The Doctor and the Saint: Caste, Race, and Annihilation of C

ISBN: 160846797X

Author: Roy, Arundhati

Condition: new

To best understand and address the inequality in India today, Arundhati Roy insists we must examine both the political development and influence of M. K. Gandhi and why B. R. Ambedkars brilliant challenge to his near-divine status was suppressed by Indias elite. In Roys analysis, we see that Ambedkars fight for justice was systematically sidelined in favor of policies that reinforced caste, resulting in the current nation of India: independent of British rule, globally powerful, and marked to this day by the caste system.This book situates Ambedkars arguments in their vital historical context- namely, as an extended public political debate with Mohandas Gandhi. For more than half a century-throughout his adult life-[Gandhis] pronouncements on the inherent qualities of black Africans, untouchables and the laboring classes remained consistently insulting, writes Roy. His refusal to allow working-class people and untouchables to create their own political organizations and elect their own representatives remained consistent too.In The Doctor and the Saint, Roy exposes some uncomfortable, controversial, and even surprising truths about the political thought and career of Indias most famous and most revered figure. In doing so she makes the case for why Ambedkars revolutionary intellectual achievements must be resurrected, not only in India but throughout the world. Arundhati Roy is incandescent in her brilliance and her fearlessness.-Junot DíazThe fierceness with which Arundhati Roy loves humanity moves my heart.-Alice Walker