Ambedkar-Philosophy of Hinduism

AMBEDKAR'S PHILOSOPHY OF HINDUISM AND CONTEMPORARY CRITIQUES
PROF. M. M. NINAN
This doesn't mean that we shouldn't aim for an utopia. We can, but not by ignoring reality. Vivekananda talks about
an age where everyone is a brahmana, and implies that we live in a degenerate world and if only if strive hard
enough, the golden age can come again. Given human evolution and recorded history, the golden age is just a
myth. It never existed.
Even if we ignore that, and assume that a golden age is very much possible, Vivekananda's defense is still
problematic. To see why, consider his prescription to combat issues of privilege:
Quote:"It is in the nature of society to form itself into groups; and what will go will be these privileges! Caste is a
natural order. I can perform one duty in social life, and you another; you can govern a country, and I can mend a
pair of old shoes, but that is no reason why you are greater than I, for can you mend my shoes? Can I govern the
country? I am clever in mending shoes, you are clever in reading Vedas, that is no reason why you should trample
on my head; why if one commits murder should he be praised and if another steals an apple why should he be
hanged? This will have to go"
Ignore the naturalistic fallacy at the beginning, replace “mend a pair of shoes” with “manual scavenging” and see if
the intent still remains the same.
There are certain jobs which are done out of necessity and not because one is clever in them. Equating
these jobs with jobs which are not done out of necessity is a wrong comparison. The solution then is to
eliminate the need for such jobs. One can be clever at quantum physics and at the same time one can also
be clever at cleaning up their own refuse. Such jobs are not mutually exclusive. (Or even better eliminate
the need for cleaning up our own refuse and let machines do the job).
So even after ignoring the golden age myth of an all-brahamana society, the caste system still remains
problematic because it still believes in another set of myths – that all tasks are desirable and that some tasks
can be performed only by some people and not by all.
I won't accuse Vivekananda of not knowing that some tasks are not desirable. I'm sure that he did. But what he
did not know is that those tasks can be done by all, thereby eliminating the need of having a group of
people do it, or invest resources to reduce the undesirability of the task or eliminate the need of humans in doing
it.
And finally we come to the main reason why Vivekananda's defense is of no good. He says:
Quote:"To the non-Brahmana castes I say, wait, be not in a hurry.
Do not seize every opportunity of fighting the Brahmana, because as I have shown; you are suffering from your
own fault.
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