Title page of the first edition of Who Were the Shudras? How They Came to Be the Fourth Varna in the Indo-Aryan Society, Thacker & Co., Bombay, first published 1946. Digital Library of India scan of the Municipal Library, Naini Tal copy.
Title page, first edition, 1946 · Photo: B. R. Ambedkar (Thacker & Co.) · Public domain (PD-India) · Internet Archive
Book · 1946

Who Were the Shudras?

How the Shudras came to be the fourth varna.

Inside the volumeWritings and Speeches, Vol. 7Printed pages 1–228 · PDF pages 20–247
Start reading →Official PDF ↗

Text word for word from the official volume. 21 sections below, each opening at its page.

Contents of Who Were the Shudras?

  1. PrefacePDF p. 28
  2. Chapter I. The Riddle of the Shudrasp. 21
  3. Chapter II. The Brahmanic Theory of the Origin of the Shudrasp. 37
  4. Chapter III. The Brahmanic Theory of the Status of the Shudrasp. 42
  5. Chapter IV. Shudras Versus Aryansp. 65
  6. Chapter V. Aryans Against Aryansp. 86
  7. Chapter VI. Shudras and Dasasp. 101
  8. Chapter VII. Who Were the Shudras?p. 114
  9. Chapter VIII. The Number of Varnas, Three or Four?p. 132
  10. Chapter IX. Brahmins Versus Shudrasp. 140
  11. Chapter X. The Degradation of the Shudrasp. 156
  12. Chapter XI. The Story of Reconciliationp. 186
  13. Chapter XII. The Theory in the Cruciblep. 204
  14. AppendicesPDF p. 229
  15. AppendicesPDF p. 230
  16. AppendicesPDF p. 231
  17. AppendicesPDF p. 232
  18. AppendicesPDF p. 233
  19. AppendicesPDF p. 233
  20. AppendicesPDF p. 234
  21. AppendicesPDF p. 235