Department of English

Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi

Dalit Literature Assignment Work

Submitted by: Shah Ali Faisal

B.A Hons. English, Sem - 6

Discuss Ambedkar’s critique of caste system making suitable references to the

text/s you have studied.
 Introduction
The Annihilation of Caste was actually a speech prepared by Ambedkar which he
was going to deliver at an annual conference (1936) of which he was the
President and was invited by the secretary of the Jat-Pat Todak Mandal, which
was an anti-caste Hindu reformist group organization based in Lahore. However,
before Ambedkar could have delivered his speech the members of the group had
revised the text in Ambedkar’s speech.
Ambedkar in this speech was openly and bluntly going to talk about the atrocities
faced by the Dalits and untouchables and was going to criticize the Hindus and
demand that this caste discriminatory system should be abolished, should be
destructed, should be annihilated. The Mandal members found the text of his
speech extremely venomous and wanted to prevent his thoughts to reach the
masses because it could have awakened the Dalits to resort in unity and fight for
their rights. So the members of the group took back the invitation from
Ambedkar. Now, this act of theirs made Ambedkar’s followers and the lower class
in general furious, and because the Mandal feared that violence might break out
against them they at last called off the conference.
The caste system in India has existed from ancient times, however as time passed
and we entered into the medieval period, early-modern period and then finally in
today’s modern period, it has established its presence permanently. No one,
willingly or even unwillingly can escape from its shackles. It has become the basis
on which any man is given his position in our hierarchical society.
It is a system established by the so-called ‘Hindus’, where the ’Brahmans’ are
considered to be the elites and the Sudras the untouchables or say the ‘dalits’. To
explain the word Dalit further- it refers to ‘the broken class.’ It comprises the
people who are subjugated, the ones who are deprived of those fundamental
rights that any mediocre Brahmin, or Kshatriya or even a Vaishya enjoys.

Summary and Conclusion

The entire text can be summarized by the following twenty-six pointers given
below:

1. Introduction—why I am an unlikely President for this Conference:

2. Why social reform is necessary for political reform
3. Why social reform is necessary for economic reform
4. Caste is not just a division of labour, it is a division of labourers
5. Caste cannot preserve a nonexistent "racial purity"
6. Caste prevents Hindus from forming a real society or nation
7. The worst feature of the Caste System is an anti-social spirit
8. Caste prevents the uplift and incorporation of the aboriginal tribes
9. The higher castes have conspired to keep the lower castes down
10. Caste prevents Hinduism from being a missionary religion
11. Caste deprives Hindus of mutual help, trust, and fellow-feeling
12. Caste is a powerful weapon for preventing all reform
13. Caste destroys public spirit, public opinion, and public charity
14. My ideal: a society based on Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity
15. The Arya Samajists' "Chaturvarnya" retains the old bad caste labels
16. "Chaturvarnya" would face impossible difficulties in practice
17. "Chaturvarnya" would be the most vicious system for the Shudras
18. "Chaturvarnya" is nothing new; it is as old as the Vedas
19. Caste among Hindus is not the same as "caste" among non Hindus
20. The real key to destroying Caste is rejection of the Shastras
21. Internal reform of the Caste System is virtually impossible]
22. No reformers, and no appeals to reason, have so far succeeded
23. Destroying Caste would not destroy the true principles of Religion
24. A true priesthood should be based on qualification, not heredity
25. If Hindu Society is to progress, its traditions must be able to evolve
26. The struggle is yours; I have now decided to leave the Hindu fold

As Ambedkar stated in “Annihilation of Caste”, “Political revolutions have always

been preceded by social and religious revolutions.” This emphasizes the imminent
need for Bahujans of India to reflect on what is being force-fed to us as “culture”
and to look back to our own roots so as to enable debrahmanization. We need to
vociferously denounce Brahmanism. We don’t need to enter temples that have
ostracized us. We should have nothing to do with building a temple for Ram, the
quintessential protector of the Vedic law who butchered Shambuka. We should
take pride in our long history of women playing an active role as breadwinners
even as Hindu women were confined to the kitchens. We should recognize that a
true tribute to Ambedkar is to work towards destroying Brahmanism and not just
ritualistically garland or bathe his statue with milk. We should realize that
nationalism and patriotism will not feed our hungry farm labourers, artisans,
manual scavengers and daily-wage workers who keep the wheels of this nation
turning. Our sweat and toil is our God, not the idol that shows someone to be
blissfully sleeping on a snake or riding on a tiger with Mahishasur under her feet.
Our life events need not be presided over by the Brahmins who considered our
lives worthless for millennia. We don’t have auspicious days or “good” names –
every day is the same and every name has a meaning. We don’t need to mould
ourselves to fit into a particular definition of an Indian – we are humans first. We
have no holy cows and we do not deserve to be ill-treated by the same Brahmins
who once sacrificed animals for their yagnas. As cowherds, shepherds and
milkmaids, we exemplified humane treatment of animals and as leatherworkers
we provided the means for humans to keep themselves warm. As barbers and
washer-folk, we mastered the art of keeping people neat and clean.
According to the great Indian ladder trick called caste, as pointed out by
Ambedkar as well, “Each caste takes its pride and its consolation in the fact that in
the scale of castes, it is above some other caste.” It is precisely this mentality that
Bahujans in 21st century should shed. This is more of an issue with OBCs, but
some caste groups among Dalits also treat each other with contempt. Such a
“divide and rule” policy was the invention of the Brahmin himself, who pre-dates
the British by millennia. We can rise above these attitudes only when we realize
that the idea of caste itself is inimical to our progress.
The effect of this is to pierce the Hindu consciousness, to highlight the inequality
through emphasizing the basic conditions of India at the time. This political
question, or the question of political reform is coupled with social reform and
economic reform, thinking through the entirety of Indian society from the
perspectives of dalits. For Ambedkar, it is caste that prohibits real progress
including the ability to form a truly national society; it is caste that prevents a
fellow feeling of social inclusion; caste that inhibits uplift of aboriginal peoples.
His ideal social contract is one of true equality and liberty, an India of genuine
freedom at all levels of society. To destroy the caste system is possible only with
the destruction of the shastras and so Annihilation of Caste ends up being a
critique of the holy scriptures of Hinduism itself as well as its material
manifestations. This is a critique levelled with passion, logic,panache, flair and
evidence. It is written from a truly subaltern perspective and informed
byliberalism, freedom and personal experience. Reading Ambedkar today still
gives one nerves, hope and possibility.
The caste system is still one of the central aspects of Indian politics, society and
economy today. However, and thanks in large part to Ambedkar’s articulation,
there is most definitely a self-aware subaltern politics just as there is a broader
sectarian/communal question that focuses on religion in general. However, both
of these seem to prevent a conversation about gender rather than leading to
liberal intersectionalities as they matter in ‘the West’. The true liberation of India
must involve the material freedom of women, girls and those who female
identify. That is what it is to read Ambedkar now and learn from his example. One
can only hope that the opening he makes in the field can lead us away from
female infanticide, the negative aspects of the dowry system and towards femme
empowerment in the workforce and home as well as making public space safer on
the whole. It is not only the annihilation of caste that we seek then but also the
annihilation of chauvinism in the 21st century.
The most important and controversial part is his analysis of the manner in which,
through social classification and the resulting injustice, a religion can lead to
extreme violence against the poor. The label of ‘untouchability’ is, according to
Ambedkar, an intrinsic part of the Hindu religion advocated by holy texts, and so
he advocated the end of Hinduism itself. Gandhi, on the other hand, was an
admirer of the caste system, but thought that all castes should be treated equally.
The story of how Ambedkar wrote the speech – and the debate that follows – is
itself fascinating. And I recommend reading all of the footnotes in order to
appreciate both the depth of Ambedkar’s intellect and the breadth that the
historical references give to his argument.
Moreover, his speech is still topical. Indeed, it is still important to read in order to
understand the current struggles between the Adivasis and the global
corporations that would plunder their land.
Ambedkar goes on to defend his thesis, that religious and social reform must
accompany political reform with numerous examples from history. His analysis is
broad-ranging and his politics are thoughtful and nuanced. He is critical not only
of the nationalist politicians who ignore the question of economic reform, he is
equally critical of a narrow focus on economy that does not grapple with the
question of social reform and the question of caste. If a socialist revolution does
not take account of caste before the revolution, he writes, it will have to account
for it after.
Annihilation of Caste is an important, profound, and disturbing text. It is, in a
sense, understandable that the moderate Hindu reformers cancelled Ambedkar’s
speaking engagement and the speech was not delivered as intended. It is also
understandable that Gandhi reacted with such vehemence, a challenge to
religion, to dearly held tenets of faith and forms of social organization is never
looked upon kindly. It is regrettable, however, that such a powerful voice for
social transformation has been subject to such censure and silence for so long
The pain in Ambedkar’s voice carries itself, through the written text, and into the
eyes and ears of his contemporary readers. Democracy has not abolished caste,
has not abolished ethnic and religious violence. The commodification of India’s
spiritual traditions for Western consumption has not alleviated the suffering of
India’s Dalit population. Streams of books about mindfulness, consciousness, and
spirituality have not provided us with the moral fibre to face up to the horrors and
brutalities entrenched within our own social systems. This is why it is time to read
Ambedkar.

My opinion on the given text

The book contains many maxims which can open the eyes of Indian society. At the
beginning of the book, Dr Ambedkar has mentioned the reasons and
circumstances due to which the speech remain undelivered. A detailed
description of the chain of events that led to the speech remaining undelivered
makes it clear that Hindu religion is so orthodox that it does not allow its
followers even to hear, understand and concede logical arguments against its
orthodoxy. Hindus lack that courage. Quoting from Hindu scriptures, the book
cogently proves that the caste system is rooted in religious beliefs and hence
without annihilating these beliefs and the scriptures that sustain them,
annihilation of caste is impossible. The so-called Hindu reformists want to
preserve these scriptures and at the same time reform society. That is why; there
is no scope for social reforms in Hindu community. Dr Ambedkar rightly points out
that there can be no political revolution without social and religious revolutions.
He has given examples of Ireland, Rome and America to make his point, besides
referring to the communal award. This book describes various instances of caste
atrocities and draws attention to the pain due to the caste system.

The book also emphasizes carefully that social reform is essential for economic
reforms. Leftist thinkers believe that economic reforms alone would lead to
liberty and equality. The book convincingly argues that religion, social status and
wealth – all these are sources of power and they control the liberty of others. One
quotation reads: “Men will not join in a revolution for the equalisation of property
unless they know that after the revolution is achieved they will be treated equally,
and that there will be no discrimination of caste and creed.”

Another quotation says,“The caste system is not merely a division of labour. It is

also a division of labourers.” At another place Dr Ambedkar writes, “…caste is
therefore a harmful institution, inasmuch as it involves the subordination of
man’s natural powers and inclinations to the exigencies of social rule.” This book
proves beyond doubt that caste will never allow Hindus to become a real society
or nation.