Communists called Ambedkar’s caste politics a diversion from full independence

Evidence

Angered by Ambedkar’s display of independence, the communists denounced him as an ‘opportunist’ and an ‘imperial stooge’. In his book History of the Indian Freedom Struggle, E.M.S. Namboodiripad, the (Brahmin) former Chief Minister of Kerala and head of the first ever democratically elected communist government in the world, wrote about the conflict between Ambedkar and the left: “However, this was a great blow to the freedom movement. For this led to the diversion of the peoples’ attention from the objective of full independence to the mundane cause of the uplift of Harijans [Untouchables].” — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 355

Categorization

• XREF: Namboodiripad is later a key opponent in Arundhati Roy’s The Doctor and the Saint — the figure who debated Ambedkar on Annihilation of Caste.