution? I did not know that the justification was sa ...more

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Dec 29, 2020 Prerna rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, socio-political-economic-theories, indian

This text that Ambedkar originally published at his own expense was supposed to be a speech that he was to deliver in a conference organised by the Jat-Pat Todak Mandal, a Hindu liberal caste reformer group. On receiving a copy of the speech prior to the meeting, the Mandal members asked Ambedkar to alter many parts of it that they found to be 'controversial.' Ambedkar, however, refused to delete even a comma and so he self-published the speech.

India has an ugly and violent history of oppression This text that Ambedkar originally published at his own expense was supposed to be a speech that he was to deliver in a conference organised by the Jat-Pat Todak Mandal, a Hindu liberal caste reformer group. On receiving a copy of the speech prior to the meeting, the Mandal members asked Ambedkar to alter many parts of it that they found to be 'controversial.' Ambedkar, however, refused to delete even a comma and so he self-published the speech.

India has an ugly and violent history of oppression based on the Hindu caste system - a form of social order wherein each Hindu person is assigned a caste based on their family of birth. As per the Hindu religious texts, this is a hereditary system. As it stands, no person is allowed to choose the caste they represent, they are simply born into it. Ambedkar himself was born into a Dalit, lower caste family. The upper caste Brahmins have mostly defended the caste system by trying to simply pass it off as a mere division of labour, but the truth is far from it.

While it definitely serves as a basis for division of labour, it does so on completely unjust, unscientific and false premises - the most important one being that of 'Karma'. (I see an alarming number of westerners spouting a lot of nonsense about Karma and its operation, so if you're a westerner reading this, please don't do that. It is an entirely ridiculous concept widely used in India to uphold a centuries old system of oppression.) And so oppression on the basis of caste also easily allows class based exploitation and antagonisms.

Ambedkar makes very rational arguments against caste and the Hindu society. He demands a complete annihilation of caste and destruction of the Hindu religion which he identifies as an unjust system of law rather than a religion.

I have, therefore, no hesitation in saying that such a religion must be destroyed, and I say there is nothing irreligious in working for the destruction of such a religion. Indeed I hold that it is your bounden duty to tear off the mask, to remove the misrepresentation that is caused by misnaming this law as religion. This is an essential step for you. Once you clear the minds of the people of this misconception and enable them to realise that what they are told is religion is not religion, but that it is really law, you will be in a position to urge its amendment or abolition.

So long as people look upon it as religion they will not be ready for a change, because the idea of religion is generally speaking not associated with the idea of change. But the idea of law is associated with the idea of change, and when people come to know that what is called religion is really law, old and archaic, they will be ready for a change, for people know and accept that law can be changed.

Ambedkar states that even if Hindu society is to persist, the religious sanctity behind caste is to be destroyed and the divine authority of the Hindu Shastras are to be discarded.

In my opinion Ambedkar also successfully defends his speech in addressing the absurd arguments that Gandhi made against it. Gandhi has developed into a controversial figure within India. While the Hindu nationalists have tried to malign his image, the far left is also unsettled by his views on caste and generally criticize him, albeit not for the same reasons as the far right. While criticism of Gandhi is frowned upon within centrist and secular groups, there is no denying that his views on race and caste were utterly abhorrent and as Arundhati Roy rightly points out in her introduction to this text - The fact is there was never much daylight between Gandhi’s views on caste and those of the Hindu right.

Ambedkar himself held controversial and colonial views on the Adivasis which he does not shy away from expressing within the speech. While these statements are to be certainly questioned and severely criticized, the general merit of the text and its potential for triggering a social reform in India are not to be mistaken.

Arundhati Roy's introduction to the book is brutal, riveting and brilliant. She examines the history of caste and caste-based violence in India, Ambedkar and Gandhi's personal lives and places the text in the context of 21st century India.

I am now wondering (and slightly fuming at) why this wasn't/isn't essential reading in Indian schools. But I guess that's how they keep the caste system afloat - through sheer propoganda and withholding of resources. ...more

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Jan 07, 2011 Tisaranavamsa rated it it was amazing

Recommended to Tisaranavamsa by: Tanoj Meshram

I began reading this book with scepticism thinking that this is a work of an idologue but I was so mistaken to hold such a view. I have concluded that this is the most scholarly work I have ever read.

It was very much intellectually stimulating for me.

This book is for those who want to want to know how to put forth an opinion, how an ideal speech should be written, how to be objective but still stand firm against oppression & injustice. The most important reason is that it is an eye-opener for ev ...more

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Apr 05, 2014 S.Ach rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: india, indian-author, favourites, non-fiction, politics

The Doctor and The Saint

Arundhati Roy is a deadly butcher. Not a ruthless clumsy one. But like a seasoned assassin. She chooses her target carefully. Equips herself with unfailing arms and ammunition by hours and hours of stern research. And then she strikes. Relentlessly. Mercilessly. She strikes to kill. Kill the target in the eyes of the reader. Even if the target survives, the scars from the bruises remain forever.

This time the victim was - the most famous Indian in the world - Mohandas Kara ...more

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Jul 07, 2016 Nandakishore Mridula rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This is actually two books in one: Ambedkar's famous non-delivered speech to the Jat-Pat-Todak-Mandal (an offshoot of the more militantly anti-caste wing of the Arya Samaj, founded in Lahore in 1922: members pledged themselves to a program of anti-caste propaganda, coupled with interdining and intermarriage) and Arundhati Roy’s book length introduction to it. So let me take each in turn.

Ambedkar's book first.

The Jat-Pat-Todak-Mandal was a society for communal reformation. They wanted to remove c This is actually two books in one: Ambedkar's famous non-delivered speech to the Jat-Pat-Todak-Mandal (an offshoot of the more militantly anti-caste wing of the Arya Samaj, founded in Lahore in 1922: members pledged themselves to a program of anti-caste propaganda, coupled with interdining and intermarriage) and Arundhati Roy’s book length introduction to it. So let me take each in turn.

Ambedkar's book first.

The Jat-Pat-Todak-Mandal was a society for communal reformation. They wanted to remove caste inequalities within Hinduism. For their annual conference in 1936, they invited Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, the famous politician, social activist, and outspoken critique of Hinduism, to deliver the presidential address. However, after perusing Ambedkar's speech which was much more radical than they had anticipated, they asked him make some changes in it. Ambedkar refused. The speech was not delivered and the meeting did not take place. Later, Ambedkar had the speech printed and published it as a small booklet.

Reading the speech in the twenty-first century, one will not be able to appreciate fully how explosive it was at that point of time. So far, the reform movements within the Hindu fold had been to remove caste inequalities and get the "untouchables" (Ambedkar was one) into the fold of the mainstream, without challenging the tenets of the religion itself. Ambedkar had a different viewpoint. He argued for the demolition of the religious basis for the caste system - including the total rejection of the Vedas, which to him was a body of worthless literature. This was striking at the roots of Hinduism itself. No wonder the "reformers" were aghast - they were advocating medical treatments, and here was a guy who wanted nothing short of surgical removal!

Since I do not take religious books literally, most of the arguments in this speech were evident to me. The width and depth of Ambedkar's knowledge and erudition is breathtaking. However, I have one caveat - the good doctor does not go into the philosophical part of the religion, especially the Upanishads, seeing Hinduism only as a mass of discriminatory laws. One can hardly blame him for it, because he was a man moulded by bitter personal experience. Philosophy does not help when one is allowed only to grub in the dirt for scraps to sustain oneself, just because one was born into a certain community.

Gandhi responded to Ambedkar, in his usual hyperbolic way; saying that the "Varnashrama Dharma" (Caste System) was the best social system ever and only the inequality and untouchability were the problems. In a scathing reply, Ambedkar demolished the Mahatma's arguments and chided him for not willing to meet the problem head on. Both these responses are included in this book and make riveting reading.

Now for Arundhati Roy.

Madam, take a bow. Mark Anthony has nothing on you! Your introduction, "The Doctor and the Saint", is the most perfect hatchet job on a famous and hallowed personality that I have ever seen. Starting in mild terms, especially like Anthony did ("Brutus is an honourable man", remember?), you slowly escalate your attack on the persona of the Mahatma until you present him as a dishonest, opportunistic and racist politician who hijacked the freedom struggle for his own benefit and manipulated the public to get the title of "Mahatma" (the great soul) bestowed on himself.

Your introduction gave me an excellent background for the struggle between Ambedkar and Gandhi, and the whole equation of caste which troubles India even now. I disagree with many of Gandhi's views and agree with most of Ambedkar's. But forgive me if I take your picture of Gandhi with a pinch of salt - that smiling visage is enshrined in mind since childhood, and has informed all my political views on non-violent struggle. Possibly Gandhi is a blackguard and Ambedkar is the real saint, as you say: but I will reserve my judgement till I have read the similar hatchet job perpetrated on Ambedkar by Arun Shourie. ...more

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Jul 06, 2013 Justin Podur rated it it was amazing

Shelves: international-politics

I read Gandhi as a high school student, and liked him, but it was not until I read Ambedkar that I felt like I had really found something good. Ambedkar is clear, uncompromising, unadulterated. He was also incredibly prolific. This speech, which became a book, was too clear and too uncompromising to even be delivered. I read it more than 15 years ago and remember so many quotes - caste is a monster, you cannot have political reform, you cannot have economic reform, unless you slay that monster. ...more

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Oct 08, 2019 Murtaza rated it really liked it

The caste system, only dimly understood outside the Indian subcontinent, is perhaps the most rigid form of hierarchical social organization in human history. Caste is something like a relic from ancient times and proves the close relationship between India and the hierarchical ancient Greek civilization — a relationship far more direct than that existing between the modern West and antiquity. This book consists of two major parts: a debate between Bhimrao Ambedkar, the champion of the Dalits, an The caste system, only dimly understood outside the Indian subcontinent, is perhaps the most rigid form of hierarchical social organization in human history. Caste is something like a relic from ancient times and proves the close relationship between India and the hierarchical ancient Greek civilization — a relationship far more direct than that existing between the modern West and antiquity. This book consists of two major parts: a debate between Bhimrao Ambedkar, the champion of the Dalits, and Mahatma Gandhi, as well as a scathing essay by Arundhati Roy about the latter. I found Roy's essay about Gandhi enjoyable, but it also felt too partisan to be taken as the definitive word on him.

What is truly interesting is the contrast between Ambedkar and Gandhi. Gandhi portrayed himself as the champion of the Dalits, and in a way he was. He was against their mistreatment and the oppression that had been inflicted on them over the centuries. He did not, however, want to abolish caste. In line with his general romantic attitude towards the past, Gandhi wanted to reconcile Dalits to their place in the system. In return he wanted others to respect them for their role in it. Gandhi was against the cruel practice of "untouchability," but he wanted to maintain social differentiation, albeit in a way where those tasked with cleaning excrement and those tasked with being priests would still somehow consider each other equal. He did his best to live this example personally. On a mass level it strikes one as a utopian goal.

In a way, Roy argues, Gandhi's campaign on behalf of the Dalits was merely a subtle means of allowing those fortunate enough to be born of high caste to maintain their privileged role in society. The Congress Party as a whole functioned as a vehicle for high caste interests. It is important I think to understand the roots of Gandhi's own sentiments. He was a man who was against the post-Christian West at its very roots. He had experienced the cruelty of the industrial West in apartheid South Africa (a country where he himself was far from pure, as Roy points out) as well as under the British Raj. He didn't want to just fight this civilization by any means available He wanted to reject it in its essence. As Gandhi saw it, caste in India could not be discarded, only reformed. It was part of the imagined culture that he was trying to preserve and defend against modernity.

Ambedkar was different. He was bred in India and rose from the worst depths of caste oppression to become a student at Columbia University and author of India's first constitution. For him the West meant not oppression but liberation. He did not have warm feelings about an idyllic Indian past. For Dalits, the past meant cruelty and hatred that is scarcely imaginable to modern human beings. Ambedkar did not want to reform caste but "annihilate" it in its entirety. All individual men may not be equal, it is true. But the only valid governing principle for a society is equality, since it is impossible to simply sort people across vast categories. No less should it be seen as possible to sort them into appropriate roles before they were even born.

Ambedkar was a reverse Gandhi in many ways. He wore nothing but Western suits as a sign of his liberation, while the former barrister Gandhi wore the lunghi as a sign of his own. Although Ambedkar's sentiments are totally understandable, he lacked a critical perspective on the shortcomings of modern Western civilization that people like Rabindranath Tagore and Gandhi saw. Grappling with those shortcomings has become more important now that that civilization has been truly globalized.

I can see the perspectives of both of these remarkable people. Like Gandhi, I have been shaped by an intimate experience of living within Western civilization. In a time of ecological destruction, rampant inequality and soulless materialism, I have to say that his critiques resonates strongly with me. At the same time, Ambedkar's voice embodies the anguish of those who suffered in the supposed "golden age" before the present era of Western hegemony. There was no golden age anywhere in the past, in fact. At least not for everyone. The ideal village of Gandhi's imagination was a place of torment and humiliation for people like Ambedkar. True, Gandhi wanted to reform that, but he did not want to take the full radical steps that Ambedkar proposed of tearing up the old system root and branch. He didn't experience the pain of being a Dalit.

The dispute between Gandhi and Ambedkar was the clash between modernity and traditionalism in microcosm. In many ways it was an epic misunderstanding borne simply of seeing the world from different perspectives. This misunderstanding persists today. Whereas people in Pakistan might see a McDonalds and very reasonably see in its golden arches a sign of progress and development, we who have grown up among such things often see it as a sign of degradation of urban blight. While others seek to escape the past by pouring as much concrete over it as possible, many of those raised on that concrete are secretly longing for the harmonious idyll that they suspect (often wrongly) preceded it. Both views have a certain validity. Like Ambedkar and Gandhi, your sympathies may depend upon on how and where you were raised. ...more

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Mar 09, 2018 Khush rated it it was amazing

I think it is a great book. Ambedkar tells us what is rotten in India. Being an 'Untouchable' himself, he knew the situation of lower castes inside out. Indian society is predominantly divided into four castes. Those at the top do work in fields such as education, business, law and so forth, while the lowest castes do the manual work, and then there are those who are without caste; their situation is the worst in Indian society. Even though a vast population is affected by the caste system, it i
I think it is a great book. Ambedkar tells us what is rotten in India. Being an 'Untouchable' himself, he knew the situation of lower castes inside out. Indian society is predominantly divided into four castes. Those at the top do work in fields such as education, business, law and so forth, while the lowest castes do the manual work, and then there are those who are without caste; their situation is the worst in Indian society. Even though a vast population is affected by the caste system, it is difficult to fight it, or annihilate it as Ambedkar suggests. One reason for this is that those who belong to the upper castes do not want to give up their privileged position in society. Second reason is giving up caste means giving up Hinduism itself. Since 'caste' is sanctioned by the religious texts; not observing caste means rejecting Hinduism. In addition, the idea of 'karma' plays a vital role in the Indian imagination. It has a firm grip on an ordinary Indian mind. One can safely say that most people, irrespective of their caste, genuinely believe in 'karmic order' and in turn, have a firm belief in caste. One accepts one's lot, it does not matter where one is in the caste hierarchy, and this very conception strengthens caste.

What is so stunning about the book is that Ambedkar shames the upper castes with such vehemence, contempt and astute arguments that the upper caste reformists, possibly, cannot counter him in any reasonable way. I mean any normal thinking person will at once see the cruelty and cunning innate to such a system that has worked for over two centuries now. This is colonialism too, perhaps, even more lethal because it modernizes itself and stays relevant.

One perfectly understands Ambedkar rage against the Indian caste system. He quotes from various sources both literary and religious to bash the upper castes. His anger is largely directed at those Hindus who consider themselves not only atheists but also see themselves as social reformers. His chief opponent was Gandhi. When one looks at their correspondence, Ambedkar makes far more sense than Gandhi.

According to Arundhati Roy, who wrote a book-length introduction to this book, caste is the engine that runs India. It always did. She
sees Ambedkar as Doctor and Gandhi as Saint– most probably a fake one. In her essay, she shows how banal Gandhi was in his ways and what a hypocrite when it had to deal with the issue caste reforms; how his thoughts take different hue in the English press, and a quite different tone in the regional press. She delves into very real documents to make us see the 'real' Gandhi who developed from 'truth to truth' in his political career, as she pointedly observes. In contrast to Gandhi, Ambedkar is shown as far more honest and forthright in his political affiliations.

On my first reading of Roy about Ambedkar and Gandhi, I was disappointed in Gandhi and his hypocrisies. I still believe that everything that Roy wrote about him was true. But I also think that Gandhi, with all his quirks and peculiarities, cannot be so easily fixed. There is much more to him that has made him 'Gandhi.' Just like everyone else Gandhi was no god, he had his imperfections, and he did certain things that no politician, saint or otherwise, could have managed. He was the only one who provided the much-needed leadership to the vast Indian population which responded to him brushing aside differences that are intrinsic to a heterogeneous country like India. Gandhi, with his queer ideas concerning sexuality and sex, truly helped men and women to have equal, respectful and harmonious relations.

Gandhi was probably the only leader who worked so closely with 'Untouchables.' He was the product of his society and just like everyone around him, he practiced caste and had some funny or rather very subtle caste-based prejudices against 'Dalits' in his early years, but considering what he did with his life, it would be reckless to dismiss him. Gandhi worked with 'Dalits' and cleaned lavatories that no 'Brahmin' will do even in today's India. Gandhi used fasting and nonviolence all his life to fight injustice. When India got Independence, he wanted his country to be secular. There were many forces even then that wanted India to be a Hindu nation, but he firmly opposed it. Can we really call him a bigot? He was indeed a clever politician, and in order to be a politician in such a diversified country, it is not easy to appease everybody. He was bound to fail and stumble.

But I guess Gandhi succeeded in many ways, so did Ambedkar. And as long as there are writers like Roy in India, one can be sure that India will tame the monster of caste.

...more

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Nov 23, 2015 Siddharth rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favourites

"My quarel with Hindus and Hinduism is not over the imperfections of their social conduct. It is much more fundamental. It is over their ideals."

Reading this Critical Edition of The Annihilation of Caste is like watching back-to-back one-sided boxing matches. The other bloke is helplessly holding his hands up to his face as vicious body-blows rain upon him. As the audience, you periodically wince, but you also enjoy the systematic dismantling of the Other - in this case, Gandhi and Hinduism.

In h "My quarel with Hindus and Hinduism is not over the imperfections of their social conduct. It is much more fundamental. It is over their ideals."

Reading this Critical Edition of The Annihilation of Caste is like watching back-to-back one-sided boxing matches. The other bloke is helplessly holding his hands up to his face as vicious body-blows rain upon him. As the audience, you periodically wince, but you also enjoy the systematic dismantling of the Other - in this case, Gandhi and Hinduism.

In her excellent book-length introduction, Arundhati Roy takes on the Mahatma and exposes both his disappointingly racist views on South Africa's blacks during his two decades in the country, and his damaging doublespeak on caste.

"Ordinary politicians oscillate from political expediency to political expediency. A Mahatma grows from truth to truth." Ouch!

In the main course, Ambedkar systematically takes on Hinduism, its sacred books and the "positively pernicious" caste system in an absolutely brilliant argument that deserves to be quoted whole. I will keep myself to one paragraph.

"It is a pity that caste even today has its defenders. The defences are many. It is defended on the ground that the caste system is but another name for division of labour; and if division of labour is a necessary feature of every civilised society, then it is argued that there is nothing wrong in the caste system. 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 labourers. Civilised society undoubtedly needs division of labour. But in no civilised society is division of labour accompanied by this unnatural division of labourers into watertight compartments. The caste system is not merely a division of labourers—which is quite different from division of labour—it is a hierarchy in which the divisions of labourers are graded one above the other."

The notes by S. Anand are meticulous, as is his brief account of the Communal Award of 1932 (which awarded a separate electorate for Dalits, and also gave them a vote in the general electorate), and the Mahatma's ridiculous fast-unto-death form of blackmail which forced Ambedkar to accede to the Poona Pact (reserved seats - not separate electorates).

5 stars. Should be made compulsory reading in schools. It won't be.
...more

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Mar 08, 2021 Amishi Agrawal rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I don't know why I didn't read this sooner. Ambedkar's writing, logics, and propositions are bullet-proof.
The reality of caste in India is scary, and more often than not the averagely educated person is not adversely impacted by it, thus making it a topic that not many think, and thus learn about. But we learn to revere those who upheld caste, and that is wrong.
Ambedkar's writing is of global relevance, and one of my most favourite parts was about his analysis of religions and cultures as an i ...more

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Sep 18, 2014 Saloni Mehra rated it it was amazing

Without doubt, this book is perhaps one of the most well researched and scholarly works on the caste system of India and Hinduism. Dr. Ambedkar with his irrefutable observations and sound arguments puts forward a strong case against casteism in the Indian society, especially in the context of its implications for the Depressed Classes. His prolific writings backed by evidence from the Hindu scriptures will make you challenge your own beliefs on a number of occasions throughout the book. Moreover ...more

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Mar 15, 2019 Amirtha Shri rated it really liked it · review of another edition

"What is this Hindu religion? Is it a set of principles, or is it a code of rules? ... The moment it degenerates into rules, it ceases to be a religion, as it kills the responsibility which is the essence of a truly religious act."

The abandoned speech of Dr. Ambedkar for Jat-Pat Todak Mandal made it into the powerful and well articulated book this is! The injustice, hypocrisy, and prostitution of the caste system - practiced especially by members of higher caste - is broken down to digestible pi "What is this Hindu religion? Is it a set of principles, or is it a code of rules? ... The moment it degenerates into rules, it ceases to be a religion, as it kills the responsibility which is the essence of a truly religious act."

The abandoned speech of Dr. Ambedkar for Jat-Pat Todak Mandal made it into the powerful and well articulated book this is! The injustice, hypocrisy, and prostitution of the caste system - practiced especially by members of higher caste - is broken down to digestible pieces and fed with sufficient examples and well-founded arguments. To annihilate caste, one must go back to the cause of it and renounce / modify the religion that subscribes to it. I felt the arguments were more elaborate and valid than the solution proposed i.e. the forced evolution of religion to accommodate morality and operate based on principles, in a way, it appears as if the answer lies in turning the Hindu religion into a political system.

I would wholeheartedly abandon religion rather than try to put effort to fix a flawed and outdated belief system. Again, as Dr. Ambedkar says, this is not to say the entire religion has no merit, but "anyone who relies on an attempt to turn members of the caste Hindus into better men by improving their personal character is wasting his energy and hugging an illusion... how can you accept personal character to make a man loaded with consciousness of caste a good man, i.e. a man who would treat his fellow men as friends or equals?"

It is the impossibility of radical evolution of the religion that acts to its demerit and has elevated its insensitivity with time. "Reason and morality are the two most powerful weapons in the armory of a reformer. To deprive him of these weapons is to disable him for action." Perhaps, that is among the true intentions of the religion.

In a vindication of caste, Mahatma Gandhi raises questions "absolutely besides the point and the main argument of the speech is lost on him." The replies of Dr. Ambedkar are sharp and quick-witted. One might be moved to excitement and whistle-blowing at the deftly put rejoinders. This book should surely be read by anyone who believe that the Hindu caste system holds an ounce of merit and relevance in the current way of life. ...more

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Jun 23, 2020 Satheeshwaran rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

A must read for every Indian!

Why do I admire Dr. Ambedkar a lot? As he says in his own words,

"Reason and morality are the two most powerful weapons in the armory of a Reformer."

He was just that. He had acted upon these words. This is why he is one of the best, if not THE best reformer India ever had.

Apart from the topic of annihilating the caste system, this book also offers insights on the below and more.

1. On what basis an ideal society should be functioning?
2. What is a religion? Should a rel ...more

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Nov 05, 2019 shakespeareandspice rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, own-in-print, nonfiction

Ambedkar cancels Hinduism.

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Jan 05, 2021 Yogarshi rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: caste, non-fiction

Excellent book to kick start 2021. Ambedkar's writing has the clarity and sharp quality that makes him stand head and shoulders above his critics (particularly, and in the context of this book, Gandhi, whose simplistic arguments are destroyed by Ambedkar without blinking an eye). I want to say this book should be compulsory reading in schools and colleges everywhere, but honestly, as a privileged upper-caste teenager, my head was so far up my ass that I probably would have dismissed this work wi ...more

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Mar 07, 2014 Bhavia rated it it was amazing

This is an amazing book.How much I wish this book were taught in the school.Then the kids would have understood the real situation at a much younger age rather than studying half baked and flattering stories about Indian leaders and Indian History

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Jun 06, 2020 Raunak Bose rated it it was amazing

In all fairness, I do not deserve to write a review of this colossal object of magnificence. Although every living being on this planet should read this book and encounter the sheer brilliance it encompasses.

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Apr 15, 2021 Ribhav Pande rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

It’s plain embarrassing that I read this so late in my life.

Preliminary thoughts beyond the book: Dr Ambedkar is taught to us in schools as the father of the Indian Constitution and a leader of the untouchables. The former is excessively emphasised, the latter is muted. It is known that he was not quite happy with the way the Constitution came out. Why is the former considered his enduring legacy and the latter muted? Because if you were to go into his views on caste, your complacent mind would It’s plain embarrassing that I read this so late in my life.

Preliminary thoughts beyond the book: Dr Ambedkar is taught to us in schools as the father of the Indian Constitution and a leader of the untouchables. The former is excessively emphasised, the latter is muted. It is known that he was not quite happy with the way the Constitution came out. Why is the former considered his enduring legacy and the latter muted? Because if you were to go into his views on caste, your complacent mind would be blown.

Annihilation of Caste — a speech to the Jat Pat Todak Mandal that Dr Ambedkar was not allowed to give — is a rational analysis of the roots and working of the caste system, its pitfalls, its perpetuation and a roadmap to its destruction. It is a searing indictment of caste and savarnas (those within the 4 Varnas, untouchables placed outside it). It develops into an attack on Hinduism itself. Any guesses why we aren’t taught this ever?

Dr Ambedkar’s analysis simply put is that caste has religious sanction, and savarnas at their respective position would never work for its destruction because they will lose their power in the social structure. Hence, ‘Educate, Agitate, Organise’ is the slogan he gives to the untouchables of India to claim their rightful place. He speaks about social inefficiency caused by the caste system and how India loses from a system that assigns worth/work based on birth. He believed that the caste system is so intrinsic to Hinduism, as explained through various texts he cites, that unless there’s a major rebuke of the Shastras and Vedas that perpetuate caste, caste can never be annihilated.

Dr Ambedkar makes clear that he has no issue with religion per se, but it must be based on the principles of liberty, equality and fraternity. He specifically makes reference to the Mauryan period in India that extolled such virtues.

There are many takedowns of Mahatma Gandhi in this speech, and through excerpts in the book. Gandhi initially supported the caste system, and then went on to oppose it yet support the Varna system where tasks are assigned by merit not birth. Dr Ambedkar calls out Gandhi’s fallacious reasoning on many counts. For one, he indicts this theory on a practical basis — the masses don’t understand such theoretical formulations. Second, this delimitation of work is not feasible practically. He laments that Gandhi was followed by untouchables too who believed it their fate to be subjugated (past sins-rebirth angle), as also because Gandhi advocated for a removal of untouchability but not true equality between a Brahmin and an untouchable. What Gandhi said was that the work an untouchable does in cleaning toilets is of equal worth to the Brahmin priest who works at a temple. He didn’t say that an untouchable can be a priest should he work for it through his merit.
[Side note: I wonder if there are parallels between Lincoln and Gandhi. Lincoln advocated for the gradual compensated abolishment of slavery his entire life, yet that did not imply that he believed in the equality of the Black and White races in America. He in fact made plans for a colony for emancipated Blacks outside America.]

Another thing about what we’re taught is that somewhere it comes about that Dr Ambedkar was a British stooge for asking for separate electorates for the untouchables through the Communal Award. Do we go behind this assertion and enter into the realm of his reasoning and justification? Not at school. The note on the Poona Pact at the end of the book by S Anand is an excellent reading to understand what the purpose of it was and how Gandhi’s fast against separate electorates for Untouchables only (and not Muslims and Sikhs) was a disgusting act as per Ambedkar. Gandhi justified it on the basis on Hindu unity. History went one way, we won’t know how it would’ve been otherwise.

There are too many thoughts and threads here that I am to understand more about. Annihilation of Caste is only the beginning in my readings on caste in India. But this book is excellently annotated to give you a path for further reading.

Please read this book at some point in your life. ...more

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Feb 03, 2021 Jyotsna rated it really liked it · review of another edition

It's so sad that the Jat-Pat Todak Mandal did not allow Dr. B. R. Ambedkar to deliver this particular speech. It's radical, but it's real, the caste system is the reason why many don't have opportunities to outgrow their social and economic woes.

I would have given this 5 stars, but the version of the book I have, has an introduction from Arundhati Roy. Roy explains the contrasting ideas Gandhi and Ambedkar had and criticizes Gandhi a lot. Ger points are of course valid, but they really overshad ...more

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Jun 05, 2021 Parth rated it it was amazing

If a person born in India reads just one book in his entire life, let it be this book. Dr. Ambedkar does not just take down everything wrong with Hinduism, but he explains the myriad ways in which the caste system has corrupted the Hindu mind and it helps explain a lot of Indian attitudes towards things. It is sad to see that even today the left has been unable to bring into action the ideas of Annihilation of Caste.
I hope it is made compulsory reading in schools all over the country. It is an ...more

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Apr 14, 2020 Udit Nair rated it it was amazing

Shelves: ambedkar, non-fiction, atheism, society, 5-stars, gandhi, religion-god

One of the fiercest commentaries on the deplorable practice of caste system of India. Ambedkar thinks that there can be no fundamental reform in the Hinduism until and unless caste system is annihilated. This leads him to another proposition which is the sanction behind the caste system is religious in nature. As a result you either get out of the fold of the Hinduism as he himself did or destroy the sanctity of the texts which prescribe the caste system or supports it indeed.
He passionately te One of the fiercest commentaries on the deplorable practice of caste system of India. Ambedkar thinks that there can be no fundamental reform in the Hinduism until and unless caste system is annihilated. This leads him to another proposition which is the sanction behind the caste system is religious in nature. As a result you either get out of the fold of the Hinduism as he himself did or destroy the sanctity of the texts which prescribe the caste system or supports it indeed.
He passionately tears into each and every justification given for caste system. He does this with scholarly backing and also bit of common sense which seems to be missing all the times.
The best part about the work is that it has lessons for everybody. For eg even the people who wish for the so called hindu unity have been given insights through this. Ambedkar firmly believes that without the end of caste system there cannot be a unity of the so called majority in india. Although he is so brutal with his analysis that most of the right wingers would be too uncomfortable reading or even understanding him.

Just to give a little insight into his take on chaturvarna system let me quote him verbatim here_
"There cannot be a more degrading system of social organization than the Chaturvarnya. It is the system which deadens, paralyses and cripples the people from helpful activity. This is no exaggeration. History bears ample evidence. There is only one period in Indian history which is a period of freedom, greatness and glory. That is the period of the Mourya Empire. At all other times the country suffered from defeat and darkness. But the Mourya period was a period when Chaturvarnya was completely annihilated, when the Shudras, who constituted the mass of the people, came into their own and became the rulers of the country. The period of defeat and darkness is the period when Chaturvarnya flourished to the damnation of the greater part of the people of the country."

Further he goes on to give solutions too. First as I mentioned above is to get out of the fold of Hinduism. Second would be question the authority of scriptures. Probably the third one is the most feasible one which is inter caste or interfaith marriages. Once you mix the blood there is no purity as such and this cannot be refuted at all.

The parting paragraph of this commentary is directly addressing the Hindus and here it is -
"The Hindus must consider whether the time has not come for them to recognize that there is nothing fixed, nothing eternal, nothing sanatan; that everything is changing, that change is the law of life for individuals as well as for society. In a changing society, there must be a constant revolution of old values and the Hindus must realize that if there must be standards to measure the acts of men there must also be a readiness to revise those standards." ...more

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Sep 08, 2019 Amara Bharathy rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

An eye opener on Dalit lives in India during the 1940s and now (the introduction part by Arundati Roy - the Doctor and the Saint). Thanks to the Tamil director Ranjith, that I started reading Dr.Ambedkar. There were times when I read Gandhian articles and was a fan of Gandhi, wherein Dr.Ambedkar is either cast as a villain or never mentioned at all! Then I thought about reading about this great man, and there couldn't be any better choice than this book.

This book has 3 parts - 1. Doctor and the ...more

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Jan 31, 2022 saïd rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: india_etc, 2_nonfiction

Apart from being an incisive and no-bullshit political proclamation, this is just a really good speech.

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Jan 26, 2020 Nikhil rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: south-asian, poco

This is a foundational text. As such, some of the arguments it makes may seem dated. Nonetheless it is foundational for a reason.

Caste functions as a hereditary hierarchy. The hierarchy requires one performs caste, with the humiliations it entails, and transgressors are disciplined with extreme violence. At the local level, caste is inescapable - you cannot pass because everyone knows who you are and knows your caste status. Under modernity/the city, where all fixed and fast relations become unm This is a foundational text. As such, some of the arguments it makes may seem dated. Nonetheless it is foundational for a reason.

Caste functions as a hereditary hierarchy. The hierarchy requires one performs caste, with the humiliations it entails, and transgressors are disciplined with extreme violence. At the local level, caste is inescapable - you cannot pass because everyone knows who you are and knows your caste status. Under modernity/the city, where all fixed and fast relations become unmoored and melt into air, there is scope to pass, blurring caste boundaries.

The caste system, however, is not immutable. Rather, like the many-headed hydra, it twists and evolves so as to survive. The caste system has always been a mechanism to slot and categorize the disparate groups of people living in and migrating into South Asia into a hierarchy with relative privileges, powers, an deprivations. The mutability of caste is well documented by jatis having upwardly an downwardly mobile caste status over time: rajputs and thakurs began as shudras, and assumed Kshatriya status when they seized political (I.e., military) power. New groups of migrants into South Asia (e.g., the Scythian) also slotted into the hierarchy. Indeed, the Kshatriya varna has always reflected contemporaneous power rather than genealogy.

In this way, the caste system served as the mechanism by which Brahminism ate other peoples and their Gods. Hinduism is distinct from other religions in that it cannot said to have any core tenets, nor any central texts. This is contrast to Brahminism which has a set of written texts (Vedas, Shastrqs, etc,). The pernicious genius of Brahminism is that it devours everything. New religions and new gods get absorbed into the pantheon and slotted in as additional deities or aspects of earlier deities, with the power ascribed to these news gods in accord with the power of the group that believes them. See how Durga and Kali get absorbed into the Hindu pantheon, or Skanda or even Shiva for that matter (Shiva as the original Dravidian destroyer whom the Aryans could not fully eat). Note how the spiritual absorption of other peoples mirrors how the caste system absorbs other peoples. This is the central feature of Brahminism over all others: caste/devouring.

Ambedkar, writing as he was 80+ years ago, articulates quite a bit of this. He correctly understands “Hinduism” as understood by his contemporaries to be a fundamentally modern concept of trying to define a Brahmannical nation state; a project he abhors and rejects. He understands that such a national project would not liberate anyone, and must be overthrown. He suggests that to do this one most overthrow Brahminism - the belief in the divinity of Brahmannical texts.

But Ambedkar does not understand caste as performance, or that one can pass or not pass, or that the caste system has substantially mutated over time. More troubling, his proposed solution to Brahminism, a state regulated religion where a new central text overthrows all local tradition, is, paradoxically, the very modernist project of a Hindu nation-state that he opposes.

Gandhi, of course, comes out looking quite poorly in this text. Gandhi was uninterested in upending caste hierarchy, he merely wanted Dalits as objects for him to perform his sainthood upon. The positions as Gandhi articulates them in this text are uninteresting defense of hierarchy using the same logic used everywhere (there are some minor excesses, a few bad apples, etc,).

Overall, this is essential reading for those interested in South Asia. A warning: the text requires a great deal of prior familiarity with the National movement/South Asian history/Hindu religious tradition to contextualize and evaluate the arguments therein. ...more

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Jul 17, 2021 Niyatee Narkar rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: owned, anti-caste-literature

Annihilation of Caste is Dr. Ambedkar's undelivered speech that was considered too blasphemous by the Jat-Pat Todak Mandal's mostly privileged caste Hindu organizers for their annual conference in 1935. Ambedkar provides a scathing indictment of the sacred texts of Hinduism (most prominently the Manusmriti) and how privileged caste Hindus religiously cling to them as a defense to maintain the social hierarchy established by the caste system. The power the higher castes hold is sustained through Annihilation of Caste is Dr. Ambedkar's undelivered speech that was considered too blasphemous by the Jat-Pat Todak Mandal's mostly privileged caste Hindu organizers for their annual conference in 1935. Ambedkar provides a scathing indictment of the sacred texts of Hinduism (most prominently the Manusmriti) and how privileged caste Hindus religiously cling to them as a defense to maintain the social hierarchy established by the caste system. The power the higher castes hold is sustained through the social and economic oppression and resulting inhumane treatment that is inflicted on the Dalits, to this day. But unlike race, caste is invisible and yet all pervading. Ambedkar proposes questioning the sanctity of these texts as one of the major solutions to social reform and implores people to not be passive observers but to become more conscious thinkers, especially since our practices forces million of people to lead deplorable lives.

A friend had remarked that he finds Ambedkar to be too critical of the Hindu religion. I am also reminded of how my parents would often emphasize that they don't see caste. But having read about the instances of gruesome caste discrimination in the 1930s presented by Ambedkar and the present day atrocious crimes against Dalits cited by Arundhati Roy in the introduction, I am severely disturbed and forced to acknowledge my privilege of never having to think about my caste. Because my caste and seemingly entangled class has not disadvantaged me in any aspect of life. But Ambedkar was embittered by his cruel experiences and I think that justifies his decision to not die as a Hindu even though he was born as one.

I can't stress enough how critical this piece of work is, it has really shaken my view of the Hindu society (read also Indian society as caste even permeates the boundaries of religion in our country). It must be read, at least to understand that privileged caste experiences are not universal, to burst that comfortable bubble of reality we have lived in so far. That should be a good start?

I have also come to realize that the only two times, the privileged caste-Hindus and especially the politicians care about Dalits is either for Votes or when they want to convert to another religion in the hope of escaping the tyranny of the caste system (*coughs Hindu nationalists *). So it doesn't come as a surprise how seemingly both the left and right have assimilated Ambedkar as someone to be proud of. Or as Roy says in the introduction, 'as junior partner to Gandhi in their joint fight against untouchability'. And ah coming to the larger than life Mahatma!, how brutally Arundhati Roy strips him of his saintly title. She breaks down the tailored version of Gandhi's life in South Africa that we have been raised on. Gandhi's own writings are referenced to display his stubbornness in continuing to exult the merits of the caste system and his disdain for any Dalits trying to free themselves from the shackles of the lowly professions prescribed for their caste. She also presents a good overview of Ambedkar's desperate efforts to obtain political rights and representation for his caste members and how he died with the disappointment of the compromises he was browbeaten to make.

I still feel conflicted about Gandhi and would like to read more of the other side. However above all, Arundhati Roy makes it abundantly clear that Gandhi may not be a saint but was a good politician with all his contradictions and craftiness. And despite his erudition and formidable intellect, Ambedkar wasn't. And yet I believe Ambedkar's life itself was the most radical act. ...more

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Jul 08, 2019 Navya rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: others-indian, genre-non-fiction-general

Difficult to review such a formative text.

I enjoyed Roy's introduction, in and of itself very informative as well as exceptionally good in setting the context for Dr Ambedkar's undelivered speech. A brief history of caste and anti-caste activism in independent India would also have been very helpful.

A must read, especially for Hindu Savarnas. ...more

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Apr 10, 2014 Umesh Kesavan rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, politics

Arundhati Roy writes a very fitting and rebellious introduction to what is an outright rejection of caste and Hindu sacred texts.Hope this new edition of Ambedkar's magnum opus reaches more young minds.S.Anand's meticulously researched notes add to the depth of the argument. ...more

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Apr 28, 2021 Nandha Kumar rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Read at your own peril. Be prepared to have your conceptions of pre-independence india questioned deeply. Arundhati Roy can sure write a great intro

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Jan 24, 2021 Saravanakumar S K rated it it was amazing

I can't believe that almost 85 years ago what Ambedkar wrote in this book is still absolutely relevant to the Caste/Varna system in Hinduism. Ambedkar said that Religion should be based on principles, not based on some rules without any reasoning. If Gandhi is true to his conscience that all the caste discrimination in Vedas, Masnusmiriti and shastras are interpolation then he should have honestly agreed to Ambedkar's idea of abandoning all of them and create one holy book based on principles wi ...more

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About B.R. Ambedkar

B.R. Ambedkar

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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, ...more

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“Constitutional morality is not a natural sentiment. It has to be cultivated. We must realise that our people have yet to learn it. Democracy in India is only a top-dressing on an Indian soil which is essentially undemocratic.” — 58 likes

“The Hindus criticise the Mahomedans for having spread their religion by the use of the sword. They also ridicule Christianity on the score of the Inquisition.

But really speaking, who is better and more worthy of our respect—the Mahomedans and Christians who attempted to thrust down the throats of unwilling persons what they regarded as necessary for their salvation, or the Hindu who would not spread the light, who would endeavour to keep others in darkness, who would not consent to share his intellectual and social inheritance with those who are ready and willing to make it a part of their own make-up?

I have no hesitation in saying that if the Mahomedan has been cruel, the Hindu has been mean; and meanness is worse than cruelty.” — 56 likes

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