Who were the Shudras

First published in 1946, ‘Who were the Shudras’ is a history book by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, a very renowned political leader, distinguished jurist, Buddhist activist, philosopher, anthropologist, historian, orator, writer, economist, scholar, and editor.
In the book, Dr. Ambedkar, citing Rigveda, Mahabharata, and other ancient Vedic scriptures, estimates that the Shudras were originally Aryans. They were a part of the Kshatriya Varna belonging to the Solar race (Suryavansha). Importantly, Ambedkar states that the Shudras of Hindu society are entirely different from the Shudras of ancient Indo-Aryan societies. The common misconception that the two are related in terms of ancestry stems from the fact that people believe that the Hindu and Indo-Aryan meaning of the word ‘Shudras’ is the same when they are actually different.
In the Indo-Aryan society, the word referred to a particular race of people, whereas in the Hindu society, the word loosely applies to individuals of a low social status, who are considered ‘uncultured’. Dr. Ambedkar claims that the application of the word in the Hindu sense is incorrect as it wrongly associates them with the people and culture of the Indo-Aryan society, who committed wrongdoings, such as offending the Brahmins.

• Social Science
• History of Asia