Annihilation of Caste

Annihilation of Caste is an undelivered speech written in 1936 by B. R.

Annihilation of Caste
Ambedkar who fought against the country's practice of untouchability.[1] It was
later self-published by the author.

Contents
Background
Gandhi's support
Later editions and translations
See also
References
External links Cover of the first edition of
Annihilation of Caste
Author B. R. Ambedkar
Background Country India
In a letter dated 12 December 1935, the secretary of the Jat-Pat Todak Mandal Publication date 1936
(Society for the Abolition of Caste system), an anti-caste Hindu reformist group
ISBN 978-8189059637
organisation based in Lahore, invited B. R. Ambedkar to deliver a speech on the
caste system in India at their annual conference in 1936.[2] Ambedkar wrote the speech as an essay under the title "Annihilation
of Caste" and sent in advance to the organisers in Lahore for printing and distribution.[1] The organisers found some of the
content to be objectionable towards the orthodox Hindu religion, so intemperate in the idiom and vocabulary used, and so
incendiary in promoting conversion away from Hinduism, that they sought the deletion of large sections of the more controversial
content endangering Brahmanical interests.[2] They wrote to Ambedkar seeking the removal of sections which they found, in
their words, "unbearable.".[2] Ambedker declared in response that he "would not change a comma" of his text. After much
deliberation, the committee of organizers decided to cancel their annual conference in its entirety, because they feared violence by
orthodox Hindus at the venue if they held the event after withdrawing the invitation to him.[2] Ambedkar subsequently published
1500 copies of the speech as a book on 15 May 1936 at his own expense as Jat-Pat Todak Mandal failed to fulfill their word.[3][4]

In the essay, Ambedkar criticised the Hindu religion, its caste system and its religious texts which are male dominant and
spreading hatred and supression of female interests.[2] He argued that inter-caste dining and inter-caste marriage is not sufficient
to annihilate the caste system, but that "the real method of breaking up the Caste System was... to destroy the religious notions
upon which caste is founded"[5]

Gandhi's support
In July 1936, Mahatma Gandhi wrote articles under the title "A Vindication Of Caste" in his weekly journal (Harijans ) in which
he commented on Ambedkar's address:[6]

The readers will recall the fact that Dr. Ambedkar was to have presided last May at the annual conference of the
Jat-Pat-Todak Mandal of Lahore. But the conference itself was cancelled because Dr. Ambedkar's address was
found by the Reception Committee to be unacceptable. How far a Reception Committee is justified in rejecting a
 President of its choice because of his address that may be objectionable to it is open to question. The Committee
knew Dr. Ambedkar's views on caste and the Hindu scriptures. They knew also that he had in unequivocal terms
decided to give up Hinduism. Nothing less than the address that Dr. Ambedkar had prepared was to be expected
from him. The committee appears to have deprived the public of an opportunity of listening to the original views
of a man, who has carved out for himself a unique position in society. Whatever label he wears in future, Dr.
Ambedkar is not the man to allow himself to be forgotten.

Later editions and translations

In the second edition of his book, Ambedkar replied to Gandhi's comments. This edition was published in 1937 as Annihilation of
Caste: With a Reply to Mahatma Gandhi.[7][8] He published a third edition in 1944; it included another essay, "Castes in India:
Their Mechanism, Genesis and Development", which had been presented at a seminar in New York in 1916.[8]

In 2014, an annotated edition was released by Navayana, a New Delhi-based publishing house, with an introduction by Arundhati
Roy titled "The Doctor and the Saint".[9][10]

Annihilation of Caste was translated into Tamil with the help of Periyar and published in 1937. Segments were continuously
published in the rationalist Tamil magazine Kudi Arasu.

See also
Who Were the Shudras?
Dalit

References
1. Arundhati Roy. "The Doctor and the Saint" (http://caravanmagazine.in/reportage/doctor-and-saint).
caravanmagazine.in. Retrieved 6 April 2014.
2. "Annihilating caste" (http://www.frontline.in/static/html/fl2815/stories/20110729281509500.htm). Frontline. 16 July
2011. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
3. Deepak Mahadeo Rao Wankhede (2009). Geographical Thought of Doctor B.R. Ambedkar (https://books.google.
com/books?id=1QT2oec2u3oC&pg=PA6). Gautam Book Center. pp. 6–. ISBN 978-81-87733-88-1.
4. "We Need Ambedkar--Now, Urgently..." (http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?289691) Outlook. The Outlook
Group. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
5. Timothy Fitzgerald. The Ideology of Religious Studies (https://books.google.com/books?id=R7A1f6Evy84C&pg=P
A124). Oxford University Press. p. 124. ISBN 978-0195167696.
6. "A Vindication Of Caste By Mahatma Gandhi" (http://ccnmtl.columbia.edu/projects/mmt/ambedkar/web/appendix_
1.html). Columbia University. Harijan. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
7. Fitzgerald, Timothy (16 December 1999). The Ideology of Religious Studies (https://books.google.com/books?id=
R7A1f6Evy84C&pg=PA124). Oxford University Press. pp. 124–. ISBN 978-0-19-534715-9.
8. B. R. Ambedkar. "The Annihilation of Caste" (http://ccnmtl.columbia.edu/projects/mmt/ambedkar/web/index.html).
Columbia University. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
9. "The Doctor and the Saint" (http://www.thehindu.com/books/books-authors/the-doctor-and-the-saint/article57403
69.ece). The Hindu. 1 March 2014. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
10. Anand Teltumbde. "An Ambedkar for our times" (http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/an-ambedkar-f
or-our-times/article5860715.ece). The Hindu. Retrieved 5 April 2014.

External links
 The Annihilation of Caste (http://www.ambedkar.org/ambcd/02.Annihilation%20of%20Caste.htm)

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Annihilation_of_Caste&oldid=897686723"

This page was last edited on 18 May 2019, at 17:53 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using
this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia
Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.