Who Were the Shudras?
Who Were the Shudras? is a history book published by Indian social reformer and polymath B. R. Ambedkar in 1946. The book discusses the origin of the Shudra Varna. Ambedkar dedicated the book to Jyotirao Phule (1827–1890). Subject of the book. In the book Ambedkar, citing Rigveda, Mahabharata and other ancient vedic scriptures, estimates that the Shudras were originally Aryans. Ambedkar writes in the preface of the book, ""Two questions are raised in this book: (1) Who were the Shudras? and (2) How they came to be the fourth Varna of the Indo-Aryan society? My  answers to them are summarised below." Importantly, Ambedkar states that the Shudras of Hindu society are entirely different from Shudras of ancient Indo-Aryan Society. The common misconception that the two are related in terms of ancestry stems from the fact that people believe that the Hindu and Indo-Aryan meaning of the word "Shudras" is the same, when they are actually different. In the Indo-Aryan society, the word referred to a particular race of people, whereas in the Hindu society, the word loosely applies to individuals of a low social status, who are considered "uncultured". Ambedkar claims that  the application of the word in the Hindu sense is incorrect as it wrongly associates them with the people and culture of the Indo-Aryan society, who committed wrongdoings, such as offending the Brahmins. Ambedkar also discusses Aryan race theory and rejects Indo-Aryan migration theory in the book. According to Arvind Sharma, Ambedkar noticed certain flaws in the Aryan invasion theory that were later acknowledged by western scholarship. For example, scholars now acknowledge "anās" in Rig Veda 5.29.10 refers to speech rather than the shape of the nose. Ambedkar anticipated this modern view by stating that there are two  main understandings of the word "Anasa." The first, by Professor Max Muller, is read as a-nasa, and refers to having a flat nose, or no nose at all. Whereas, the second, by Sayanacharya, is read as an-asa, and refers to the lack of mouth, or the lack of good speech. Although Ambedkar acknowledges that Professor Muller's version supports the belief that Dasyus and Aryans were of different races, he claims that there is a lack of evidence for this view, and expresses support for Sayanacharya's view. Contents. Preface Criticism. The historian, R. S. Sharma, criticized Ambedkar 's book for relying solely on translations of texts for his information, and stated Ambedkar wrote the book with the sole purpose to prove Shudras were of high caste origin, which was very popular among the highly educated parts of the lower castes during that time period.