Annihilation of Caste

Content Warning: This text contains intense criticisms of religious beliefs, specifically those in Hinduism. It also references social discrimination and systemic oppression.

B. R. Ambedkar is widely considered to be the most influential Indian individual to live since India’s independence, only approached or surpassed by Gandhi ("Quit India," Hind Swaraj) in the minds of some. As the Prologue of the text makes clear, Annihilation of Caste was meant to be delivered as a speech, though it was undelivered on account of the inviting party’s reticence to have him deliver such an incendiary speech. Ambedkar, who had been moving toward a more potent form of activism, refused to alter the speech and simply published the text as a book. Over the years, Ambedkar would grow more and more outspoken on behalf of the cause of tearing down and eliminating the caste system, which he viewed as harmful to Indians and Indian society. Famously, he ends the speech with a blatant admission that he has decided to abandon the religion of Hinduism and simply observe and assist the cause from afar.

A decorated scholar, he would eventually go on to be involved heavily in politics and the establishment of India as a free state, shaping many of its constitutional principles. His influence is seen in its budding form here in this text. With its publication, Ambedkar’s work would be immediately impactful and influential, garnering attention with a wide audience and provoking a response from Gandhi himself. Though affirming of Ambedkar’s right to express himself in such a way, Gandhi was highly critical of Ambedkar’s project and interpretation of Hinduism and the caste system as a whole. In the years that would follow the infamous publication, Ambedkar would go on to serve as a top advisor and consultant in India’s movement of independence and the establishment of the government and governing constitution, which currently stand in India to this day.