Post on 20-Feb-2023
Annihilation of Caste is the Basis for Indian Democracy
The Doctor’s Diagnosis of a Chronic Indian Social Ailment
Abstract of the Essay
A total demolition of the casteist frame – the practice as well as the mindset – is the first step in the
emancipation of Indian society towards the ideal democratic State. Dr. Ambedkar’s vehement call
for annihilation of caste, to the extent of rejecting all Hindu scriptures that advocate it, is an apt
diagnosis of the root cause behind inherent inequalities plaguing Indian society. Yet Ambedkar’s
resolutions are merely the starting point in a journey towards ideal social order. This essay
advocates a layered integration of Ambedkar’s philosophy with the Gandhian model of social
consciousness along with an emphasis on universal education in order to establish an equitable and
just society.
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Annihilation of Caste is the Basis for Indian Democracy
“On some posit ions cowardice asks the question, is i t safe? Expediency asks , is i t po li t ic?
Vanity asks, i s i t popular? But consc ience asks the question, is i t r igh t? And there comes a
t ime when one must take a posit ion tha t i s neither safe , nor pol i t ic , nor popular but he must
take i t because conscience tel l s him i t i s r ight .”
― Martin Luther King, Jr., American pastor and civil rights activist.
1. Introduction
Casteism is the chronic plague of Indian society and untouchability its most dreadful
symptom. Caste is that cast of tradition which entraps the present and moulds it into a shape
devoid of freedom and bereft of modern values: thus rendering the present as an unjustified
prisoner of the past rather than its rationally evolved antecedent. Caste is not just an infringement
on the individuality of the enterprising Indian; it is violence upon the soul of Indian society itself.
It is worth noting that differentiation and demarcation of individuals in a society is not
unique to the Indian context, and is certainly not a present day phenomenon. Plato and Aristotle
– leading lights of the ancient world – deemed its inherence in human nature two millennia ago;1
and they were inspired by theories that had emerged more than a century before them.2
Furthermore, segregation of individuals based on various criteria like creed (for instance, Jews in
Nazi Germany, Catholic-Protestant in Christianity), sect (for instance, Shia-Sunni split in Islam),
race or colour (for instance, slavery), and gender has occurred at all times in history. Yet the
caste system as practiced in India occupies a notoriously unique position amongst all systems of
segregation – owing to its four characteristics which are not simultaneously shared by any other
arrangement prevalent anywhere else in the world. Caste system is:
a) determined by birth,
b) hierarchical in nature,
c) exploitative in practice, and
d) sanctioned by religion.
2. Ambedkar as the Ambassador for Annihilation of Caste
In so far as it is determined by birth and tends towards exploitation of individuals, it may
be deemed that caste system, as a practice, comes dangerously close to slavery, which is
unanimously and universally denounced. Yet what makes caste system difficult to remedy is its
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subtlety: Ambedkar duly recognized this. Unlike slavery, it is not a clearly delineate-able evil. In
the ailing Indian society, it is not like a tumour that can be conveniently located and removed
rather a malignant cancer that is infused into the social bloodstream. And, hence, Ambedkar’s
‘chemotherapy of caste’ targeted reforms in every sphere of life: political, economic, social, and
religious.
Ambedkar’s erudition enabled him to dig deep to the root cause of casteism and devote
his entire energy and time to fomenting the sentiment of the masses towards attacking that root
cause. He emphasized that the acts of Hindus were inspired from the , and that their
attitudes would not be transformed until their belief in the sanctity of the is broken. He
believed that in order to destroy the sacredness and divinity that caste has come to be associated
with first the authority of the and the Vedas had to be annihilated.3
An illustration of Ambedkar’s root cause analysis is shown below:
Contrary to reform movements like the Brahmo Samaj and Arya Samaj, Ambedkar did
not divest himself with fighting social evils like sati, widow remarriage, child marriage, etc.
Those were, for him, issues concerning the Hindu family. Indian society transcended the mere
scope of the Hindu family and could be reformed only through abolition of the caste system.4
Caste system prevented the ‘associated mode of living’5 in Indian society, and to that extent it
robbed Indians of their sense of brotherhood. Democracy, fraternity, and ‘associated mode of
living’, were all synonymous for Ambedkar. He believed an ideal society was that which
facilitated social endosmosis – one that should incorporate channels for conveying change to all
corners, through communication and shared interests.6
2.1 Judge a Tree by its Fruits, and not its Roots.
Ambedkar was not against segregation of society per se; he only refused to accept two
aspects of it: (1) the hierarchically exploitative stratification, and (2) the categorization of classes
into strictly demarcated and watertight compartments. While the former was outright abusive, the
latter betrayed the uniqueness of individuals who, owing to their multifarious capabilities,
transcend categorical boundaries and embody classes in their own right.7
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Caste system divides labour (rather labourers) not on the basis of worth, but birth. And
selection on the basis of birth or inheritance is selection not of the able, but of the privileged.8
This violates the basic tenets of both utilitarian and deontological views of social morality.
Deontology presupposes an inherent dignity in human life which implies a respect for humans as
ends in themselves and not merely as means to ulterior ends. Utilitarianism advocates greatest
good of the greatest number which implies State responsibility towards ensuring optimum
fulfilment of every individual’s potential, as the State’s capability is primarily funded through a
summation of the abilities of its individuals. Caste system is a spanner in the wheel of ‘social
efficiency’9 – a fundamental obstacle to socio-economic development, as it comes in the way of
the State endeavouring to provide favourable conditions for harnessing every individual’s ability
and aptitude to the maximum.
3. An Agitated Saint versus the Saint of Agitations
Ambedkar was a saint agitated. His own experiences with untouchability had stoked in
him an existential angst against any form of authoritative control exercised by one individual or
group over another. This is amply displayed in one of his retorts to Gandhi where he claims that
he responds “not because what [Gandhi] has said is so weighty as to deserve a reply, but because
to many a Hindu he is an oracle, so great that when he opens his lips it is expected that the
argument must close and no dog must bark.”10
For a man who had witnessed discrimination first
hand all his life, and whose initial career jumpstart was trounced by caste Hindus that were
supposed to treat him as colleagues, patience had run thin and compromise was anathema.
3.1 Ambedkar and Gandhi ought to be Integrated, not Reconciled
Though Ambedkar and Gandhi had obvious differences at the fore, they seem to be in
agreement on a fundamental level: both were driven by utopian ideals, yet practically oriented in
their approach. The solutions they promulgated were sociologically holistic and rightly targeted
at due root causes, yet their implementation was thwarted, not by each other, but by their own
preoccupations. While Gandhi was consumed by his prioritizing of the freedom struggle and the
weight of his religious imbibitions, Ambedkar was derailed by an insurgent impatience towards
any form of compromise. Gandhi worked by being a part of the system, while Ambedkar was a
‘part apart’.
Both stuck to their stand, resisted reconciliation, and hence missed the point that their
differences were merely perspective driven and methodological. On scratching beneath the
surface, one can witness several commonalities between the two:
a) An egalitarian society based on liberty and fraternity was the ideal pursued by both.
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b) Ambedkar envisioned sovereignty based on people’s moral authority, which was the
basic principle in Gandhi’s model of too (save for the seemingly religious label
of ).
c) What Gandhi called – a rule primarily over the self – was for Ambedkar the
capacity of discernment in an individual towards acting as per one’s own will.
d) The individual was at the center of Gandhi’s ‘oceanic circle’11
as well as Ambedkar’s
‘consciousness of kind’12
. And in both cases, the individual related with society as an
extension of his or her own self.
e) Gandhi agreed with Ambedkar that the interpretation of the needs to
be rejected.13
f) Both stressed on a life and acts based on principles, as it was imperative for a moral life
of freedom and spontaneity.
g) Both advocated the importance of role-models in guiding the masses, emphasizing upon
the impeccable moral integrity of such leaders.14
Despite the above similarities, Gandhi and Ambedkar tended to differ, and debated vociferously
in their defence. This, in my opinion, was due to a dichotomy reflected primarily in their
contrary conception of the meaning of dharma. This issue derives essentially from the
ambivalent nature of the definition of dharma itself, which in turn is due in large part to the
complex nature of human morality and its semantics.
Yet, the views of Gandhi and Ambedkar regarding dharma were in no measure
irreconcilably disparate; they were indeed two faces of the same coin, as illustrated below:
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Given the above dichotomous, yet correlative, conception of dharma, one ought to infer
that Gandhi and Ambedkar, contrary to being seen at loggerheads with each other, were actually
supplementary in their discourse. An attempt to reconcile them would focus on suppressing
differences rather than acknowledging complementarity, and hence the imperative is to integrate
Gandhi and Ambedkar into a unified model. Ambedkar viewed society rationally and reserved
his emotions solely for the plight of the untouchables; while Gandhi espoused a uniform
emotional attachment with all living beings and put the tenets of his own religion to a rigorous
rational evaluation. An integration of Gandhi and Ambedkar would, hence, create a model of
metaphysical holism by striking an enduring balance between rational and emotional social
perspectives.
4. Bridging the Gandhi-Ambedkar Divide for Effective Action
Ambedkar stressed on constitutional methods to secure emancipation of untouchables and
exhorted the masses to coalesce their might and push for stronger political representation.
Gandhi, on the contrary, was a philosophical anarchist15
who sought to keep State control at a
minimum and instead worked directly with village communities to guide them towards self-
sufficiency. Both attacked exploitative socio-economic systems. While Ambedkar fought for
reform to be pushed from the top, viz. the constitutional machinery, Gandhi worked to initiate
the same from grassroots up. Ambedkar attempted to set right a historical mistake, as Gandhi
sought to plug loopholes of the modern world, where he viewed the caste system as interleaved
with other perceived socio-economic evils.
Ambedkar believed in a classless society,16
where the function of the State was secondary
to functioning of society. The State was merely a means – working as a servant of the masses
and not their master17
– to create safeguards and enforce standards that ensured the basic tenets
of social justice – which for Ambedkar were equality, liberty, and fraternity – were manifested.
Gandhi believed in a stateless democracy,18
where the State had no affirmative role and existed
only to protect key productive resources and non-violently ensure the practice of trusteeship on
the part of private owners.19
One may, hence, view Gandhi and Ambedkar not as positioned at diametrically opposite
points on the circle of social justice but rather as two wheels of a cart that, when properly aligned
and balanced, can empower the yoke of struggle against inequality to be carried forward.
Ambedkar provides a diagnostic-curative analysis of inequality in Indian society, while Gandhi
lends a spiritual-philosophical insight to the same. I believe an integrated approach that combines
both Ambedkarian and Gandhian models would provide a better agenda of action than either of
the models working individually.
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Given the depth to which casteism permeates the Indian mindset, one can reasonably
fathom that its eradication would not be straightforward. Caste system is not merely a thorn in
the flesh of Indian society, it is a disease afflicting the flesh altogether. Adopting a two-pronged
strategy – Ambedkar’s constitutional morality on the one hand and Gandhian practical
philosophy of social emancipation on the other – provides an effective balance between
individual participation and State engagement.
4.1 Analogy of the Flowering Plant
Ambedkar’s assertions over the annihilation of caste are an incontestably necessary
premise for the movement towards eradicating inequality, yet his complete faith in a political
solution for achieving his social ideals falls short of practicability.20
Merely creating a secular
State does not ensure that its individuals follow suit;21
while placing too many safeguards
amounts to excessive State interference that may border upon State absolutism, which goes
against Ambedkar’s own political philosophy.
Gandhi’s model incorporates grassroots level practicality. The cardinal aspects of his
social philosophy – namely, as a peaceful disposition, sv j as the rule of self-
discipline, as the primacy of local community, as a moral weapon of truth,
and sarvodaya as equality in opportunity – provide a comprehensive platform for implementing
a framework of social equality. Yet, Gandhi’s model suffered from an inability to detach from its
religious underpinnings.
An integrated model, taking Ambedkar’s rational analysis as its basis and Gandhi’s social
package as its practice, is proposed towards a hybrid model that serves to provide a holistic
social ideal. Ambedkar’s political solution joins
hands with the Gandhian socio-economic agenda.
This, in my opinion, can be demonstrated with the
analogy of a growing plant (illustrated alongside).
Ambedkar sows the seeds of the revolution and
Gandhi germinates it into reality. Both duly
recognize the imperative of education in bringing
out essential reform and, hence, once the framework
of social equality begins to gain foothold, education
provides the light to blossom it further and keeps it
inherently sustainable through an ever-widening
stream of discernment and awareness. True
education is that which provides direction to the ignorant soul in its quest for truth and it is not
mere coincidence that education has been equated with light in the above analogy.
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It is well worth noting that the above reference to education is not towards mere basic,
formal or technical education. An effective model of education is one that draws upon a synthetic
conception of the human personality and serves to harmonize its various elements; whose ideals
and methods address and acknowledge every dimension of the human person. Such a model
would enrich the conception of dharma within every individual.22
4.2 Dharma Lives in the Heart of Every Man23
The first premise of any system of morality has to be the conviction that human beings
are essentially moral. In an ideal social setup, individual morality seamlessly transcends into a
harmonized group morality. Owing to an over-emphasis upon constitutional processes,
Ambedkar’s model failed to deliver a well-rounded focus upon individual dharma.
Yet the core of dharma was not totally lost upon Ambedkar. While he criticized the
ritualistic and obligatory aspects of dharma, he acknowledged its moral implication in the
genuineness of kinship. He beseeched the masses to embody a consciousness of kind – a social
connection that does not manifest merely through the blind passing of rituals and customs. He
called for commonality over similarity.24
A society based on consensual understanding of
dharma invariably establishes channels of common purpose and shared understanding. In such a
society, enforcement gets replaced by endorsement; compliance gets replaced by commitment;
and human beings naturally establish an equitable and just social order.
Universal brotherhood was Gandhi’s mission; an all encompassing fraternity was
Ambedkar’s vision. Both vision and mission come together in the integrated model advocated by
this essay, like two banks to the river of dharma.
5. Conclusion
Establishment of the ideal democratic Indian State presupposes two paradigm shifts: (1) a
reform in the interpretation of the -S 25
as an organic conception of society26
and that,
seen biologically, the feet are no less important – hence in no mean position – with regard to the
mouth, arms, or the thighs, and (2) removal of all those socio-economic barriers that allow one
social group to dominate over another and, hence, create an unjust disparity – that of the
privileged and the marginalized – between equally deserving individuals. Ambedkar’s movement
targeted both: while he personally overtly attacked the former, his socialist ideals and political
beliefs aimed for the latter. Thus, to the extent that Ambedkar’s attack on the caste system
created a starting point for establishing socio-economic equality in Indian society, his social
movement forms the basis for an ideal Indian democratic State.
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Notes
1 Plato postulates his tripartite theory of soul – split into rational, spirited, and appetitive – in his works Republic and
Phaedrus, while Aristotle’s somewhat similar three-party division – into rational, sensitive, and nutritive –
is described in his book De Anima. Interestingly, the Greek divisions seem to be conveniently correlated
with theory of school of Indian philosophy, which is summoned by various Indian
thinkers, including Gandhi, as a justification for or social segregation.
2 Reference here is to the Pythagorean doctrine of three classes of men – tradesmen, artists, and philosophers – that
he explained with an analogy of the Olympic Games.
3 See Ambedkar, Annihilation of Caste, pg. 287-289.
4 Ambedkar, Annihilation of Caste, pg. 219.
5 Ambedkar borrows this term from John Dewey. See Ambedkar, Annihilation of Caste, pg. 256.
6 Ambedkar, Annihilation of Caste, pg. 260.
7 Ambedkar, Annihilation of Caste, pg. 267.
8 Ambedkar, Annihilation of Caste, pg. 262.
9 A term originally coined by Benjamin Kidd. For a discussion of Ambedkar’s interpretation of it, see Ambedkar,
Annihilation of Caste, pg. 210.
10 Ambedkar, Annihilation of Caste, Preface to Second Edition, 1937.
11 For more about oceanic circle, see Pruthi and Chaturvedi, Social Philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi, pg. 277.
12 For more about consciousness of kind, see Ambedkar, Annihilation of Caste, pg. 242-244.
13 Pruthi and Chaturvedi, Social Philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi, pg. 7.
14 For Ambedkar’s argument on role-models, see Ambedkar, Annihilation of Caste, pg. 293. And for Gandhi’s thesis
on the same, see Pruthi and Chaturvedi, Social Philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi, pg. 74.
15 Pruthi and Chaturvedi, Social Philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi, pg. 187.
16 Jadhav, “Neglected Economic Thought of Babasaheb Ambedkar,” pg. 982.
17 Rajasekhariah and Jayaraj, “Political Philosophy of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar,” pg. 365.
18 Pruthi and Chaturvedi, Social Philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi, pg. 187.
19 Pruthi and Chaturvedi, Social Philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi, pg. 206.
20 The flaw in practicability of Ambedkar’s political vision was apparent from his defeat in the general elections of
India held in 1951. See Gehlot, “Dr. Ambedkar, Mahatma Gandhi, and Dalit Movement,” pg. 385.
21 Sirnate, Vasundhara. “Building a Culture of Tolerance.” The Hindu, Bangalore ed., op-ed page. April 10, 2014.
22 The implication here is to endorse Tagore’s educational theory and model. For a detailed discussion, see Cenkner,
The Hindu Personality in Education, pg. 43-69.
ANNIHILATION OF CASTE IS THE BASIS FOR INDIAN DEMOCRACY | Page 9
23
Derived from Nani Palkhivala’s quote – “Dharma lives in the hearts of public men; when it dies, no constitution,
no law, no amendment can save it.” – quoted in Sorabjee, Soli J. “Palkhivala and the Constitution of India”
in Nani Palkhivala: A Role Model, ed. Nilendra Kumar, 3rd edition, 46-60. Delhi: Universal Law
Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd., 2009.
24 Ambedkar, Annihilation of Caste, pg. 242-244.
25 Hymn [X, 90] of the , which postulates emanation of various castes from the body of the divine
: hmins having emanated from the mouth, from the arms, from the thighs, and
from the feet.
26 See Jaiswal, “Caste, Gender and Ideology in the Making of India,” pg. 7.
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