Dr. Ambedkar’s Perspective on Restructuring Indian Nation in the context of Dalit Question
Written by – Sukhadeo Thorat
Introduction
The Caste System in its classical form is an unique institution of social governance of the Hindu society. It is based on some specific principles and rules which make it an unique one. Foremost of them is that it involve a division of persons in various social groups called castes The division is created and maintained through institution of endogamy. The duties and the rights, (civil, cultural/religious, political and economic) are assigned to each of these castes by birth in advanced but in an unequal manner . The duties and rights are thus pre-determined by birth in to the specific caste and are hereditary ,not subject to change by deeds of the individuals . The social position or standing of each caste is hierarchically arranged , in the sense that the rights gets reduced in descending order, that is , from the Brahmin( who are located at the top of hierarchy) to the untouchable ,who are placed at the bottom of the caste hierarchy .The caste are hierarchically arranged in a manner that they are interlinked with each other such that rights and privileges of the high castes become the disabilities of the lower castes .In this sense caste does not exist in single number but only in plural , and interlinked (or made interdependent) with each in an unequal measure of relationship. Therefore one has to look at castes as “system” and not caste as single entity in isolation. Another distinguish feature of this system is that it laid down a systematic machanism for enforcement in the form of social and economic ostracism involving penalties and punishments against the violation of the system in practice. But above all the system is sanctified and supported, directly or indirectly by the philosophical elements in Hindu religion. Therefore for generality of Hindus the caste system is religiously sanctified institution to be practice as system of divine creation and matter of religious faith. It is this religious foundation and sanctity, which provide enduring strength and stubbiness to the institution of caste (Lal Deepak, 1984, Ambedkar 1936 and 1987 )
His five years of staying in Europe and America had completely wiped out of his mind any consciousness that he was an untouchable, and that an untouchable wherever he went in India was a problem to himself and to others. With great difficulty he managed to find accommodation in a Parsi Inn at Baroda. The whole hall was enveloped in complete darkness. There were no electric lights, nor even oil lamps to relieve the darkness. The idea of returning to the inn to spend the night therein was most terrifying to him, and he used to return to the inn only because he had no other place under the sky to go for rest. But the chirping and flying about of the bats, which had made the hall their home, often distracted his mind and sent cold shivers through him, reminding him of what he was endeavouring to forget, that he was in a strange place under strange conditions. He subdued his grief and anger through the feeling that though it was a dungeon, it was a shelter, and that some shelter was better than no shelter.
On 
Dr. B. R. Ambedkar's Caravan 