918 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
years old, some say six thousand years old—many people will not be satisfied with that period probably they want to take it back—never mind about it, let it be six thousand years old—has produced five crores of untouchables, some two crores of tribal people; and some fifty thousand criminal tribes people. What can one say of this civilization ? With a civilization which has produced these results, there must be something very fundamentally wrong, and I think it is time the Hindus looked at it from this point of view—whether they can be proud of the civilization which has produced these communities like the untouchables, the criminal tribes and the tribal people. I think they ought to think twice—not twice a hundred times—they are conventionally called civilized— whether they could be called civilized with this kind of results produced by their civilization.
Sir, I thank you very much for this opportunity.