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The Doctor and the Saint by Arundhati Roy

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The Doctor and the Saint is a nonfiction essay, a theoretical debate between two towering figures in Indian history: 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.

Roy challenges the sanitized image of Gandhi often taught in mainstream narratives, especially regarding his views and actions on caste. She contrasts this with Ambedkar’s radical anti-caste politics, his lived experience as a Dalit, and his demand for dignity and structural change. The book not only examines their ideological rift but also asks hard questions about how we remember history, who gets to tell it, and what justice really looks like.

In the book, Arundhati Roy writes:

For a writer to have to use terms like ‘Untouchable,’ ‘Scheduled Caste,’ ‘Backward Class,’ and ‘Other Backward Classes’ to describe fellow human beings is like living in a chamber of horrors.

That line lands hard.
And no, it’s not dramatic. It’s just the truth.

It hits especially hard when you come from

  •  a family that has to spend money to apply for an OBC certificate so they can apply for a job or take an exam. And even then, they rarely get selected. And even if they do, there’s no money to pay the bribes “required” to access those opportunities. Some of us aren’t willing to play that game.
  •  a community made up of people constantly identified by labels—SC, ST, OBC.
  •  a place that’s been burning in violence for over two years, and still not a single word from the Prime Minister. No visit. Not even acknowledgment. (Did he?)
  •  a state that’s now underwater, literally flooded—and yet, you can’t help but wonder if anyone in power really notices or cares.

Roy names what so many try to silence. And if you’ve lived even a piece of this reality, you know it’s not an overstatement. It’s survival.

Yeah, that and anyway, I think this will be an interesting read for 

  • Those interested in Indian history, social justice, or decolonial thinking.
  • Readers who want to understand caste beyond surface-level discussions.
  • Anyone ready to rethink what they were taught about Gandhi.
🤍🤍🤍

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