Book review: Annihilation of Caste (BR Ambedkar)
Reading Ambedkar is an absolute pleasure. His fearlessness and dedication to social justice are combined with a clarity of thought that is exceptional.
The edition I review, by Verso Books, is divided into three portions — the first of which is an essay by Arundhati Roy, “The Doctor and the Saint”, which provides some background for the fundamental dispute between Ambedkar and Gandhi. In order to understand this, its useful to understand the caste system as it operated when this book was written in the 1930s — the best analog for the way caste operated in India then is the way race operated in the United States during that same period, especially in the Jim Crow South. “Superior” castes (akin to whites in the Jim Crow South) were able to enforce an economic and social hierarchy through both oppressive social conventions and the threat of mob violence (when conventions were broken).
Gandhi wanted to do away with “untouchability”, that is, the strict barrier between the people of the lowest caste (Dalits, or अवर्ण) and the remaining castes (सवर्ण). However, he did not want to mandate the abolition of caste entirely, as he himself was an orthodox Hindu. He believed that once untouchability was abolished, upper caste people should recognize that while people of all castes have equal standing in society, they are all suited for different tasks. This was largely in line with the “genetic thinking” prevalent throughout the Western world at the time.
Ambedkar, on the other hand, wanted to abolish caste entirely. He focused his energy on ending the practice that he termed “Brahminism”. He posited that once the group holding power adopted a practice of social separation, there would be an “infection of imitation”, whereby every other social group would attempt to do the same, directing their social oppression at the group immediately “below” them. Therefore, the only way to create an equal society was to target the very heart of the oppression itself — to abolish caste entirely, and to denounce any religious scripture that sanctions caste practices.
The second part of the book is Ambedkar’s essay on the annihilation of caste — which was scheduled to be delivered to the Jaat-Paat Todak Mandal but was ultimately canceled because it was deemed too provocative. The Jaat-Paat Todak Mandal (which translates roughly to “the abolition of caste committee”) was a group of Hindu reformers seeking to radically reform the religion to eliminate caste entirely. However, while they wanted to abolish caste, they were ultimately not willing to give up Hinduism, and some portions of Ambedkar’s speech involved direct attacks on the shastras, to which there was significant objection. Still, they should be seen sympathetically, as they are quite radical social reformers for their time and aim at a fully equal society (unlike members of the orthodoxy).
Ambedkar’s criticism of Brahminism is very incisive, and is a useful tool to look at parallel systems of hierarchy that exist today. For example, the “citizenship hierarchy” that exists in most countries in the West — with citizens on top, legal immigrants in the middle, and undocumented immigrants at the very bottom — mirrors the caste system very closely in the way it actually functions. Even the so-called “enlightened & progressive” nations in Western Europe have no objection to treating the last category of people in much the same way that Dalits were treated in India at the time of this writing.
Similarly the Jim Crow caste hierarchy might have started with just two castes (“white” and “black”), but before long there was additional stratification with a significant level of social discrimination targeted at Catholics and Jews as well. Once the infection of Brahminism begins, it rarely stops, it continues to subdivide and grow until it is attacked at its root.
Throughout the essay, Ambedkar skillfully combines his attacks on the social evil of caste with an aspirational vision of what could come next. That is, as he argues forcefully against what is the “old India” (which his opponent, Gandhi, has idealized), he also begins to provide the material for the formation of a “new India”. In one sense, Ambedkar can be seen as one of the first genuine nationalists — but one that argues for an inclusive nationalism of liberty, equality, and fraternity between all Indian people; which can only be achieved through the abolition of caste (and of the old religions and method of religious thinking). Ambedkar’s vision for India is a “Prabuddha Bharat (प्रभुद्द भारत)”, or enlightened India. He places himself squarely in the proud anti-caste tradition of the subcontinent, of which the Buddha, Ravidas, Guru Nanak, and Kabir are the most famous proponents. In this sense, he differs greatly from most social critics, as he advocates for the building of a new nation as he attacks the old. This is really what gives his book tremendous moral strength, and imbibes the reader with hope for the future rather than disappointment at the present.
The third portion of the book involves a series of back and forth letters between Ambedkar and Gandhi, where this discussion continues. One interesting topic that is extremely relevant to the modern age is between the ideal mode of development. Here, Gandhi seems almost prophetic, when he predicts that if the entirety of the world adopts the Western mode of development, the environment will be hopelessly ravaged, and we will all live in hellish conditions. Gandhi therefore idealizes the self-governing villages of India, and argues for continuing that model with some reforms. But for Ambedkar and the Dalits, those self-governing villages were already hell. For the Dalit, the city is the place where he can break free of this local tyranny and breathe the air of freedom. Again, for those familiar with American history, this will undoubtedly remind you of the migration of black people from their local tyrannies in the Jim Crow South to the cities of the North on their freedom trains (for those unfamiliar with this history, “The Warmth of Other Suns” is a fantastic book). This unresolved argument continues to this day, and humanity at large has found no acceptable solution.
In summary, this book is a very important read, not only for its historic value, but for its relevance to the present. The caste system carries on — not just in India, but throughout the world in various guises — to this day. The discussion between Ambedkar and Gandhi on the modes of economic development are more important than ever in the era of climate change and mass ecological destruction. And Ambedkar’s excoriation of religious orthodoxy is a must-read in an era where religious regressives of all stripes are once again rearing their heads. Reading Ambedkar gives you a taste of freedom and hope like nothing else. Prabhuddha Bharat Zindabad.
