B. R. Ambedkar Quotes
Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar was an Indian jurist, economist, social reformer, and the principal architect of the Indian Constitution. Born into the Mahar caste, he was the first Dalit to earn doctorates from Columbia and the London School of Economics, and devoted his life to the abolition of caste and the political and economic emancipation of the Dalits. The quotes below are attributed to B. R. Ambedkar, organized by topic.
Browse B. R. Ambedkar by topic
B. R. Ambedkar on Freedom
-
“It is an incontrovertible fact that Christianity was not enough to end the slavery of the Negroes in the United States . A civil war was necessary to give the Negro the freedom which was denied to him by the Christians. The dependence of those in charge of Christian endeavour to make the parties move on? A consideration of this question will enable us to understand why Christianity has failed to raise the status of the untouchable convert.”
On Christianity in Essays on Untouchables and Untouchability: Religious .
B. R. Ambedkar on God
-
“Religion is for man, not man for religion.”
Why I like Buddhism and how it is useful to the world in its present circumstances", BBC (May 1956). As quoted in "Why Dr. Ambedkar renounced Hinduism? -
“If the depressed classes join Islam or Christianity, they not only go out of the Hindu religion, but they also go out of the Hindu culture…What the consequences of conversion will do to the country as a whole is well worth bearing in mind. Conversion to Islam or Christianity will denationalize the depressed classes.”
quoted in Dhanajay Keer: 'Dr Ambedkar: Life and Mission', p.279).
B. R. Ambedkar on Justice
-
Attributed to B. R. Ambedkar:
“Justice has always evoked ideas of equality, of proportion, of compensation.”
B. R. Ambedkar on Knowledge
-
“Nothing is infallible. Nothing is binding forever. Everything is subject to inquiry and examination.”
B. R. Ambedkar quoted from Indigenous Indians, Elst K. , 1993:390 -
“B. R. Ambedkar quoted from Indigenous Indians, Elst K. , 1993:390”
Nothing is infallible. Nothing is binding forever. Everything is subject to inquiry and examination. -
“On Christianity in Essays on Untouchables and Untouchability: Religious .”
It is an incontrovertible fact that Christianity was not enough to end the slavery of the Negroes in the United States . A civil war was necessary to give the Negro the freedom which was denied to him by the Christians. The dependence of those in charge of Christian endeavour to make the parties move on? A consideration of this question will enable us to understand why Christianity has failed to r -
“The Communists say that there are the only two means of establishing communism. The first is violence. Nothing short of it will suffice to break up the existing system. The other is dictatorship of the proletariat. Nothing short of it will suffice to continue the new system.”
On Communism, Thoughts of Dr. Baba Saheb Ambedkar , p. 107 -
“On Communism, Thoughts of Dr. Baba Saheb Ambedkar , p. 107”
The Communists say that there are the only two means of establishing communism. The first is violence. Nothing short of it will suffice to break up the existing system. The other is dictatorship of the proletariat. Nothing short of it will suffice to continue the new system. -
“On Gandhi , in Letters of Ambedkar , p. 205.”
My own view is that great men are of great service to their country but they are also at certain times a great hinderance to the progress of their country. There is one incident in Roman History which comes to my mind on this occasion. When Caesar was done to death and the matter was reported to Cicero , Cicero said to the messengers, "Tell the Romans your hour of liberty has come." While one regr
B. R. Ambedkar on Politics
-
“I measure the progress of a community by the degree of progress which women have achieved.”
As quoted in The Ultimate Book of Quotations by Joseph Demakis, p. 415 -
“Caste is not a division of labour; it is a division of labourers.”
As quoted in The Annihilation of Caste -
Attributed to B. R. Ambedkar:
“Educate, agitate, organize.”
-
Attributed to B. R. Ambedkar:
“Constitutional morality is not a natural sentiment; it has to be cultivated.”
B. R. Ambedkar on Time
-
“Castes in India: Their Mechanism, Genesis and Development , reproduced in his Writings and Speeches, Gvt. of Maharashtra, 1986, vol. 1, p. 21, with reference to S. V. Ketkar : History of Caste in India , Low Price Publ., Delhi 1990 (1909), p. 82.”
European students of Caste have unduly emphasised the role of colour in the Caste system . Themselves impregnated by colour prejudices , they very readily imagined it to be the chief factor in the Caste problem. But nothing can be farther from the truth, and Dr. Ketkar is correct when he insists that "All the princes whether they belonged to the so-called Aryan race , or the so-called Dravidian ra