From Annihilation of Caste (1936), Castes in India (1916) and his last speech to the Constituent Assembly on 25 November 1949, checked against the Government of Maharashtra’s Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar: Writings and Speeches, volume 1, and the published speech.
“… turn in any direction you like, caste is the monster that crosses your path. You cannot have political reform, you cannot have economic reform, unless you kill this monster.”Annihilation of Caste (1936)
No reform succeeds while caste is left standing.
“Democracy is not merely a form of Government. It is primarily a mode of associated living, of conjoint communicated experience.”Annihilation of Caste (1936)
Democracy lives in how people treat each other, not only in elections.
“Caste is a notion, it is a state of the mind.”Annihilation of Caste (1936)
What is in the mind must be changed in the mind.
“Caste System is not merely division of labour. It is also a division of labourers.”Annihilation of Caste (1936)
Caste ranks people, not just jobs.
“Hindu society as such does not exist. It is only a collection of castes.”Annihilation of Caste (1936)
A society divided into closed groups is not yet one society.
“Political tyranny is nothing compared to social tyranny and a reformer, who defies society, is a much more courageous man than a politician, who defies Government.”Annihilation of Caste (1936)
Defying your own community takes the greatest courage.
“… endogamy is the only characteristic that is peculiar to Caste.”Castes in India (1916)
Control of marriage is what keeps caste alive.
“However good a Constitution may be, it is sure to turn out bad because those who are called to work it, happen to be a bad lot.”Speech to the Constituent Assembly, 25 November 1949
Laws are only as good as the people who carry them out.
“Bhakti in religion may be a road to the salvation of the soul. But in politics, Bhakti or hero-worship is a sure road to degradation and to eventual dictatorship.”Speech to the Constituent Assembly, 25 November 1949
Worship of leaders is the enemy of democracy.
“These methods are nothing but the Grammar of Anarchy and the sooner they are abandoned, the better for us.”Speech to the Constituent Assembly, 25 November 1949
Once constitutional means exist, use them.
His watchwords to his followers, educate, agitate, organise, are often quoted alone; they were a rallying call, and his books show the depth of argument behind them.
Ambedkar’s life and ideas · Castes in India (Project Gutenberg) · Social Justice
Writings and Speeches, vol. 1 (Internet Archive) · Castes in India (Project Gutenberg) · B. R. Ambedkar
