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Babasaheb Dr. B.R. Ambedkar (14th April 1891 - 6th December 1956) DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR WRITINGS AND SPEECHES Volume No. : 1 Compiled by Vasant Moon Dr. Ambedkar Foundation Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment Govt. of India Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar : Writings and Speeches Volume No. : 1 First Edition: Education Department, Govt. of Maharashtra: 14 April, 1979 First Re-Printed by Dr. Ambedkar Foundation: Jan, 2014 Second Re- Printed by Dr. Ambedkar Foundation: August, 2019 ISBN: 978-93-5109-172-1 Price: Rs. Cover Design: Debendra Prasad Majhi Monogram used on the Cover page is taken from Babasaheb Dr. Ambedkar’s Letterhead. © Courtesy: Secretary Education Department Government of Maharashtra. ISBN (Set): 978-93-5109-171-4 Price: One Set of 1 to 17 Volumes (20 Books): Rs. Publisher: Dr. Ambedkar Foundation Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Govt. of India, 15, Janpath, New Delhi – 110 001 Phone: 011-23320588, 23320571 Public Relation Officer Mo. 85880-38789 Email: [email protected] Website: http://drambedkarwritings.gov.in The Education Department, Government of Maharashtra, Bombay-400032. For Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Source Material Publication Committee Printer: M/s Aravali Printers & Publishers Pvt. Ltd., W-30, Okhala Phase – 2, New Delhi – 110020 Collected Works of Babasaheb Dr. Ambedkar (CWBA) Counselling and Collaboration Dr. Thaawarchand Gehlot Minister for Social Justice & Empowerment, Govt. of India and Chairperson, Dr. Ambedkar Foundation Shri Ramdas Athawale Minister of State for Social Justice & Empowerment, Govt. of India Shri Krishan Pal Gurjar Minister of State for Social Justice & Empowerment, Govt. of India Shri Rattan Lal Kataria Minister of State for Social Justice & Empowerment, Govt. of India Ms. Nilam Sawhney Secretary Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Govt. of India Shri Surendra Singh Joint Secretary & Member Secretary, DAF Shri Debendra Prasad Majhi Director Dr. Ambedkar Foundation Dr. Brijesh Kumar Co-ordinator (CWBA) Dr. Ambedkar Foundation PREFACE It is a matter of great happiness that Dr. Ambedkar Foundation, on demand of the readers, is getting the Collected Works of Babasaheb Ambedkar (CWBA) English Volumes on venerable Dr. Ambedkar’s contributions re-printing for wider circulation. Dr. Ambedkar not only dedicated his life for ameliorating the conditions of deprived sections of the society but also his views on inclusiveness and Samajik Samrasta continue inspiring national endeavour. Dr. Ambedkar Foundation is deeply indebted to Smt. Rashmi Chowdhary, the then Member Secretary and Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment for her personal efforts, constant monitoring for setting the stage and giving a shape of this re-printing version of publication, under the guidance of the Chairman, Dr. Ambedkar Foundation and the Hon’ble Minister for Social Justice & Empowerment, Government of India. It is hoped that the Volumes on Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s contributions will continue to be a source of inspirations for the readers. (Debendra Prasad Majhi) Director New Delhi Dr. Ambedkar Foundation An ideal society should be mobile, should be full of channels for conveying a change taking place in one part to other parts. In an ideal society there should be many interests consciously communicated and shared. There should be varied and free points of contact with other modes of association. In other words there should be social endosmosis. This is fraternity, which is only another name for democracy. Democracy is not merely a form of Government. It is primarily a mode of associated living, of conjoint communicated experience. It is essentially an attitude of respect and reverence towards fellowmen. - Dr. B. R. Ambedkar in ‘Annihilation of Caste’ CONTENTS MESSAGE v PREFACE vii PAGE PART I ON CASTE 1 CASTES IN INDIA .. .. .. 3 2 ANNIHILATION OF CASTE .. .. .. 23 PART II ON LINGUISTIC STATES 3 MAHARASHTRA AS A LINGUISTIC PROVINCE .. 99 4 NEED FOR CHECKS AND BALANCES .. .. 129 5 THOUGHTS ON LINGUISTIC STATES .. .. 137 PART III ON HERO AND HERO-WORSHIP 6 RANADE, GANDHI AND JINNAH .. .. 205 PART IV ON CONSTITUTIONAL REFORMS 7 EVIDENCE BEFORE THE SOUTHBOROUGH COMMITTEE .. 243 8 FEDERATION VERSUS FREEDOM .. 279 9 COMMUNAL DEADLOCK AND A WAY TO SOLVE IT .. 355 10 STATES AND MINORITIES .. .. .. 381 PART V ON ECONOMIC PROBLEMS 11 SMALL HOLDINGS IN INDIA .. .. .. 453 12 MR. RUSSELL AND THE RECONSTRUCTION OF SOCIETY 481 INDEX .. .. .. 493 PART I ON CASTE 1 CASTES IN INDIA Their Mechanism, Genesis and Development Paper read before the Anthropology Seminar of Dr. A. A. Goldenweizer at The Columbia University, New York, U.S.A. on 9th May 1916 From : Indian Antiquary, May 1917, Vol. XLI CASTES IN INDIA Many of us, I dare say, have witnessed local, national or international expositions of material objects that make up the sum total of human civilization. But few can entertain the idea of there being such a thing as an exposition of human institutions. Exhibition of human institutions is a strange idea ; some might call it the wildest of ideas. But as students of Ethnology I hope you will not be hard on this innovation, for it is not so, and to you at least it should not be strange. You all have visited, I believe, some historic place like the ruins of Pompeii, and listened with curiosity to the history of the remains as it flowed from the glib tongue of the guide. In my opinion a student of Ethnology, in one sense at least, is much like the guide. Like his prototype, he holds up (perhaps with more seriousness and desire of self-instruction) the social institutions to view, with all the objectiveness humanly possible, and inquires into their origin and function. Most of our fellow students in this Seminar, which concerns itself with primitive versus modern society, have ably acquitted themselves along these lines by giving lucid expositions of the various institutions, modern or primitive, in which they are interested. It is my turn now, this evening, to entertain you, as best I can, with a paper on “Castes in India : Their mechanism, genesis and development” I need hardly remind you of the complexity of the subject I intend to handle. Subtler minds and abler pens than mine have been brought to the task of unravelling the mysteries of Caste ; but unfortunately it still remains in the domain of the “unexplained”, not to say of the “un-understood” I am quite alive to the complex intricacies of a hoary institution like Caste, but I am not so pessimistic as to relegate it to the region of the unknowable, for I believe it can be known. The caste problem is a vast one, both theoretically and practically. Practically, it is an institution that portends tremendous consequences. It is a local problem, but one capable of much wider mischief, 6 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES for “as long as caste in India does exist, Hindus will hardly intermarry or have any social intercourse with outsiders ; and if Hindus migrate to other regions on earth, Indian caste would become a world problem.”1 Theoretically, it has defied a great many scholars who have taken upon themselves, as a labour of love, to dig into its origin. Such being the case, I cannot treat the problem in its entirety. Time, space and acumen, I am afraid, would all fail me, if I attempted to do otherwise than limit myself to a phase of it, namely, the genesis, mechanism and spread of the caste system. I will strictly observe this rule, and will dwell on extraneous matters only when it is necessary to clarify or support a point in my thesis. To proceed with the subject. According to well-known ethnologists, the population of India is a mixture of Aryans, Dravidians, Mongolians and Scythians. All these stocks of people came into India from various directions and with various cultures, centuries ago, when they were in a tribal state. They all in turn elbowed their entry into the country by fighting with their predecessors, and after a stomachful of it settled down as peaceful neighbours. Through constant contact and mutual intercourse they evolved a common culture that superseded their distinctive cultures. It may be granted that there has not been a thorough amalgamation of the various stocks that make up the peoples of India, and to a traveller from within the boundaries of India the East presents a marked contrast in physique and even in colour to the West, as does the South to the North. But amalgamation can never be the sole criterion of homogeneity as predicated of any people. Ethnically all people are heterogeneous. It is the unity of culture that is the basis of homogeneity. Taking this for granted, I venture to say that there is no country that can rival the Indian Peninsula with respect to the unity of its culture. It has not only a geographic unity, but it has over and above all a deeper and a much more fundamental unity—the indubitable cultural unity that covers the land from end to end. But it is because of this homogeneity that Caste becomes a problem so difficult to be explained. If the Hindu Society were a mere federation of mutually exclusive units, the matter would be simple enough. But Caste is a parcelling of an already homogeneous unit, and the explanation of the genesis of Caste is the explanation of this process of parcelling. Before launching into our field of enquiry, it is better to advise ourselves regarding the nature of a caste I will therefore draw upon a few of the best students of caste for their definitions of it: (1) Mr. Senart, a French authority, defines a caste as “a close corporation, in theory at any rate rigorously hereditary : equipped with a certain traditional and independent organisation, including a chief and a council, meeting on occasion in assemblies of more or less plenary 1.

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