The Doctor and the Saint is a nonfiction essay that presents a theoretical debate between B.R. Ambedkar and M.K. Gandhi. The "Doctor" refers to Ambedkar, jurist, economist, and the chief architect of India’s Constitution, while the "Saint" is Gandhi, the internationally revered leader of India’s independence movement. The essay was published as the introduction to B.R. Ambedkar's Annihilation of Caste, a text of a speech that was never delivered.
Gandhi admirers beware! The book reveals some surprising, lesser-known facts about him. For one, he was consistently inconsistent. Who'd've thought!
Caste system. Can someone please explain?
AR: "What we call the caste system today is known in Hinduism's founding texts as 'varnashrama dharma' or 'chaturvarna', the system of four varnas. The approximately four thousand endogamous castes and subcastes (jatis) in Hindu society, each with its own specified hereditary occupation, are divided into four varnas- Brahmins (priests), Kshatriyas (soldiers), Vaishyas (traders), and Shudras (servants). Outside of these varnas are the avarna castes, the Ati-Shudras, subhumans, arranged in hierarchies of their own- the Untouchables, the Unseeables, the Unapproachables- whose presence, whose touch, whose very shadow is considered to be polluting by privileged caste Hindus."
I'm sorry, what? The Untouchables, the Unseeables, the Unapproachables? What a load of nonsense!
AR: Though Gandhi was an admirer of the caste system, he believed that there should be no hierarchy between castes; that all castes should be considered equal, and that the avarna castes, the Ati-Shudras, should be brought into the varna system. Ambedkar's response to this was that "the outcaste is a by-product of the caste system. There will be outcasts as long as there are castes. Nothing can emancipate the outcaste except the destruction of the caste system."
Makes perfect sense to me. Why didn't you agree, Gandhi?
Fun Fact: The tribal-dominated states in India's Northeast-Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Meghalaya, Nagaland, and Assam- have, since "Independence," witnessed decades of insurgency, militarization, and bloodshed. Through all this, Marwari and Bania traders have settled there, kept a low profile, and consolidated their business. They now control almost all the economic activity in the region.
You know, I was out one day in the bazaar with my mother, and I was just telling her that the shops, vendors, offices, etc., we could see, more than 90% were non-Manipuris, especially in the busy gullies/streets. They run the markets and what else?
AR: In 1931, when Ambedkar met Gandhi for the first time, Gandhi questioned him about his sharp criticism of the Congress (which, it was assumed, was tantamount to criticising the struggle for the homeland). "Gandhiji, I have no homeland" was Ambedkar's famous reply. 'No Untouchable worth the name will be proud of this land.'
Still makes sense. I mean, if your land/people treat you horribly, how can you be proud of that land?
You might have heard of that story when Gandhi was thrown out of a "Whites only" first-class coach of a train. But do you know the other half of the story? Gandhi was not offended by racial segregation. He was offended that Indians were being treated on a par with native Black Africans. His argument was that passenger Indians came to Natal as British subjects and were entitled to equal treatment on the basis of Queen Victoria's 1858 proclamation, which asserted the equality of all imperial subjects.
Now you know. There's more. Give it a read, if you like.
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