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TULSI-PRAJNA
Hindu Society of Bengal are ethnographically far from the higber castes of Punjab and U.P. while the untouchable Namashüdras are nearer to them. So it is a strong point in Ambedkar's theory that it discards race factor and proceeds to seek the roots of untouchability elsewhere. Weaknesses of the theory
The theory has, however, certain weaknesses too. Even a casual reader of Ambedkar's work is likely to be puzzled by the fact he deems the rules formulated for the Shûdras applicable to the case of Broken Men too (known as "Antya' and 'Antyaja') at one place argues that untouchables are quite separate from the Shūdras in other place and arguing against the position that the word "Anta' means end of creation and the word 'Antya' is equivalent to the word untouchable, he says: The argument is absurd and does not accord with the Hindu theory of the order of creation. According to it, it is the Shüdra who is born last. The untouchable is outside the scheme of creation. Tho Shûdra is savarna. Against him the untouchable is Avarņa i.e. outside the varņa system. The Hindu theory of priority in creation does not and cannot apply to the untouchable.''4 On the other hand, referring to Manu's rule that a Shüdra could become a Brāhmana if he married for seven generations within the Brāhmana community, he declares: "that if this rule bad continued to operate in India, the Broken Men of India would have been absorbed in the village community and their separate quarters would have ceased to exist."
Ambedkar expected too much from the rule recorded by Manu but did not care to examine when and why it ceased to operate. That the emergence of untouchability made it inoperate is no answer at all. Ambedkar himself says that it was the Broken Men who became untouchables So the emergence of untouchability could not affect the position of the Shüdras. Why did then that new phenomenon prevent the upgrading of the Shüdras ? There is another question related to it. Ambedkar says the Shüdra was Savarna and lived inside the village while the Broken Men were aliens and lived outside the village. Then, how could the Shūdra's promotion to higher varnas benefit the Broken Men ? Even if all the Shūdras became Brāhmaṇas, how could that change the condition of the Antyajas living outside the village ? How could that lead to disappearance of their separate quarters ?
Later we shall discuss at length the contention that contempt for Buddhists led to untouchability. Even at first glance, however it
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