In view of the limitations of length imposed by a column of this kind, one can either review the book or engage with this debate. This piece hurls the ultimate insult at Dalit writers and activists angered by the Navayana edition, charging them with practising “the politics of Brahminism'. Unlike Anand and Roy, both of whom have shown a willingness to engage with their Dalit critics, other privileged caste writers have come down heavily on these Dalit voices, accusing them of intolerance, fanaticism, misogyny, and of trying to curb the freedom of expression of non-Dalits.

Anand, who’s also copped a lot of flak from Dalits, especially on social media, has published his response on the Navayana website. Roy replied to the letter explaining the logic behind her choices. The Ambedkarite website, Round Table India (RTI) published an open letter to Arundhati Roy questioning, among other things, her motives in writing this introduction, her suitability for such a task, her excessive focus on Gandhi in her essay, and the politics surrounding her decision to write it. Given the recent resurgence of the Hindu Right in the Indian political landscape, one could even consider it timely.īut this edition of AoC, though widely welcomed in non-Dalit circles in India and abroad, has evoked fierce objections from Dalits, with many even calling it an insult to the Dalit community. Anand, ought to be a good thing, and worth celebrating.

On the face of it, this special publication, with an introduction by a writer of the stature and international fame of Roy, and detailed annotations by the Navayana publisher S. The Delhi-based anti-caste publishing house, Navayana, has just published an annotated critical edition of AoC, with an introduction by Arundhati Roy. Now this revolutionary classic is all set to gain a wider, savarna readership - the audience whom Ambedkar could not address.

Annihilation of caste was written by