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4.66 AVERAGE
4.66 AVERAGE
Like the points re: rules vs. principles, the section on eugenics was uncomfortable, and curious as to how he landed on the specific slogan of liberty, fraternity, and equality.
Firstly this book needs to be read from the mindset of 1930s life and not compared with current day scenario.
I had already read this book twice this month, mainly because it helped me shape my thoughts against caste and religion. Nowadays, we could see a lot of youngsters arguing against reservation, but have no strong ideas against caste, which is forgotten altogether. This speech explains what caste really is and how deeply it is in the minds of Hindu people.
This is an undelivered speech of Ambedkar and he explains in detail why it is so. It directly hits at Hinduism, it's Shastras and Vedas and doesn't mellow down at any point to please people. Right from pointing that Brahminism is the root for slavery to claiming Hinduism as the downfall for India, he didn't let any leaf unturned.
His reply to Gandhi's accusation is one of the best parts for me.
Major takeaways:
1. Religious reform precedes political reform.
2. Hindus let the savages remain the same to protect their caste.
3. Hinduism is not a missionary religion as they can't find a caste to place the converts.
4. Caste is not a mere division of labour.
5. The merging of sub castes will only increase the depth of this system.
6. The untouchables of Madras have no connect to the untouchables of Kashmir.
7. A religious leader has no wish to be a social reformist.
8. Religious scriptures created strong values which made us believe in caste division involuntarily.
9. Only way to abolish caste is Inter-caste-marriage and reorganisation of the Hindu value system.
10. Saints don't believe all men are equal, they only say all men are equal in the eyes of God.
A hard read, but also a must read. To be read at regular intervals.
I had already read this book twice this month, mainly because it helped me shape my thoughts against caste and religion. Nowadays, we could see a lot of youngsters arguing against reservation, but have no strong ideas against caste, which is forgotten altogether. This speech explains what caste really is and how deeply it is in the minds of Hindu people.
This is an undelivered speech of Ambedkar and he explains in detail why it is so. It directly hits at Hinduism, it's Shastras and Vedas and doesn't mellow down at any point to please people. Right from pointing that Brahminism is the root for slavery to claiming Hinduism as the downfall for India, he didn't let any leaf unturned.
His reply to Gandhi's accusation is one of the best parts for me.
Major takeaways:
1. Religious reform precedes political reform.
2. Hindus let the savages remain the same to protect their caste.
3. Hinduism is not a missionary religion as they can't find a caste to place the converts.
4. Caste is not a mere division of labour.
5. The merging of sub castes will only increase the depth of this system.
6. The untouchables of Madras have no connect to the untouchables of Kashmir.
7. A religious leader has no wish to be a social reformist.
8. Religious scriptures created strong values which made us believe in caste division involuntarily.
9. Only way to abolish caste is Inter-caste-marriage and reorganisation of the Hindu value system.
10. Saints don't believe all men are equal, they only say all men are equal in the eyes of God.
A hard read, but also a must read. To be read at regular intervals.
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
informative
medium-paced
5 stars is not enough
the things I would do to this book if it were a person
the things I would do to this book if it were a person
In awe of the originality and clarity of thought presented by Ambedkar.
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
No rating for seminal pieces of historical value
informative
fast-paced
The book was on fire.
Dr. B. R. Ambedkar is unquestionably one of the greatest thinkers of the human species. The idea of having all these thoughts at an age were 99 percentage of people were fundamentalists, is the living proof of his genius.
The man questioned and changed my entire perspective of religion, caste and life in general.
I especially loved the appendix portions where there was a dialogue between Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Ambedkar. That portion was truly and irrevocably one of the best exchange of ideas I have ever read.
I understood and acknowledge that my view on the world is totally narrow and there is always more to learn.
Jai Bhim.
P.S : I sincerely hope that no one brands Ambedkar as a leader of a particular caste and that everyone read him without neglection.
Dr. B. R. Ambedkar is unquestionably one of the greatest thinkers of the human species. The idea of having all these thoughts at an age were 99 percentage of people were fundamentalists, is the living proof of his genius.
The man questioned and changed my entire perspective of religion, caste and life in general.
I especially loved the appendix portions where there was a dialogue between Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Ambedkar. That portion was truly and irrevocably one of the best exchange of ideas I have ever read.
I understood and acknowledge that my view on the world is totally narrow and there is always more to learn.
Jai Bhim.
P.S : I sincerely hope that no one brands Ambedkar as a leader of a particular caste and that everyone read him without neglection.
This work is a study in rational, persuasive writing. It would be best appreciated by Indians with Marxist sympathies.
I was honestly unable to fully appreciate the scholarship of AoC. The prolific footnotes were occasionally helpful in defining terms, but for someone who wasn't reared in this intellectual tradition, the distinctions between caste and varna, or nuances in the interpretation of shastras, for example, were lost on me. That said, the 200-page introduction provided by Arundhati Roy provides some much-needed historical context for beginning to understand AoC. I'd like to revisit this text after reading John Dewey (a teacher and mentor of Ambedkar) and some Vedic literature.
I was honestly unable to fully appreciate the scholarship of AoC. The prolific footnotes were occasionally helpful in defining terms, but for someone who wasn't reared in this intellectual tradition, the distinctions between caste and varna, or nuances in the interpretation of shastras, for example, were lost on me. That said, the 200-page introduction provided by Arundhati Roy provides some much-needed historical context for beginning to understand AoC. I'd like to revisit this text after reading John Dewey (a teacher and mentor of Ambedkar) and some Vedic literature.