Gandhi denied workers the intelligence needed for self-rule in favour of suffering-based reform

Evidence

The mill-owner may be wholly in the wrong. In the struggle between capital and labour, it may be generally said that more often than not capitalists are in the wrong box. But when labour comes fully to realise its strength, I know it can become more tyrannical than capital. The mill-owners will have to work on the terms dictated by labour, if the latter could command the intelligence of the former. It is clear, however, that labour will never attain to that intelligence … It would be suicidal if the labourers rely upon their numbers or brute-force, i.e., violence. By doing so they would do harm to industries in the country. If on the other hand they take their stand on pure justice and suffer in their person to secure it, not only will they always succeed but they will reform their masters, develop industries, and both masters and men will be as members of one and the same family. — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 346

Categorization

• DEEPTHINKING: This is the philosophical core binding the chapter: Gandhi’s method presupposes that the subordinated party must stay subordinate (never develop intelligence) and rely on suffering to melt the master’s heart — the same logic he applied to Untouchables and workers alike.