Annihilation of Caste by Br Ambedkar

Annihilation of Caste by Br Ambedkar

B.R. Ambedkar's Annihilation of Caste is one of the most important, yet neglected, works of political writing from India. Written in 1936, it is an audacious denunciation of Hinduism and its caste system. Ambedkar - a figure like W.E.B. Du Bois - offers a scholarly critique of Hindu scriptures, scriptures that sanction a rigidly hierarchical and iniquitous social system. The world's best-known Hindu, Mahatma Gandhi, responded publicly to the provocation.

Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar was an Indian jurist, politician, philosopher, anthropologist, historian, orator, economist, and editor who was also known as Babasaheb. He was also the Chairperson of the Indian Constitution Drafting Committee. Born from a impoverished Mahar (Untouchable caste) family, Ambedkar devoted his entire life battling against social inequality, the Hindu caste system, and the Chaturvarna system (the categorization of Hindu society into four varnas). He became a Buddhist, and is credited with igniting the conversion of hundreds of thousands of untouchables to Theravada Buddhism. In 1990, India's highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna, was bestowed on Ambedkar posthumously.

Ambedkar became one of India's first outcasts to receive a college degree after overcoming severe social and financial difficulties. Ambedkar earned a reputation as a scholar and practiced law for a few years after gaining law degrees and numerous doctorates for his study and research in law, economics, and political science from Columbia University and the London School of Economics. He later campaigned by publishing journals promoting political rights and social freedom for India's so-called untouchables. Some Indian Buddhists consider him a Bodhisattva, despite the fact that he never claimed to be one.