Ambedkar on Caste and Untouchability

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Ambedkar was born into the "untouchable" caste of Mahars in the Indian state of Maharashtra. At the time, untouchables suffered under legal restrictions that made the Jim Crow laws of the United States look mild by comparison. They traditionally performed jobs considered "unclean" by Hindu theology: a religious and economic catch-22 in which they were ritually unclean because of the work they did and could only do certain types of work because they were ritually unclean. They were not allowed to enter Hindu temples-in some regions they couldn't even walk on the road in front of a temple. In the South Idian state of Travancore, untouchables had to carry a bell that announced their presence so higher caste Hindus would not be defiled by their proximity. Like African-American reformer Frederick Douglas, Ambedkar became a spokesman for an oppressed people. Ambedkar devoted himself to improving the lives of untouchables. He soon found himself in conflict with Gandhi, who had declared himself an untouchable by choice.. Ambedkar recognized that it was easier to change laws than to change people's hearts and heads. In 1935, after an unsuccessful five-year campaign to gain the right to enter Hindu temples, Ambedkar decided if you can't beat them, leave them. The present book shed a light on ambedkar's beliefs and work related to caste, untouchables and Untouchability. The book will be useful for understanding caste and untouchability issues. A must read book for all interested on the subject.

Himanshu Mishra is Assistant Professor, Department of Socology, B.R. Degree College, Dehri-on-Sone, a unit of Guhati University. He has authored several academic papers published in national and international journals. He has also attended many national and international seminars.

Caste determines social hierarchy and restricts people's access to fundamental human rights. It reduces social, political and economic opportunities where the practice is prevalent in South Asian countries and the global diaspora. Caste affects a fifth of the world's population by affording social privileges to some and marginalising others. India is having a hierarchical caste system based society not only among Hindus but also among other castes also. Earlier, the people in the lower hierarchies are not accessible to all the resources and are exploited by upper hierarchies as well, they were victims of untouchability practices. Besides, there were untouchable castes also who were involved in menial jobs such as manual scavengers, Agricultural labourers, skinners of animal hides and so on. There was the concept of Yajmani System, that is little share of produce was given to the non-touchable people. With time, Change came in the social behaviour of untouchable people due to factors like commercialisation of Agriculture, Emergence of contractual relations and increased employment in factories, Mandis, Army and so on.

In pre-Independence times, leaders like Jyoti Rao Bapule started. Satya Shodak Samaj and also written a book called Gulamgiri creating awareness in the minds of untouchable people. There were also movements to make the lower caste people to enter the temples such as Guruvayur Satyagraha. Gandhiji also played his part in the anticaste movements by integrating the issue of untouchability into the national movement. Concepts like Adi Hindu and Namshudras began to evolve. Ambedkar was born into the "untouchable" caste of Mahars in the Indian state of Maharashtra. At the time, untouchables suffered under legal restrictions that made the Jim Crow laws of the United States look mild by comparison. They traditionally performed jobs considered "unclean" by Hindu theology: a religious and economic catch-22 in which they were ritually unclean because of the work they did and could only do certain types of work because they were ritually unclean. They were not allowed to enter Hindu temples-in some regions they couldn't even walk on the road in front of a temple. In the South Indian state of Travancore, untouchables had to carry a bell that announced their presence so higher caste Hindus would not be defiled by their proximity. Ambedkar devoted himself to improving the lives of untouchables. He soon found himself in conflict with Gandhi, who had declared himself an untouchable by choice... Ambedkar recognized that it was easier to change laws than to change people's hearts and heads. In 1935, after an unsuccessful five-year campaign to gain the right to enter Hindu temples, Ambedkar decided if you can't beat them, leave them. He declared "I was born a Hindu, but I will not die a Hindu" He urged untouchables to "change your religion": reject Hinduism and convert to a religion that doesn't recognize caste or untouchabliity. Caste consciousness still continues, and is much debated amongst Hindu scholars and activists.

The present book shed a light on ambedkar's beliefs and work related to caste, untouchables and Untouchability. The book will be useful for understanding caste and untouchability issues. A must read book for all interested on the subject.

**Contents and Sample Pages**