A genuine attempt has been made to answer this question from an unbiased point of view.
Before we attempt to answer
this question, we need to be fairly convinced that Dr. Ambedkar really did hate
Hinduism. If he didn't, it would make no sense to answer the question which
demands reasons for this hatred.
Most
of the answers I have read imply that he didn’t hate Hinduism but the caste
system. This means that as far as the questioner is concerned, the question
remains unanswered (Yet it seems responders have provided fairly
detailed answers).
Did
Dr. Ambedkar hate Hinduism ?
The
following two quotes of Dr. Ambedkar suggests that he did:
1.
“Though I was born a Hindu, I solemnly assure you that I will not die as a
Hindu.”
2.
“Hindu raj must be prevented at any cost” (Dr. Ambedkar did not say anything remotely
similar to this about any other belief system)
Furthermore,
the following two deductions also imply that Dr. Ambedkar hated the concept of
Hinduism.
- His famous ‘22 vows for converts and reverts to Buddhism’ are specifically aimed at raising awareness about the dangers of being influenced by Hinduism and no other belief system.
- No one can put forward a sensible argument that Dr. Ambedkar did not hate the caste system. Since he equated the ‘caste system’ to ‘Hinduism’, it therefore means that he hated Hinduism.
Hinduism = Casteism (Caste System)
AND
Casteism
= Hinduism
Now
that we have established Dr. Ambedkar wasn’t at all fond of Hinduism, we can
answer the main question. WHY ?
The answer is self evident from the following quotes by Dr. Ambedkar himself, grouped under five categories 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.
2. On Food
3. On democracy
4. On Hindu nationalism and Pakistan
From Dr. B. R. Ambedkar: Writings and Speeches, vol.3, p.267 (On the chapter, “The triumph of Brahminism: regicide or the birth of counter-revolution”)
1.
“The first and foremost thing that must be recognised is that Hindu Society is
a myth. The name Hindu is itself a foreign name. It was given by the
Mohammedans to the natives for the purpose of distinguishing themselves [from
them]. It does not occur in any Sanskrit work prior to the Mohammedan invasion.
They did not feel the necessity of a common name, because they had no
conception of their having constituted a community. Hindu Society as such does
not exist. It is only a collection of castes. Each caste is conscious
of its existence. Its survival is the be-all and end-all of its existence.
Castes do not even form a federation. A caste has no feeling that it is affiliated to
other castes, except when there is a Hindu-Muslim riot. On all other
occasions each caste endeavours to segregate itself and to distinguish itself
from other castes.”
2.
“I shall be satisfied if I make the Hindus realise that they are the sick men
of India, and that their sickness is causing danger to the health and happiness
of other Indians.”
3.
“Indeed the ideal Hindu must be like a rat living in his own hole, refusing to
have any contact with others. There is an utter lack among the Hindus of what
the sociologists call ‘consciousness of kind’. There is no Hindu consciousness
of kind. In every Hindu the consciousness that exists is the consciousness of
his caste. That is the reason why the Hindus cannot be said to form a society
or a nation.”
4.
“Anyone who relies on an attempt to turn the members of the caste Hindus into
better men by improving their personal character is in my judgment wasting his
energy and bugging an illusion.”
5.
“In my view, what is wrong is their religion, which has inculcated this notion
of Caste. If this is correct, then obviously the enemy, you must grapple with
is not the people who observe Caste, but the Shastras which teach them this
religion of Caste.”
6. “I have
no hesitation in saying that if the Mohammedan has been cruel, the Hindu has
been mean; and meanness is worse than cruelty.”
7“To
put the matter in general terms, Hinduism and social union are incompatible. By
its very genius Hinduism believes in social separation, which is another name
for social disunity and even creates social separation. If Hindus wish to be
one, they will have to discard Hinduism. They cannot be one without violating
Hinduism. Hinduism is the greatest obstacle to Hindu Unity. Hinduism cannot
create that longing to belong which is the basis of all social unity. On the
contrary Hinduism creates an eagerness to separate.”
8.
“In the Hindu religion, one can[not] have freedom of speech. A Hindu must
surrender his freedom of speech. He must act according to the Vedas. If the
Vedas do not support the actions, instructions must be sought from the Smritis,
and if the Smritis fail to provide any such instructions, he must follow in the
footsteps of the great men. He is not supposed to reason. Hence,
so long as you are in the Hindu religion, you cannot expect to have freedom of
thought.”
9.
“If a person tells you that he is a Hindu. You feel bound to inquire into his
caste. Why? Because so essential is caste in the case of a Hindu, that without
knowing it you do not feel sure what sort of a being he is.”
10.
“In Hinduism, conscience, reason and independent thinking have no scope for
development.”
11.
“Caste may be bad. Caste may lead to conduct so gross as to be called man’s
inhumanity to man. All the same, it must be recognised that the Hindus observe
Caste not because they are inhuman or wrong-headed. They observe Caste because
they are deeply religious.”
2. On Food
1.
“One can quite understand vegetarianism. One can quite understand meat-eating.
But it is difficult to understand why a person who is a flesh-eater should
object to one kind of flesh, namely cow’s flesh. This is an anomaly which calls
for explanation.”
2.
“The Census Returns show that the meat of the dead cow forms the chief item of
food consumed by communities which are generally classified as untouchable
communities. No Hindu community, however low, will touch cow’s flesh. There is
no community which is really an Untouchable community which has not something
to do with the dead cow. Some eat her flesh, some remove the skin, some
manufacture articles out of her skin and bones.”
3.
“The Touchables, whether they are vegetarians or flesh-eaters, are united in
their objection to eat cow’s flesh. As against them stand the Untouchables, who
eat cow’s flesh without compunction and as a matter of course and habit.”
4.
“No one can doubt that there was a time when Hindus, both Brahmins and
non-Brahmins, ate not only flesh but also beef.”
5.
“That the object of the Brahmins in giving up beef-eating was to snatch away
from the Buddhist Bhikshus the supremacy they had acquired is evidenced by the
adoption of vegetarianism by Brahmins.”
3. On
democracy
1.
“In India, Bhakti or what may be called the path of devotion or hero-worship,
plays a part in its politics unequalled in magnitude by the part it plays in
the politics of any other country in the world. Bhakti in religion may be a
road to the salvation of the soul. But in politics, Bhakti or hero-worship is a
sure road to degradation and to eventual dictatorship.”
2.
“I do not want that our loyalty as Indians should be in the slightest way
affected by any competitive loyalty whether that loyalty arises out of our
religion, out of our culture or out of our language. I want all people to be
Indians first, Indian last and nothing else but Indians.”
4.On
Hindu nationalism and Pakistan
1.
“If Hindu Raj does become a fact, it will, no doubt be the greatest calamity
for this country. No matter what the Hindus say, Hinduism is a menace to
liberty, equality and fraternity. It is incompatible with democracy. Hindu raj
must be prevented at any cost.”
2.
“But it is right to ask if the Musalmans are the only sufferers from the evils
that admittedly result from the undemocratic character of Hindu society. Are
not the millions of Shudras and non-Brahmins, or millions of the Untouchables,
suffering the worst consequences of the undemocratic character of Hindu
society?”
3.
“Not partition,
but the abolition of the Muslim League and the formation of a mixed party of
Hindus and Muslims is the only effective way of burying the ghost of Hindu Raj.”
4.
“This attitude of keeping education, wealth and power as a close preserve for
themselves and refusing to share it, which the high caste Hindus have developed
in their relation with the lower classes of Hindus, is sought to be extended by
them to the Muslims. They want to exclude the Muslims from place and
power, as they have done to the lower class Hindus. This trait of the
high caste Hindus is the key to the understanding of their politics.”
5.
“High caste of Hindus who have denied and deprived them of ordinary human right
for centuries.”
1.
“Though I was born a Hindu, I solemnly assure you that I will not die as a
Hindu.” – Before
converting to Buddhism
2.
“I will not believe in Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh. Neither would I worship
them.” – In 22
vows administered while converting to Buddhism
3.
“The history of India is nothing but a history of a mortal conflict between
Buddhism and Brahminism.”
THERE
IS MORE..
Author: Shekhar Bodhakar
=================
ALSO READ:
1. How does the
Hindu caste system really work and what can be the solution to eradicate
casteism?
2. Is Hinduism a religion or a way of life?
4. Why did Dr. B.R.
Ambedkar hate Hinduism?
5. QUESTION 9: Why should Hindu Identity be given up?
6. What are the
main characteristics of Hinduism?
7. Why didn't
Hinduism spread to any other part of the world outside of the Indian
subcontinent?
8. Why the scheduled castes and tribes are not Hindu?
9. Will Hinduism
survive in India?
10. What do Hindus
believe in?
11. What is the most
important commandment of Hinduism?
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