Annihilation of caste
Annihilation of Caste is an undelivered speech written by B. R. Ambedkar in 1936. The speech was intended to be delivered at an anti-caste convention held in Lahore by Hindu reformers. However, upon reviewing the written speech, the conference organisers deemed it too controversial, quite lengthy and subsequently revoked Ambedkar's invitation to the conference. Ambedkar proceeded to self-publish the speech, which gained widespread popularity and prompted translations into multiple Indian languages. Since then this speech has been viewed as a manifesto for the abolition of caste system and for social emancipation.
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What Hacker News says
- There’s a difference between casteism and jātivada which is not easy to explain in a short comment. Ambedkar’s “ Annihilation of Caste” and A.M. Hocart’s works provide interesting insight on it.
- Great question. It will be any upper caste who are above Dalits. There is no one perpetrator here but all of them. The main point to note is that the caste hierarchy is sacred and will be enforced by endogamy (arranged marriages) and other occupational rules.
You will be shown your place very very quickly. Love marriages are quite deadly and parents killing their own children and the lower caste grooms are extremely common. You can search for "honour killings in India".
Please read "Annihilation of Caste" by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. Its around 50 pages of an undelivered speech, later published.
If you want to learn about caste, please make sure not to ask for explanations from an upper caste person. This is extremely important!!
Example of this enforcement: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-15997648
- I think everyone should go read Ambedkar’s Annihilation of Caste, particularly Brahmins. It’s important for people of privilege to read his work, in the same way that it’s important for white people in the US to read Malcolm X’s autobiography. It will probably make you uncomfortable, but personal growth is often uncomfortable.
The Indian Ministry of the Exterior has his work up for free [1], but I’d suggest the printed US edition of Annihilation of Caste with Arundhati Roy‘s introductory essay.
- If anyone is looking to understand more about the Gandhi phenomenon, I recently read (and highly recommend) Arundhati Roy's meticulously referenced introduction to "Annihilation of Caste". She does a terrific job of identifying the motivations of Gandhi and his supporters
https://www.amazon.com/Annihilation-Caste-Annotated-B-R-Ambe...
