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Ambedakar was a very complex character – highly intelligent and extremely learned but a student and admirer of Marxism which characterizes his attack on Hinduism as the “opiate of the masses”.

His did not advocate for a reformation, because he thought reform was impossible due to the caste/varna system which he regarded as identical with Hinduism, but rather that the whole system had to be torn down (this is characteristic of what cultural Marxists call “Critical Theory”.) Hence his relentless attacks on all fronts.

He made three egregiously false claims:–

1. “caste is the life-breath of Hinduism”
2. “what the Hindus call Religion is really Law, or at best legalized class-ethics.”
3. “But the worst evil of this code of ordinances is that the laws it contains must be the same yesterday, today, and forever.”

The “life-breath of Hinduism” I would contend is the philosophy of VEDANTA. In the 1940’s the biggest expatriate community of Indians (Hindus) in the world was in Malaysia and South Africa. I cannot speak about Malaysia but the Hindu community in South Africa was flourishing without caste-discrimination as was the 6 million plus community of Indonesian Hindus – the oldest non-Indian community of Hindus in the world. – thus disproving his claim. Modern expatriate Hindus live and flourish without reference to caste and all international Hindu organizations have rejected caste-discrimination.

So Hinduism can quite easily survive and flourish WITHOUT Caste.

The leading Hindu religious leaders have also denounced cast based discrimination.

Statement against Caste-based Discrimination: Swami Dayananda Saraswati - Hindu American Foundation
If you are a member of the media, please contact: Mat McDermott Director of Communications mat@hafsite.org
https://www.hinduamerican.org/press/caste-statement-swami-dayananda-saraswati

Religion is DHARMA which is far more than legalised class-ethics, it includes the whole range of ethics and personal morality a branch of philosophy known as DEONTOLOGY. So to call it “legalized class-ethics” is misleading – particularly since Dharma is not and has never been a legal entity.

Ambedkar only quotes one definition of Dharma – by Jaimini who defines Dharma as injunctions originating from Vedic commands (चोदणा-लक्षणः अर्थः धर्मः) and it is on this definition that he bases his erroneous conclusions of the intransigent nature of Dharma.

BUT! There are other definition of Dharma – which he probably knew but ignored because they do not support his ideological position about Dharma being “legalised class-ethics”!

धारणाद्धर्म इत्याहुः धर्मो धारयते प्रजाः । य स्याद्धारण सम्युक्तः स धर्म इति निश्चयः ॥

dhāraṇād dharma ityāhuḥ dharmo dhārayate prajāḥ | ya syād dhāraṇa samyuktaḥ sa dharma iti niścayaḥ ||

The word Dharma is derived from dhāraṇa or sustenance; Dharma is what sustains society. That which has the capacity to sustain is indeed dharma. (M.B. Karna Parva 69:58)

Kaṇāda defines Dharma as:-

यतोभ्युदय-निःश्रेयस-सिद्धिः स धर्मः yatobhyudaya-niḥśreyasa-siddhiḥ sa dharmaḥ

Dharma is that strategy by which the material flourishing and the Supreme Good or Mokṣa (cessation of dukha) is achieved. (Kanada Vaiseshika sutras)

Rāmānuja defines Dharma as धर्म हि निःश्रेयस सधनम् “dharma hi niḥśreyasa sadhanam”

Dharma is the means to achieve the highest good.

The last statement is the most egregious and I am surprised that one as learned as he would make this claim. The very nature of Dharma is to change and adapt with time, place and circumstance. The mutable nature of Dharma is expressed by none other than Manu himself for whom Ambedkar reserved a particular animus.

परित्यजेदर्थकामौ यौ स्यातां धर्मवर्जितौ । धर्मं च अप्यसुख उदर्कं लोकसङ्क्रुष्टमेव च

parityajed arth .kāmau yau syātāṁ dharmavarjitau | dharmaṁ ca-apy asukha.udarkaṁ lokasaṅkruṣṭam eva ca || 76 ||

4:176. Let one avoid (the acquisition of) wealth and (the gratification of) desires, if they are opposed to Dharma, and even that Dharma which may cause pain in the future or is offensive to people (lokavikrusta).

Yajnavalkya, the other great law-giver confirms this,

कर्मणा मनसा वाचा यत्नाद् धर्मं समाचरेत् । अस्वर्ग्यं लोकविद्विष्टं धर्म्यमप्याचरेन् न तु ॥

karmaṇā manasā vācā yatnād dharmaṃ samācaret | asvargyaṃ lokavidviṣṭaṃ dharmyam apy ācaren na tu ||

One should strive to practice Dharma through thought, speech and action, but a (so-called) Dharma which does not contribute to human flourishing and is detested by the world (lokavidvista) must not be practised”. (Yajñāvālkya Smṛti 1:156)

Confirmed again by Vishnu Smriti

धर्म-विरुद्धौ च आर्थ-कामौ ॥ लोक-विद्विष्टं च धर्ममपि ॥

dharma-viruddhau ca ārtha-kāmau || loka-vidviṣṭaṁ ca dharmam api ||

Wealth and Pleasure, opposed to Dharma one shall avoid; also such Dharma as may be disapproved of by the people. (Vishnu Smriti. 71.84.85)

The Mahabharata (vishvamitra-svapac samvāda) advises:–

तस्मात् कौन्तेय विदुषा धर्माधर्म विनिश्चये । बुद्धिमास्थाय लोकेऽस्मिन्वर्तितव्यं यतात्मना ॥ ९९ ॥

tasmāt kaunteya viduṣā dharmādharma viniścaye | buddhimāsthāya loke'smin vartitavyaṁ yatātmanā || 99 ||

For this reason, O son of Kunti, an enlightened person, possessed of learning should live and act in this world, relying upon his own intelligence in discriminating between Dharma and its opposite[1].

[1] dūreṇa hyavaraṁ karma buddhi-yogād dhanañjaya | buddhau śaraṇam anviccha kṛpaṇāḥ phala-hetavaḥ ||

Action with attachment [to results] is far inferior, O Arjuna, to action done with equanimity. Seek refuge in your own intellect. Miserable are they, who act motived by reward. (Gītā 2:49)

Claim - 

Anybody who went through Dr. Ambedkar’s experiences would have the same views.

When the so called “learned men” of the age did not find any “merit” in him except his “hina-jati” despite his academic achievements (2 PhDs), extremely sharp intellect and analytical mind he was never more than a Mahar to most Indians then and even now.

His greatest service to Hinduism & Bharat was that he did not chose a swadeshi dharma over an Abrahamanic religion. God forbid, had he chosen Islam, Bharat would have been Dar-ul-Islam by now! One must also read his writings on Islam and Pakistan.

As a Hindu living in US for over 3 decades, Caste system is alive and very well among the Hindus of Bay Area, you see it in the social interactions, friendships, professional associations, hiring and promotions, though not overtly open.

Many religious and community leaders covertly practice it while mouthing platitudes of equality etc.,

Response -  Caste is a social cultural comfort in terms of vegetarian food, alcohol, and it's influence on perceptions of spirituality - violation or lack of. Not discrimination. Nothing upper or lower in terms of privilege. Mostly speaking.

I live in Australia and I have rarely come across any “casteism” - I work in a hospital and all the Hindu Brahmin doctors and staff treat everyone exactly the same. I perform most wedding in Sydney and only once or twice in 40 years have I encountered a “caste” issue - most wedding are intercaste marriages.

Of course everyone likes to socialise with their own - Jews, Greeks, Lebanese, Italians all prefer their own ethnic and class equals. Indians likewise .this is normal human tendency. It is unrealistic to expect otherwise.- Tamils seldom socialise with Punjabis and Telegus seldom socialise with Gujaratis, vegetarian Hindus don’t like to socialise with non-veg Hindus and all the Srilankans keep to themselves.

Immigration is not about the first generation - its about the second - and all young Indians growing up in Australia don’t give too hoots about caste and a large percentage are marrying inter-caste and certainly with other ethnic groups as well - so hopefully with the next generation caste issue will be a non-issue.

all these cases concern villages, village deities (grāma-devatas) and the opposition is by Sudras. And all are being dealt with according to legal channels.

Tamil inscriptions are there to show that paraiyars now known as untouchables entered and offered prayers in temples until 400 years ago. They even owned lands and gifted lands to temples as they were commanders in the army. Later when telugus conquered tamilnadu they snatched away half of the cultivable lands from tamil rulers and distributed it among telugu warriors naidus, reddies and rajus.

Now rendered with only half of the cultivable lands those tamil rulers were forced to support only those commmanders of their community like muthaliyars, pillais, vanniyars, kallars and kongu vellalars and abandoned pariyars and pallars from the army. These abandoned people then agitated against those rulers who later started to suppress their agitations by way of excommunicating them from the society. Thus they have become untouchables. But Ambedkar blames it upon hinduism and brahmins.

In western countries we have very strict laws against work-place discrimination and bullying. I someone has a complaint there are channels in place. Outside of work people can socialise with whomsoever they desire - gang-bangers will associate with other gang-bangers and so on.