D:\AMBEDKAR\VOL-07\VOL7-12 Mk S.K.—27-09-2013>DK>10-11-2013 204
204 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
CHAPTER XII
THE THEORY IN THE CRUCIBLE
I
THE object of this essay was to trace the origin of the Shudras and discover the causes of their degradation. After an examination of historical material and of theories suggested by various writers— orthodox as well as modern—I have put forth a new thesis. In the preceding chapters, it has been presented in parts for the facility of laying the foundation of each part separately. It is time these parts were assembled together for a full and complete understanding of what the thesis is. It may be summarized as follows :
(1) The Shudras were one of the Aryan communities of the Solar race.
(2) The Shudras ranked as the Kshatriya Varna in the Indo-Aryan Society.
(3) There was a time when the Aryan Society recognized only three Varnas, namely, Brahmins, Kshatriyas and Vaishyas. The Shudras were not a separate Varna but a part of the Kshatriya Varna.
(4) There was a continuous feud between the Shudra kings and the Brahmins, in which the Brahmins were subjected to many tyrannies and indignities.
(5) As a result of the hatred towards the Shudras due to their tyrannies and oppressions, the Brahmins refused to invest the Shudras with the sacred thread.
(6) Owing to the loss of the sacred thread the Shudras became socially degraded, fell below the rank of the Vaishyas and came to form the fourth Varna.
It now remains to assess the validity of this thesis. It is usual for the author to leave this to others to do it. I propose to make a departure and myself enter upon the task of putting my thesis to