186 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
CHAPTER XI
THE STORY OF RECONCILIATION
SO far I have attempted to establish the following propositions :
(1) That it is the Brahmins who brought about the fall of the Shudras from the second to the fourth Varna in the IndoAryan Society;
(2) That the technique adopted by the Brahmins to degrade the Shudras was to deny them the benefit of the Upanayana;
(3) That this act of degradation was born out of the spirit of revenge on the part of the Brahmins who were groaning under the tyrannies and oppressions and indignities to which they were subjected by the Shudra kings.
While all this is crystal clear, there may be some who may yet have some such questions to ask, namely :
(i) Why should a quarrel with a few kings make the Brahmins the enemies of the whole Shudra community?
(ii) Was the provocation so great as to create a feeling of hatred and desire to seek vengeance?
(iii) Were not the parties reconciled? If they were, then their was no occasion for the Brahmins to degrade the Shudras.
(iv) How did the Shudras suffer this degradation?
These questions I admit have in them enough force and substance to call for serious consideration. It is only proper that they should be answered.
I
The question why the Brahmins, because of their quarrels with a few kings, should proceed to degrade the whole community of Shudras is not only relevant but is also very pertinent. There would, however, be no difficulty to answer this question if two things are borne in mind.