Caste apologists invoked eugenics to present endogamy as world-leading racial improvement

Evidence

For a good example of the use of eugenics to defend caste, see T.N. Roy (1927, 67–72), who begins with this assertion: “The greatest eugenic movement that the world has as yet witnessed originated in India. It was the institution of the caste system.” Arguing that “the earliest eugenic movement began with the institution of what is known as Gotra”, Roy blames the “downfall of Hinduism” on not observing caste distinctions well enough. “The Brahmin was originally created by eugenic selection,” he argues, and gives the finest examples of intellect in Bengal as being all Brahmin men—Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar and Bankim Chandra Chatterjee. — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 1071

Categorization

• SHARE: A striking instance worth sharing with anyone interested in the history of caste-justification or pseudo-scientific racism in India.