Gandhi’s caste ambivalence disillusioned even his non-Hindu colleague George Joseph
Evidence
Among the (many) reasons that criticism of Gandhi is not just frowned upon, but often censored in India, ‘secularists’ tell us, is that Hindu nationalists (from whose midst Gandhi’s assassins arose, and whose star is on the ascendant in India these days) will seize upon such criticism and turn it to their advantage. The fact is there was never much daylight between Gandhi’s views on caste and those of the Hindu right. From a Dalit point of view, Gandhi’s assassination could appear to be more a fratricidal killing than an assassination by an ideological opponent. — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 398 (
#corroborates, via linked claim)
Categorization
Category: Contrarian or Surprising Claims
Related
- Gandhi opposed non-Hindu involvement in caste struggles as an internal Hindu matter (similarity 0.94)
- Gandhi’s caste views differed little from those of the Hindu right. (similarity 0.93)
- Gandhi’s caste views aligned closely with Hindu nationalist views (similarity 0.91)
- Gandhi valued the Bhangi’s work but not inter-caste marriage or dining (similarity 0.89)
- Gandhi’s moral authority cannot be separated from his caste views (similarity 0.84)
- Gandhi’s demeaning views of Untouchables remained consistent across his adult life. (similarity 0.83)
- Gandhi accepted separate electorates for Muslims but not for Untouchables. (similarity 0.83)
- Gandhi defends caste because opposing it would cost him political standing (similarity 0.82)
- Ambedkar and Gandhi’s conflict remains irreconcilable and each is inseparable from the other’s story (similarity 0.81)
- Gandhi showed Adivasis the same disdain he showed Black Africans (similarity 0.81)
- Gandhi sought abolition of untouchability but retention of the caste system (similarity 0.81)
- Gandhi defended caste as Indian society’s genius for self-organisation against oppression. (similarity 0.81)
- Gandhi’s moral authority made his word effectively unanswerable to many Hindus. (similarity 0.81)
- Gandhi’s lieutenant publicly told caste Hindus caste itself need not go (similarity 0.80)
- Gandhi explicitly endorsed the caste system as control in 1921 (similarity 0.80)
Broader Connections
- Gandhi’s caste views differed little from those of the Hindu right.
#corroborates(0.60) — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 398 - Gandhi sought abolition of untouchability but retention of the caste system
#expands(0.60)