Without ending caste, swaraj may become a step towards slavery

Evidence

Yours is more difficult than the other national cause, namely, swaraj. In the fight for swaraj you fight with the whole nation on your side. In this, you have to fight against the whole nation—and that too, your own. But it is more important than swaraj. There is no use having swaraj, if you cannot defend it. More important than the question of defending swaraj is the question of defending the Hindus under the swaraj. In my opinion, it is only when Hindu society becomes a casteless society that it can hope to have strength enough to defend itself. Without such internal strength, swaraj for Hindus may turn out to be only a step towards slavery. — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 1027

Categorization

Category: Causal Relationships

• XREF: Inverts the nationalist priority of swaraj over social reform; connects to Ambedkar’s larger argument that political freedom without internal strength is hollow.

Related

• Ambedkar ranked caste abolition above national independence as a goal (similarity 0.91)
• Abolishing caste requires destroying the sacred authority of shastras (similarity 0.84)
• Destroying caste means destroying shastra and Veda authority, a near-impossible task. (similarity 0.83)
• Hinduism’s pervasiveness makes renouncing caste seem impracticable to many (similarity 0.82)
• Social order change must precede all other progress (similarity 0.82)
• A socialist state in India cannot function without tackling caste prejudice (similarity 0.81)
• Only destroying shastra-based religion can break the caste system. (similarity 0.81)
• Hindus form warring self-interested caste groups rather than an integrated society. (similarity 0.80)
• Indian socialism cannot function without first dismantling caste prejudice (similarity 0.80)
• Nation and morality cannot be built on the foundations of caste. (similarity 0.80)
• Caste can only be destroyed by attacking its religious foundations (similarity 0.80)
• Destroying caste requires denying shastra authority outright, as Buddha and Nanak did. (similarity 0.79)
• Caste abolition would destroy Brahmin privilege, so no Brahmin will lead it (similarity 0.79)
• Ambedkar declared caste inequality must be rooted out, not merely untouchability (similarity 0.79)
• Brahmins will never lead a movement that dissolves their own caste power (similarity 0.79)