TheDaak review

Beef, Brahmins & Broken Men: An Annotated Critical Selection from The Untouchables, by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar (Introduction by Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd, Edited and Annotated by Alex George and S. Anand), Navayana Publishing Pvt Ltd., 2019, 424 pages, 5.5in x 8.5in, Rs. 499, ISBN: 9788194447191

by Vedall Wasnik

“It was the habit of beef-eating in addition to being Buddhist that the Broken Men only became Untouchables”, says B. R. Ambedkar in his 1948 work The Untouchables: Who Were They and Why They Became Untouchables? This work, re-published as Beef, Brahmins and Broken Men: An Annotated Critical Selection from The Untouchables, has been brought out by Navayana. With an incisive introduction from Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd, and a chapter and notes by the editors Alex George and S. Anand, the book includes Parts IV, V and VI from Ambedkar’s “The Untouchability” comprising eight chapters in total. The editors, with comprehensive research and annotation, reintegrate and revive Ambedkar’s pioneering work to examine the historical and cultural origins of caste discrimination in India. The book, with its critical selection, remains useful and successfully reinterprets Ambedkar’s critique of caste through the lens of symbolic politics in terms of eating habits and food choices with a due emphasis on the consumption of animals, beef per se, consequently leading to marginalisation of Dalits. It goes on to further show how historical narratives continue to shape the societal exclusion of the Dalits even today.

The book is divided into separate sections that alternate between Ambedkar’s original work and contemporary commentary, thereby providing both–historical perspectives and modern interpretations. Ambedkar’s critique of caste is demonstrated through his focus on cultural politics and how a gradual, rather forced, difference between the food habits of the Brahmins and the non-Brahmins led to the outright subjugation of the Dalits. Throughout the book, Ambedkar upholds the argument that the manipulation of the dietary practices have led to social distinctions between communities. While the Brahmins chose to adopt the vegetarian way of life, the act of beef-eating was relegated to the lower castes. According to Ambedkar, this act of drawing a line between those who consume meat, especially beef, and those who don’t was simply to regain the supremacy of Brahmins lost earlier due to the advent and spread of Buddhism. In an attempt to stand out against the latter, and recapture its dominance within the realms of life, meat (beef)-eating was deemed unnatural, since cow came to be associated as a sacred animal. For he says:

“that the Brahmins had to suspend or abrogate a requirement of their Vedic religion in order to overcome the supremacy of the Buddhist Bhikshus. If the analysis is correct, then it is obvious that the worship of the cow is the result of the struggle between Buddhism and Brahminism. It was a means adopted by the Brahmins to regain their lost position”. (Ambedkar, 2019, p.222)

He also questions the idea of the sacred cow, for he points out to historical evidence that the Brahmins not only consumed beef, but themselves were engaged in practices of animal sacrifice. Further, the theory of Broken Men, which Ambedkar provides in support of the origin of untouchability, is an important one to note. The early ages were marked by two social classes—the settled agriculturalists and the nomadic tribes. The settled agriculturalists were primarily focused on cultivating the land, and therefore they were less equipped to defend themselves against external incursions or attacks. Such an inability to defend themselves led to their loss of power and status, thereby earning them the label of “Broken Men”. These broken men who adopted Buddhism to escape from the clutches of the Brahmins were claimed to be the ancestors of people who were later referred to as the Untouchables. Ambedkar has also provided other possible accounts of the origin of Untouchability with a critical engagement with ancient texts such as the Dharma Sutras. He accounts for various social classes like the Asprashya, Antya, Antyaja, Antyavasin, etc., mentioned in the Sutras, who were regarded as impure. However, Ambedkar here questions as to whether these classes mentioned in the Dharma Sutras are the same as the so-called Untouchables of today. Therefore, some of his ideas could be speculative since he reconstructs historical events to account for current realities. Proper evaluation of these assertions would require a more intensive and detailed analysis of history.

Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd’s introduction provides additional support to Ambedkar’s arguments by linking them to current practices. The idea of vegetarianism being the standard one was a deliberate social construct. He claims,

“A range of tribals and lower Shudra communities eating fresh and dry beef is commonplace. Yet, the rest of the world has been made to believe that Brahmin–Bania-led Gandhian vegetarianism is standard Indian food culture”. (Ilaiah, 2019, p.19)

Shepherd aptly demonstrates and contends that the habit of beef consumption has been primarily associated with the Dalit, tribal and Adivasi culture, and that the Brahminical effort to stigmatise it is inherently political in nature. He cites examples of student-led efforts, like the 2012 Osmania University Beef Festival, to show how food is now being used as a point of resistance against upper-caste hegemony. He further goes ahead to point out that the ban on the consumption of beef today is nothing but the state practising a severe form of untouchability with the collusion of the courts of law (Ilaiah, 2019, p.24). So his approach to support Ambedkar comes through the manner in which he bridges the past and present, and demonstrates how caste injustice is as much a part of society. His addition of the introduction to Ambedkar’s work, according to me, isn’t just any academic exploration but rather a political commentary on the prevalent conditions. 

Further, the editors of the book, S. Anand and Alex George, have done a commendable job by engaging deeply with Ambedkar’s thoughts especially in a time where scholars tend to either not try to engage with him fully, or dismiss him altogether. Their annotations to Ambedkar’s work have been threefold: one, they have attempted to clarify to the readers what the latter cannot read easily of Ambedkar’s arguments; second, to establish upon the intellectual and philosophical coordinates of some of his central concepts; and thirdly, to come to terms with the several tables that Ambedkar tirelessly provides when he attempts to track down the manner in which words like Antyavasin, Mleccha, Chandala and so on have been utilised—each signifying, for Ambedkar, the Untouchable-to-come, not yet become ‘Untouchable’ in the sense that we today conceive it (Anand & George, 2019). 

The reading of the original work is made easy when one reads Ambedkar and refers to the annotations alongside it. They have been quite successful in providing to the readers the details that Ambedkar has referred to in his own account, with the annotations providing useful historical and contemporary contexts. So, a reader unfamiliar with Sanskrit texts and colonial historiography might truly find this annotative work a treat to the main thesis. Further, they have also provided support to Ambedkar’s arguments by adopting an explicitly Ambedkarite stance, and highlighting its continued relevance. They have also highlighted how the Brahminical ideology pretends that it has a “total and complete” view of the universe, where Ambedkar critiques this completeness and urges people to continue questioning the social contradictions until the goal of equality is achieved (Anand & George, 2019). However, the editors acknowledge that their annotations exceed the length of Ambedkar’s original text, so it appeared to me that some of the details were unnecessary for a scholarly work. For example, they have mentioned the details of some of the ancient texts/smritis like the Prayaschit Mayukha, Apararka Smriti, and Vrddha Harita (p. 118) to provide additional scholarly background, which could have been avoided. Another major problem with their detailed analysis is their approach of speculative materialism, which challenges the belief that reality depends on human thought, and that events happen by chance, not necessity. So, for instance, whereas one might explain the caste system as a historical process shaped by social, economic, or political forces, a speculative materialist response would argue that caste hierarchies arose from chance or contingent variables over which humankind had no control. And therefore, the reason why it is a problem is because it threatens to disregard Ambedkar’s emphasis on actual historical causes for abstract philosophical speculation. Nonetheless, I think they are right in pointing out the fact that mainstream academia and intellectuals are yet to fully engage with Ambedkar’s radical critiques. This is not only because he questions entrenched structures of privilege, but also because the questions he poses and the answers he advocates for are still deeply relevant today—not merely in addressing untouchability, but in ending the caste system as a whole (Anand & George, 2019). For they say:

“The annotative exercise is a fool’s errand since the wise angels are still to wake from their sleep”. (Anand & George, 2019, p. 82)

Reading the book in contemporary times and situating its relevance wouldn’t be any difficult task, for caste-based discrimination still has room in the larger realm of Indian society. The basic argument of the book revolves around food habits and consumption patterns, which are inextricably linked with caste identities even today. ‘Pure vegetarian’ restaurants represent the higher caste choices, while the consumption of meat is usually stigmatised and results in discrimination against groups such as Muslims, Dalits, and northeast groups. So for instance, the rise of the ‘pure veg’ food delivery system illustrates the manner in which caste hierarchies continue to influence modern consumer culture, thereby reaffirming segregation in the age of technology. Exclusions such as these demonstrate the way in which food politics continues to be linked with caste, wherein dietary purity is used to uphold social hierarchies (Patgiri, 2024). The food choices of Dalits, who still resort to consuming non-vegetarian food, are looked down upon. As Kikon (2021) argues, caste hierarchies today continue to shape taste, spatial arrangement, and produce everyday racism, and adversely impact the dignity of a specific community. Upper-caste housing associations regularly promulgate vegetarian-only policies to exclude meat-consumption groups, specifically the Dalits and Northeast Indians residing in other cities. Exclusion occurs within and outside the spatial confines of exclusive gated complexes, university hostels, public cafeteria spaces, etc where all forms of food other than vegetable food are derogated and absolutely prohibited, thereby perpetuating food discrimination (Kikon, 2021).

So, Beef, Brahmins and Broken Men(2019), I would say, is a critical intervention that challenges dominant narratives of caste and history, and therefore, holds contemporary relevance. The efforts of the editors, Anand & George, along with an apt introduction by Ilaiah, to situate his work in the context of contemporary struggles make this book an essential resource and compel everyone to read Ambedkar not as a historical figure, but as a guide for continued resistance.

References

Ambedkar, B. R. (2019). Beef, Brahmins, and Broken Men: An Annotated Critical Selection from The Untouchables (A. George & S. Anand, Eds.; K. I. Shepherd, Intro.). Navayana Publishing Pvt Ltd.

Kikon, D. (2021). Dirty food: racism and casteism in India. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 45(2), 278–297. https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2021.1964558Patgiri, R. (2024, March 23). Digital recreates the social: What ‘pure veg’ fleet says about caste. Times of India Blog. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/voices/digital-recreates-the-social-what-pure-veg-fleet-says-about-caste/

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