APPENDIX II
A REPLY TO THE MAHATMA BY
DR. B. R. AMBEDKAR
I
appreciate greatly the honour done me by the Mahatma
in taking notice in his Harijan
of the speech on Caste which I had prepared for
the Jat Pat Todak Mandal. From a perusal
of his review of my speech it is clear that the Mahatma completely dissents from the views I have
expressed on the subject of Caste. I am not in the
habit of entering into controversy with my
opponents unless there are special reasons which
compel me to act otherwise. Had my opponent been some mean and obscure person I
would not have pursued him. But my opponent being the Mahatma
himself I feel I must attempt to meet the case to the contrary which he has sought to put forth. While I appreciate the honour he
has done me, I must confess
to a sense of surprize on
finding that of all the persons the Mahatma should
accuse me of a desire to seek publicity as he
seems to do when he suggests that in publishing
the undelivered speech my object was to see that I was not " forgotten ".
Whatever the Mahatma may choose to say my object
in publishing the speech was to provoke the Hindus to think and take stock of their position. I have
never hankered for publicity
and if I may say so, I have more of it than I wish or need. But supposing it
was out of the motive of gaining publicity that I printed the speech who could
cast a stone at me ? Surely not those, who like
the Mahatma live in glass houses.
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