8 [Caste prevents the uplift and incorporation of the aboriginal tribes] | |
[1:] The recent [constitutional]
discussion about the excluded and partially included areas has served
to draw attention to the position of what are called the aboriginal tribes
in India. They number about 13 millions, if not more. Apart from the
question of whether their exclusion from the new Constitution is proper
or improper, the fact still remains that these aborigines have remained
in their primitive uncivilized state in a land which boasts of a
civilization thousands of years old. Not only are they not civilized,
but some of them follow pursuits which have led to their being classified as criminals.
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[2:] Thirteen millions of people living in
the midst of civilization are still in a savage state, and are leading
the life of hereditary criminals!! But the Hindus
have never felt ashamed of it. This is a phenomenon which in my view is
quite unparalleled. What is the cause of this shameful state of
affairs? Why has no attempt been made to civilize these aborigines and
to lead them to take to a more honourable way of making a living?
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[3:] The Hindus
will probably seek to account for this savage state of the aborigines
by attributing to them congenital stupidity. They will probably not
admit that the aborigines have remained savages because they had made no
effort to civilize them, to give them medical aid, to reform them, to
make them good citizens. But supposing a Hindu wished to do what the Christian missionary
is doing for these aborigines, could he have done it? I submit not.
Civilizing the aborigines means adopting them as your own, living in
their midst, and cultivating fellow-feeling—in short, loving them. How
is it possible for a Hindu to do this? His whole life is one anxious
effort to preserve his caste. Caste is his precious possession which he
must save at any cost. He cannot consent to lose it by establishing
contact with the aborigines, the remnants of the hateful Anaryas of the Vedic days.
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[4:] Not that a Hindu
could not be taught the sense of duty to fallen humanity, but the
trouble is that no amount of sense of duty can enable him to overcome
his duty to preserve his caste. Caste is, therefore, the real
explanation as to why the Hindu has let the savage remain a savage in
the midst of his civilization without blushing, or without feeling any
sense of remorse or repentance. The Hindu has not realized that these
aborigines are a source of potential danger. If these savages remain
savages, they may not do any harm to the Hindus. But if they are
reclaimed by non-Hindus and converted to their faiths, they will swell
the ranks of the enemies of the Hindus. If this happens, the Hindu will
have to thank himself and his Caste System. |
Wednesday, 11 September 2013
Dr.B. R. Ambedkar.
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