Rejecting the shastras while remaining Hindu is logically untenable.

Evidence

The position appears to be wholly untenable, especially when the Mandal, for which Shri Sant Ram claims to speak, applauds the whole argument of Dr Ambedkar’s address. … But it is pertinent to ask what the Mandal believes in, if it rejects the shastras. How can a Muslim remain one if he rejects the Quran, or a Christian remain Christian if he rejects the Bible? If caste and varna are convertible terms, and if varna is an integral part of the shastras which define Hinduism, I do not know how a person who rejects caste, i.e., varna, can call himself a Hindu. — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 1211

Categorization

Category: Definitional Content

• DEFINE: The passage defines what Hinduism is: the shastras, including varna, are integral to it, so rejecting them means ceasing to be Hindu.

Related

• Rejecting caste while still calling oneself Hindu is incoherent (similarity 0.93)
• The Mandal’s own shastra-rejection makes its objection to Ambedkar’s exit from Hinduism logically inconsistent. (similarity 0.84)
• Gandhi contradicted himself on whether varna is essential to Hinduism (similarity 0.83)
• Ambedkar frames belief in the shastras and liberalism as contradictory (similarity 0.83)
• Reform of caste requires denying scriptural authority, not reinterpreting it (similarity 0.82)
• Only destroying shastra-based religion can break the caste system. (similarity 0.82)
• Ambedkar demanded Hindus deny shastra authority, following Buddha and Nanak (similarity 0.82)
• People will not change conduct until they stop believing the shastras are sacred (similarity 0.81)
• Destroying caste requires denying shastra authority outright, as Buddha and Nanak did. (similarity 0.81)
• Abolishing caste requires destroying the sacred authority of shastras (similarity 0.81)
• How scriptures are popularly understood, not their literal text, determines social effect (similarity 0.80)
• Destroying caste means destroying shastra and Veda authority, a near-impossible task. (similarity 0.80)
• Hinduism’s pervasiveness makes renouncing caste seem impracticable to many (similarity 0.80)
• Ambedkar proposed outlawing the Vedas, shastras, and puranas by law (similarity 0.80)
• Vedic varna originally ignored birth and recognized only worth (similarity 0.80)

Broader Connections

• Belief in Hindu shastras is incompatible with liberal or moderate self-identification #corroborates (0.70) — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 83
• Caste’s reform requires destroying the divine authority of the shastras and Vedas #qualifies (0.55) — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 957