This text summarizes a
speech prepared by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar (1891-1956) for the 1936 annual
conference of the Jat-Pat-Todak Mandal. A prominent Indian scholar, reformer,
and the principal architect of the Indian Constitution, Dr. Ambedkar was
renowned for powerful works like Annihilation of Caste and his
tireless advocacy for Dalit rights.
In his speech, Ambedkar's
first major point is that the Caste System creates a "division of
labourers," which is fundamentally different from a "division of
labour." He argues it is not merely an organization of work but a graded
hierarchy of the workers themselves, ranking some groups as superior
while inherently degrading those assigned lower-status roles.
Furthermore, this division is not based on natural aptitude or
personal choice. While social efficiency requires individuals to be free to
develop their skills and choose their own careers, the Caste System actively
violates this. It assigns tasks based on the social status of one's
parents (heredity) rather than individual capacity, rooting this
structure in the dogma of predestination.
This rigid stratification of
occupations is also described as economically harmful.
Ambedkar notes that industry is not static and often undergoes
rapid, abrupt changes. To adapt and earn a livelihood, individuals must have
the freedom to change their occupation. The Caste System,
however, restricts this freedom, preventing Hindus from taking new
jobs not assigned to them by birth. He identifies this inflexibility as a
direct cause of the significant unemployment seen across the
country.
Ultimately, the speech
argues that the system is economically destructive because it annihilates
efficiency. Many essential occupations are degraded by the
Hindu religion, which creates a deep stigma and causes workers
to feel aversion toward their forced jobs. This degradation
results in a constant desire to escape the work, which has a ruining effect on those forced to perform it. Ambedkar
concludes by asking how efficiency can possibly exist when
individuals' "minds and hearts are not truly invested in their work."
He defines caste as a harmful institution precisely because it demands
the subordination of man’s natural powers and inclinations to
the strict demands of social rules.
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