Dr. B.R. Ambedkar's Annihilation of Caste

Partner(s): Fran Pritchett Arts and Sciences Access: Open to all Released: November 2004 VIEW PROJECT

The Annihilation of Caste Multimedia Study Environment (MSE) was produced by Frances Pritchett, Professor of Modern Indic Languages, Columbia University, and the Columbia Center for New Media Teaching and Learning, with additional sponsorship and funding from the Southern Asian Institute, Columbia University. The MSE includes the text of The Annihilation of Caste, edited for classroom use by Professor Pritchett; her explanatory annotations; and several other major texts by Dr. BAmbedkar, including The Buddha and His Dhamma; Pakistan, or, the Partition of India; and the Indian Constitution.

Dr. B.R. Ambedkar (1891-1956) was the first highly educated (Ph.D., Columbia University), politically prominent member of the Hindu "Untouchable" castes. He wrote The Annihilation of Caste for the 1936 meeting of a group of liberal Hindu caste-reformers in Lahore. After reviewing the speech, conference organizers revoked Dr. Ambedkar's invitation. He then self-published the work, which became an immediate classic.

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Culture and Society | Multimedia Study Environments