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A review by chrysemys
Annhilation of Caste with Reply to Mahatma Gandhi by B.R. Ambedkar
3.0
A classic work, in the same category as The Communist Manifesto.
Annihilation of Caste is a product of its time, that is the 1930s. Before the trauma of decolonization/partition. Before significant social progress in other parts of the world. And it was written to be a (very long) speech. As a result of its vintage and its format (i.e. not a scholarly article) a certain rhetorical weakness is to be expected.
I agree with Ambedkar on a lot the points he makes in his criticism of the caste system but I also find myself disagreeing with--or finding weak or irrelevant--many of his arguments. (Don't misinterpret, I wholeheartedly agree that caste=terrible.) I also am not the intended audience so I was unable to evaluate all references to Hindu scripture. There were a lot--it was like wandering about on an unknown planet at times.
I did think Ambedkar's reasoning was much better than Gandhi's, though, for what it's worth. But in this book, Ambedkar gets the last word, so.
Would be useful to read a more modern scholar's take on this topic
Annihilation of Caste is a product of its time, that is the 1930s. Before the trauma of decolonization/partition. Before significant social progress in other parts of the world. And it was written to be a (very long) speech. As a result of its vintage and its format (i.e. not a scholarly article) a certain rhetorical weakness is to be expected.
I agree with Ambedkar on a lot the points he makes in his criticism of the caste system but I also find myself disagreeing with--or finding weak or irrelevant--many of his arguments. (Don't misinterpret, I wholeheartedly agree that caste=terrible.) I also am not the intended audience so I was unable to evaluate all references to Hindu scripture. There were a lot--it was like wandering about on an unknown planet at times.
I did think Ambedkar's reasoning was much better than Gandhi's, though, for what it's worth. But in this book, Ambedkar gets the last word, so.
Would be useful to read a more modern scholar's take on this topic