Castes in India: Their Mechanism, Genesis and Development

‘Castes in India : Their mechanism, Genesis and Development.' was a paper read by Ambedkar at an anthropological seminar of in New York on 9 May 1916. As the title says, he explains everything about caste which was often dismissed as being “unexplainable”. He says it has only been “un-understood” and presents his paper. I was personally shocked to understand how male domination helped shape the rituals that help the caste system prevail.

Each page can be quoted and highlighted but it's best if everyone reads and interprets it in their own way. We have conveniently skipped the reformist side of Ambedkar in our textbooks and have introduced him as nothing but the architect of our constitution. I'm so glad that I picked this up book for it helped me unlearn and relearn a lot of things. I highly recommend that everyone does so too.