Gandhi consistently defended an idealized varna system all his life.

Evidence

Gandhi here is restating his views on the benefits of varnashrama explicated by him in one of his earlier writings (Young India, 13 August 1925; CWMG 32, 286), in which he says: “Varnashrama, in my opinion, was not conceived in any narrow spirit. On the contrary, it gave the labourer, the Shudra, the same status as the thinker, the Brahmin.” Even earlier, he wrote (Young India, 25 February 1920; CWMG 19, 417): “I am one of those who do not consider caste to be a harmful institution. In its origin, caste was a wholesome custom and promoted national well-being. In my opinion, the idea that inter-dining or intermarrying is necessary for national growth, is a superstition borrowed from the West.” While later coming around to criticising caste/jati as a corruption, throughout his life Gandhi steadfastly defended an ‘idealised’ varnavyavastha (varna system). — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 1220

Categorization

Category: Factual Claims

• XREF: Central to the reader’s goal of understanding how caste was defended (contra annihilation) by Gandhi.

Related

• Gandhi defended an idealized varna system his entire life while criticizing caste (similarity 0.97)
• Gandhi defended varnashrama as wholesome and opposed intermarriage until the mid-1920s (similarity 0.89)
• Gandhi’s varna doctrine collapses into caste despite his claims (similarity 0.86)
• Gandhi never renounced his belief in the four-varna system (similarity 0.86)
• Gandhi contradicted himself on whether varna is essential to Hinduism (similarity 0.86)
• Gandhi’s views on varna shifted to near-abandonment by the mid-1940s. (similarity 0.83)
• Gandhi defended caste as superior to class on grounds of blood and heredity (similarity 0.83)
• Gandhi defended caste as Indian society’s genius for self-organisation against oppression. (similarity 0.82)
• Gandhi defends caste because opposing it would cost him political standing (similarity 0.82)
• Vedic varna originally ignored birth and recognized only worth (similarity 0.81)
• Gandhi valued the Bhangi’s work but not inter-caste marriage or dining (similarity 0.81)
• Gandhi’s caste views differed little from those of the Hindu right. (similarity 0.81)
• Gandhi explicitly endorsed the caste system as control in 1921 (similarity 0.81)
• Gandhi idealized traditional Indian poverty as morally superior to modernity (similarity 0.80)
• Gandhi supported caste out of political self-interest (similarity 0.80)

Broader Connections

• Gandhi defended caste as founded on an eternal hereditary principle #exemplifies (0.90) — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 51
• Gandhi defended caste as superior to class on grounds of blood and heredity #exemplifies (0.70) — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 1286
• Gandhi supported varna out of fear of losing political position #expands (0.60) — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 1263