“Annihilation of Caste—or Annihilation of Hinduism? Revisiting Ambedkar’s Legacy”, Stop Hindu Dvesha, April 12, 2026
“This article revisits B.R. Ambedkar’s famous 1936 text Annihilation of Caste, examining the radical critique of Hinduism it advanced. While Ambedkar condemned caste discrimination and urged oppressed communities to abandon Hinduism, the article argues that he conflated social injustices with the essence of the religion itself. It highlights responses from contemporaries like Mahatma Gandhi, the reformist intentions of groups such as the Jat-Pat Todak Mandal, and alternative models of social uplift within Hindu society, notably the path shown by Sri Narayana Guru in Kerala. The essay questions whether Ambedkar’s approach fostered social reform or deepened civilizational divisions that continue to shape debates on caste and identity.
On December 12, 1935, the Jat-Pat Todak Mandal, a society dedicated to breaking the caste system in Hinduism, extended an invitation to Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar. The Lahore-based organization requested the social reformer to deliver a speech on the caste system in India at their annual conference scheduled for 1936. In response, Ambedkar composed the speech in the form of an essay titled ‘Annihilation of Caste’ in which he called for the destruction of Hinduism. [1]
Ambedkar, who would go on to become India’s first Law Minister and one of the key architects of the country’s constitution, wrote: “What the Hindus call Religion is really Law, or at best legalized class-ethics. Frankly, I refuse to call this code of ordinances “Religion.” The first evil of such a code of ordinances, misrepresented to the people as Religion, is that it tends to deprive moral life of freedom and spontaneity, and to reduce it (for the conscientious, at any rate) to a more or less anxious and servile conformity to externally imposed rules. Under it, there is no loyalty to ideals; there is only conformity to commands….. I have, therefore, no hesitation in saying that such a religion must be destroyed, and I say there is nothing irreligious in working for the destruction of such a religion……….”
Read full article at stophindudvesha.org
