Vol. 7 · pages 16–20

because of the limited goods of existence, out of which they can be satisfied, disturbs this balance. In order to maintain the balance men have relied upon religion and upon reason.” (Pound - jurisprudence Vol. III). For the Indian historical content Dr. Ambedkar shows how the desire for monopoly of social control made the priest the most powerful factor in social control. The caste as a sociological institution resembles a Corporation in which the Board of Directors never changed. It was the law of status which classified men according to their birth and it was fixed and static; ability was not recognised as the means to cross the class-barriers. In theory and in practice the caste is the opposite of liberty, anti-thesis of equality and negation of humanity as it postulates the capacity for thinking incidental to the gift of reason for the chosen few distinguished by the marks of their pedigrees and not by the degrees of excellence evidenced in the free exercise of reason or conscience. The philosophy of the sacred texts in general discouraged the free exercise of reason with the result that the authority of the sacred texts became unquestioned and Truth became a datum and not a problem. This was the cause of intellectual atrophy and social stagnation. One is reminded of the words of Milton : “Well knows he who uses to consider, that our faith and knowledge thrives by exercise, as well as our limbs and complexion. Truth is compared in Scripture to a streaming fountain; if her waters flow not in perpetual succession, they sicken into a muddy pool of conformity and tradition. A man may be heretic in the truth and if he believes things only because his Pastor says so, or the Assembly so determines, without knowing other reason, though his belief be true, yet the very truth he holds becomes his heresy.” It is in this context that the works of Dr. Ambedkar will prove to be a frank assessment and a candid critique of the societal norms requiring revision and reformulation which he himself did when the opportunity presented in the Constituent Assembly which framed the noble Constitution in which fundamental rights protect the individual against despotism whether it comes from the State or Society. ‘The Untouchables’ is a sequel to the work on Shudras. Dr. Ambedkar has in his usual critical style assessed the Indian social system. He is critical of the Indian social system because it did not foster the spirit of critical inquiry. It is, indeed, a matter of regret that Indians could not produce a Voltaire or Milton or Victor Hugo because as a class they did not approve of it. The spirit of inquiry is the sine-qua-non of progress. The larger the area of inquiry, the (iii)

greater the scope of investigation, the greater are the chances that liberty will thrive and prosper along with tolerance and the existence of dissent. It is in this context that both the works which are brought together in the present volume provide enough material for reflection and action to the layman and will prove to be the source of inspiration to the scholar. The works have to be adjudged in the context in which they were written to shake the average Indian out of his complacency. Today the caste has become irrelevant in the light of modern technological developments. However, social sciences lag behind the technology. It is in this area that our efforts must be concentrated to improve the mind of man, so as to bring it in harmony with the technological progress. Dr. Ambedkar has shown that the caste has become out of place and is a barrier to social progress and individual advancement of freedom. The basic message of his work is that control of minds of men by some powerful individuals is bad as such control retards movement. The best source of practical instruction in the art of life is the opportunity to commit errors and this means responsibility for one’s actions and their consequences. That India did not wake to the need to rearrange its social institutions for centuries and it produced Mahatma Fule and Dr. Ambedkar only under the British rule because of its democratic culture of public instruction shows the old truth which has been succinctly expressed by G. B. Shaw in, ‘Man, and Superman’ that “liberty means responsibility. That’s why most men dread it.” Modern psychoanalysts and existentialist philosophers have not been able to add to or detract from this statement. In the context of the march of technology, there is a chance of abuse of powers by those in authority and experts or priests of science who control masses by techniques of electronic media. Mind control by mass media and drugs is the awesome reality. Just consider what F. A. Hayek says: (The Constitution of Liberty) : “The day may not be far off when authority by adding appropriate drugs to our water supply or by some other similar device, will be able to elate or depress, stimulate or paralyse, the minds of whole population.” Today the priesthood is replaced by experts and it is a new class or caste that has emerged. The remedy lies in making knowledge free and in widening the frontiers of practical social wisdom. It is in this context that the rationalism of Dr. Ambedkar is relevant to all of us who prize the liberty to know, to utter and to argue freely according to conscience, above all liberties. (iv)

This slightly long Foreword has become necessary to elucidate and emphasise the social context in which they came to be written and with which the post-independence generation of Indians may not be adequately acquainted. The Editorial Board has no doubt that these works will prove to be an invitation to renew our faith in our noble Constitution. The Editorial Board thanks the Secretary, Education Department for his interest in the project. The Board places on record its appreciation of the assistance it has received from the Officer on Special Duty and his staff as well as Shri P. S. More, Director of Government Printing and Stationery, M.S., Bombay; Shri P. L. Purkar, Manager, Government Photozinco Press, Pune and the staff under them in bringing out the present volume on time. (Kamalkishor Kadam) Education Minister and President of the Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Source Material Publication Committee, M.S., Bombay. (v)