Gandhi Believed in caste: Unacceptable for a "Father of the Nation" title

Many people have questioned the thoughts and ideas of Gandhi which to say the least were bizarre. But it is better to state some home truths so that people can realize that Gandhi was not a Mahatama in the real sense but an ordinary man with political ambitions.

Gandhi had retrograde ideas on caste and was a firm believer in the Manu concept of caste and varna. In the 1920 he stated on return from South Africa " Hindus must follow their hereditary professions" He went on to state " prohibition of intermarriage between people of different varnas was necessary for a rapid evolution of the soul". later he made a slight modification in the thirties and announced that he was opposed to caste, but supported the varna . I wonder how he could reconcile this concept as both are not compatible.It is like the devious doctrine of  'separate but equal ' propounded by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1896.

in 1921 he  stated  in his journal Young India" I am a sanatani Hindu, I believe in varnashrama dharma. I believe in cow protection". He also made a preposterous statement  " I believe that caste system has saved Hinduism from disintegration".
I relate all these statements to show that Gandhi was in real terms a reactionary. He wished to take Hinduism back to the age of Manu and the division of society on caste basis. In fact in his great speeches on untouchability in the thirties, his apologists have never been able to explain why he had separate enclosures for the scheduled castes and untouchables. Gandhi perpetuated these divisions in his own speeches yet he wanted untouchability abolished. But he took no concrete steps for its eradication.

One of the reasons for the spread of Islam in India was the caste system as many untouchables fed up of the varna system converted to Islam. yet gandhi could not see anything bad in the Varna system and division of  society on basis of caste.

Dr Ambedkar made a telling point. He said" There will be outcastes as long  as there are castes and nothing can empacimate the outcaste except the destruction of the caste system" In referring to this Gandhi said that Dr Ambedkar was an embittered man.

Its about time people debated Gandhi.  His statement made in 1925 is another eye opener. He stated I believe in the varna system because it fixes the duties and occupations of persons.Varna means the determination of a man’s occupation before he is born. In the varna system no man has any liberty to choose his occupation."
His statements on caste and varna need to be thrown in the dustbin and certainly do no credit to a man who the Congress party refers to as "father of the Nation"