A commentary based on a question-and-answer session given on a men’s ordination retreat in Tuscany, Italy, in 1986. Study groups on the retreat had been studying Dr Ambedkar’s article and were ‘finding their bearings in the Indian world’, as one of the participants explained. In the commentary, Dr Ambedkar’s article is quoted section by section, followed by Sangharakshita’s comments and reflections in answer to the seminar participants’ questions.