07/05/2026
In Annihilation of Caste, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar asks a question that is still uncomfortable today.
Why do some communities stand together in moments of danger, while others remain divided?
His answer has nothing to do with physical strength, diet, or military training.
He argues that courage comes from something far more powerful-the certainty that, if one person is attacked, the community will stand beside them.
That certainty creates fearlessness.
To explain this, Ambedkar compares Hindu society with Sikh and Muslim communities. He observes that they possessed a strong sense of brotherhood, a social bond that assured individuals they would not stand alone.
He writes:
“Among Sikhs and Muslims there is a social cement which makes them Bhais. Among Hindus there is no such cement and one Hindu does not regard another Hindu as his Bhai.”
Why, according to Ambedkar, was this bond missing?
His answer is clear.
Caste.
He argues that caste broke society into countless isolated groups, replacing fraternity with separation. When people stop seeing one another as equals, cooperation weakens. Unity becomes difficult. Reform becomes even harder.
He goes further.
What many celebrate as “tolerance,” he argues, is often something else entirely.
Sometimes, people do not resist injustice-not because they accept it, but because they have lost the confidence that anyone will stand with them.
Only after building that argument does Ambedkar write the line featured in this post:
“Indifferentism is the worst kind of disease that can infect a people.”
For Ambedkar, the opposite of indifferentism was fraternity-a society where people refuse to remain silent in the face of injustice because they know they are not standing alone.
Source: Annihilation of Caste (1936), Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar: Writings and Speeches (BAWS), Vol. 1, Sections XI–XII, pp. 55–56.
