Vedic varna originally ignored birth and recognized only worth

Evidence

In that article he says “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.” Why this prevarication? Why does the Mahatma hedge? Whom does he want to please? Has the saint failed to sense the truth? Or does the politician stand in the way of the saint? — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 1261 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: The Mahatma’s varna doctrine diverges from the Vedic conception based on natural aptitude; Gandhi’s birth-to-worth varna reform is practically unenforceable and fails women; Gandhi contradicted himself on whether varna is essential to Hinduism — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 1261

Related

• Gandhi contradicted himself on whether varna is essential to Hinduism (similarity 0.92)
• Gandhi’s varna doctrine collapses into caste despite his claims (similarity 0.90)
• Vedic varna means calling by aptitude while Gandhi’s varna means ancestral calling (similarity 0.85)
• Gandhi redefined varna from aptitude-based to birth-based assignment (similarity 0.85)
• Gandhi’s birth-to-worth varna reform is practically unenforceable and fails women (similarity 0.85)
• Ambedkar exposed the practical impossibility of Gandhi’s worth-based varna idea (similarity 0.84)
• Varna by worth and caste by birth are antithetical systems, not synonyms (similarity 0.83)
• Gandhi consistently defended an idealized varna system all his life. (similarity 0.83)
• Gandhi’s childlike temperament enabled self-deception about varna (similarity 0.81)
• Guna-karma theory underwrites reformers’ defense of varnashrama without birth-based caste. (similarity 0.81)
• Rejecting the shastras while remaining Hindu is logically untenable. (similarity 0.81)
• Establishing worth-based chaturvarnya requires first dismantling the birth-based caste system. (similarity 0.80)
• Gandhi never renounced his belief in the four-varna system (similarity 0.80)
• Rejecting caste while still calling oneself Hindu is incoherent (similarity 0.79)
• Gandhi supported caste out of political self-interest (similarity 0.79)

Broader Connections

• Gandhi’s birth-to-worth varna reform is practically unenforceable and fails women #qualifies (0.60)
• Gandhi contradicted himself on whether varna is essential to Hinduism #complicates (0.50) — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 1261