The Untouchables

The Untouchables: Who Were They? and Why They Became Untouchables is B.R. Ambedkar's book about the origin of untouchability and related social and historical questions. First published in 1948 and presented as a sequel to an earlier work, it examines why the Untouchables lived outside the village, how beef-eating became associated with untouchability, whether Hindus always abstained from beef, why non-Brahmins abandoned beef-eating, and what led Brahmins to adopt vegetarianism. The book does not claim its answers are complete, opens new perspectives, and asks readers to reconsider familiar assumptions about these longstanding issues.

Why You Should Read?

• Explore the book's investigation into the origin of untouchability and the related issues it examines.
• Learn how the book explains why the Untouchables lived outside the village.
• Understand the book's discussion of beef-eating and untouchability, including whether Hindus always abstained from beef.
• Discover the book's questions about why non-Brahmins abandoned beef-eating and why Brahmins adopted vegetarianism.

About the Author

B.R. Ambedkar worked as a jurist, economist, social reformer and politician in India, and he chaired the committee responsible for drafting India's Constitution. He was Law and Justice minister in Jawaharlal Nehru's first cabinet and was appointed to work with the Simon Commission. He took up economics at Columbia University and at the London School of Economics, earning doctorates in 1927 and 1923. He also trained as a lawyer at Gray's Inn in London. Later he left Hinduism and became a Buddhist, a step that inspired the Dalit Buddhist movement. In 1990 he was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award.