The Origins of Untouchability: An Analytical Study of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar's Perspective

Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, in his groundbreaking work The Untouchables: Who Were They and Why They Became Untouchables? (1948), explores the origins of untouchability, a phenomenon deeply rooted in India’s social structure. Ambedkar challenges racial theories and Brahmanical narratives that have long dominated discourse, instead attributing untouchability to social practices, religious monopolization, and cultural taboos. This paper critically examines Ambedkar’s rejection of racial determinism, his analysis of Aryans, Dasas, Nagas, and Dravidians, and his reliance on anthropological evidence to trace untouchability's origins.