What Path Salvation?
What Path Salvation?
.Dr.B.R.Ambedkar
I have clearly stated my views about Chaturvarna.
It is for you now to think whether Hinduism is
beneficial to you. The basic idea underlying religion is to create an atmosphere for the spiritual development of an individual. This being the situation, it is clear that you cannot develop your personality at all in Hinduism.
Society and the individual
Three factors are required for the upliftment of an individual, namely sympathy, equality and liberty. Can you say, in view of your own experiences, whether any of these factors exists in Hiduism?
Has sympathy ever been shown towards you by the caste-Hindus? On the contrary, they have always been cultivating feelings of hatred against you. What dreadful effects this hatred has produced are better known to those who have had occasions to go to courts or police stations.
So far as sympathy is concerned, it is non-existent. Wherever you go for justice, or to the police for help, does anyone of you believe that they look towards you with sympathy? You all must have had enough experience with the courts and the police. Courts will not do justice and police will never come to your rescue. Not only this. Hindus have no feeling of brotherhood for you. What are the reasons for this apathetic attitude and hostile treatment towards you? Foreigners got better treatment from Hindus even if they came as marauders and invaders. In my opinion there is only one reason and that is that they have no sympathy for you. This is especially true about the Untouchables living in the villages. None can say there is any feeling of brotherhood in the minds of Hindus for their co-religionists. And if it is so, what is the use of living in the midst of hatred? Hindus and untouchables can be likened to two opposing armies in warring camps. The Hindus do not have the slightest sympathy for you. As opposed to you, they have sympathy in abundance for the Moslems. They consider Moslems closer than you. Hindus and Moslems are helpful to each other in local boards, legislative councils and in business. Is there a single instance of such sympathetic consideration being shown toward you by the Hindus? Then what is the advantage in sticking to this religion?
Is there equality for you in Hinduism?
In fact this question should not be asked. Such a living example of inequality will not be found anywhere else in the world. Nowhere in the history of mankind can one notice inequality, which is more intense and pernicious than the practice of untouchability. Owing to disparity in the matter of social and economic status, people may not intermarry or inter-dine, for some reasons of personal likes and dislikes. This is understandable. Such instances are not uncommon. But is there a system anywhere on the surface of the earth, except perhaps among the Hindus, where a man is regarded as so low as not to be touched? Can anybody believe that there exists a human being whose mere touch pollutes water and Gods become unfit for worship merely because of his shadow falling on their idols? Is there any difference between the treatment meted out to the lepers and the Untouchables? Though the people have some aversion for a leper, they have at least some sympathy for him. But Hindus have not only no sympathy for you but nourish a deep-rooted hatred against you. You are worse than a leper in their eyes. Even today if a caste-Hindu hears the word from the mouth of a Mahar at the time of taking his breakfast, he would not touch the food. So filthy are considered your persons and the words uttered by you. Some people say that ‘untouchability’ is an ugly blot on the fair name of Hinduism. This statement, however, does not convey any sense at all. Hindus believe that there is nothing wrong with their religion. Majority of the Hindus believe that if there is anything wrong it is not with the Hindus or Hinduism, it is with the Untouchables who are dirty, ignorant and filthy . . and polluted. How have you been reduced to this degraded position? I think you have been degraded to this despicable position because you continued to be Hindu. Those of you who have embraced Islam are not treated by the Hindus as Untouchables nor do they treat them as inferior or lower in status. The same is the case with those who have embraced Christianity. What happened recently at Travancore is worth mentioning. The Untouchables called “Thiya” in that region are prohibited to walk on streets. A few days ago some of these Untouchables embraced Sikhism. Immediately, thereafter, the ban prohibiting them from walking on the streets was withdrawn. What does all this prove? It proves that if there is any reason for your being treated as Untouchables and unequals, it is your connection with the Hindu religion.
In such a state of inequality and injustice, some Hindus try to comfort the Untouchables by saying “get educated, be clean, and then you become acceptable to us; we will treat you as our equal.” In fact, we all know by experience that the condition of educated, wealthy and clean Mahar Untouchables is no better than that of a dirty, poor and uneducated Untouchable. Let us leave aside this for the present and consider whether a person is denied respect for the reason that he is uneducated, poor and not properly dressed.
What should an ordinary Untouchable do? How can a person with no education having no property or decent apparel be treated as an equal? The principle of equality of man as taught by Christianity and Islam does not depend on the knowledge, wealth, dress or outward appearance of a person. Both these religions consider love for humanity the most important principle of their religions. This is considered the most important feature of these religions. They preach that love of humanity should be respected by all; that none should show disrespect to others and that one should not treat others as inferior or lower. Such noble teachings simply do not exist in the religion of the Hindus. What is the use of such a religion in which humanity is not respected? What is the use of clinging to such a religion which glorifies inequality? In reply to this some Hindus may quote the Upanishads. It may be pointed out here that religion and science are two different things. It is necessary to consider whether a particular theory is a principle of science or the teaching of a religion. That god is all-pervading is a principle of science and not of religion. This statement finds support in the fact that Hindus do not act according to the above principle. On the contrary, if Hindus insist on this very point and say that the principle of God being omnipresent is not the principle of religion, but it is a basic principle of science. I would simply say that nowhere in the world such meanness would be found as it exists among the Hindus. The Hindus can be ranked among those treacherous people whose words and deeds are poles apart.
Have no faith in those who on the one hand proclaim that God is omnipresent and at the same time treat men worse than animals,. They are hypocrites. Do not keep contact with those who feed ants with sugar but kill men by prohibiting them from drinking water from public wells and hydrants. Do you know what evil effects the association with Hindus and Hinduism has left on you? Nobody respects you. You have no social status; no dignity, not even manhood.
To say that only Hindus show no respect towards you, is, I must admit, only a half truth. Not only the Hindus but the Christians and the Moslems also consider you the lowliest of the low and look down upon you. In fact the teachings of Christianity and Islam make no distinction between man and man. Then why do the followers of these two great religions also treat you as inferior beings? Simple answer is, ‘because the Hindus regard you as Untouchable and inferior, so the Moslems and Christians also treat you as lowly people.’ They fear that if they treat you as their equal the Hindus will look down upon them too as low. Therefore we are not only low in the eyes of the Hindus alone but we are the lowest in the whole of India mainly because the Hindus consider us so. If you want to change this disgraceful position, if you want to get rid of the stigma of untouhability and of being lowest of all the people and make use of this precious life, there is no alternative but to throw off the shackles of slavery of Hinduism and Hindu society, under which you have been groaning for centuries.
(Source: Thus spoke Ambedkar, Vol.4, Edited by Bhagavan Das.)
