Castes in India: Their Mechanism, Genesis and Development, reproduced in his Writings and Speeches, Gvt. of Maharashtra, 1986, vol. 1, p. 21, with reference to S. V. Ketkar: History of Caste in India, Low Price Publ., Delhi 1990 (1909), p. 82.
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European students of Caste have unduly emphasised the role of colour in the Caste system. Themselves impregnated by colour prejudices, they very readily imagined it to be the chief factor in the Caste problem. But nothing can be farther from the truth, and Dr. Ketkar is correct when he insists that "All the princes whether they belonged to the so-called Aryan race, or the so-called Dravidian race, were Aryas. Whether a tribe or a family was racially Aryan or Dravidian was a question which never troubled the people of India, until foreign scholars came in and began to draw the line. The colour of the skin had long ceased to be a matter of importance"

— B. R. Ambedkar

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "European students of Caste have unduly emphasised the role of colour in the Caste system. Themselves impregnated by colour prejudices, they very readily imagined it to be the chief factor in the Caste problem. But nothing can be farther from the truth, and Dr. Ketkar is correct when he insists that "All the princes whether they belonged to the so-called Aryan race, or the so-called Dravidian race, were Aryas. Whether a tribe or a family was racially Aryan or Dravidian was a question which never troubled the people of India, until foreign scholars came in and began to draw the line. The colour of the skin had long ceased to be a matter of importance"" in the context of "Castes in India: Their Mechanism, Genesis and Development, reproduced in his Writings and Speeches, Gvt. of Maharashtra, 1986, vol. 1, p. 21, with reference to S. V. Ketkar: History of Caste in India, Low Price Publ., Delhi 1990 (1909), p. 82." to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "B. R. Ambedkar" (Quotes) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
B. R. Ambedkar

About B. R. Ambedkar

Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (April 14, 1891 – December 6, 1956), an Indian polymath: jurist, economist, politician, and writer. He pioneered revival of Buddhism in India and inspired the modern Buddhist movement. He was independent India's first law minister, and the major architect of the Constitution of India.