1160 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
prepared to accept and they did not accept—they opposed—his belief in equality. Notwithstanding the fact that it has abosrbed bits and bits of something which is of an innocuous character it did not touch the main thing on which they were all united namely to maintain chatur varna. That is the reason why notwithstanding this assimilative and adaptive quality, they have remained what they have always been. We have for long number of years waited to see whether Hindu society would, as a result of the absorption of the doctrines preached by great men who have been born in this country or great men born outside the country, change its social structure. Most of us, speaking for myself, have been completely disappointed. Whatever else Hindu society may adopt, it will never give up its social structure for the enslavement of the Sudra and the enslavement of women. It is for this reason that law must now come to their rescue in order that society may move on.
Pandit Malaviya: Move on to what even Buddha could not do.
Dr. Ambedkar : People have been saying that Hindu society has been changing. The question that I want to ask is this. Is this change in the direction of progress or it is a change in the other direction ? Any one who has studied the history of Arya society from the very beginning to the present day will have to admit, if he is a fair student of history, that whatever change has taken place, it has been a deterioration. There was, as everybody knows, no caste system among the Aryans. There may have been some kind of varna system; but the varna system never came in the way of inter-marriages. You can find many number of cases of Brahmans marrying untouchable women. Kashatriyas marrying sudras and sudras marrying upper class women.
Pandit Malaviya: Which were the instances ?
Dr. Ambedkar: I can give many instances if you will come to my room. I have got them.
Pandit Malaviya : Why not now ?
Dr. Ambedkar : But, the Aryans never had a hide-bound social system of class division that was later introduced. Nobody can deny that has been a subsequent change.
You examine the position of Hindu women. Our Hon. friend Dr. Maitra. I think, who was a member of the Rau Committee, for the purpose of a thesis for a Doctorate degree of the Calcutta University wrote a book called The Position of Women in the Hindu Shastras.