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Note: the text below is an excerpt of this article. I am updating one of the sections to include the latest information regarding the Dalit Buddhist movement's interaction with the incumbent BJP government led by India's Prime Minister, Narendra Modi.


Dalit Buddhist movement

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After Ambedkar's death

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The Buddhist movement was somewhat hindered by Ambedkar's death so shortly after his conversion. It did not receive the immediate mass support from the Untouchable population that Ambedkar had hoped for. Division and lack of direction among the leaders of the Ambedkarite movement have been an additional impediment. According to the 2001 census, there are currently 7.95 million Buddhists in India, at least 5.83 million of whom are Buddhists in Maharashtra.[1] This makes Buddhism the fifth-largest religion in India and 6% of the population of Maharashtra, but less than 1% of the overall population of India.

The Buddhist revival remains concentrated in two states: Ambedkar's native Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh — the land of Bodhanand Mahastavir, Acharya Medharthi and their associates.

Developments in Uttar Pradesh

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Statue of B.R.Ambedkar inside Ambedkar Park, Lucknow

Acharya Medharthi retired from his Buddhapuri school in 1960, and shifted to an ashram in Haridwar. He turned to the Arya Samaj and conducted Vedic yajnas all over India. After his death, he was cremated according to Arya Samaj rites.[2] His Buddhpuri school became embroiled in property disputes. His follower, Bhoj Dev Mudit, converted to Buddhism in 1968 and set up a school of his own.

Rajendranath Aherwar appeared as an important Dalit leader in Kanpur. He joined the Republican Party of India and converted to Buddhism along with his whole family in 1961. In 1967, he founded the Kanpur branch of "Bharatiya Buddh Mahasabha". He held regular meetings where he preached Buddhism, officiated at Buddhist weddings and life cycle ceremonies, and organised festivals on Ambedkar's Jayanti (birth day), Sambuddhatva jayanthi, Diksha Divas (the day Ambedkar converted), and Ambedkar Paranirvan Divas (the day Ambedkar died).[2]

The Dalit Buddhist movement in Kanpur gained impetus with the arrival of Dipankar, a Chamar bhikkhu, in 1980. Dipankar had come to Kanpur on a Buddhist mission and his first public appearance was scheduled at a mass conversion drive in 1981. The event was organised by Rahulan Ambawadekar, an RPI Dalit leader. In April 1981, Ambawadekar founded the Dalit Panthers (U.P. Branch) inspired by the Maharashtrian Dalit Panthers. The event met with severe criticism and opposition from Vishva Hindu Parishad and was banned.[2]

The number of Buddhists in the Lucknow district increased from 73 in 1951 to 4327 in 2001.[3] According to the 2001 census, almost 70% of the Buddhist population in Uttar Pradesh is from the scheduled castes background.[4]

In 2002, Kanshi Ram, a popular political leader from a Sikh religious background, announced his intention to convert to Buddhism on 14 October 2006, the fiftieth anniversary of Ambedkar's conversion. He intended for 20,000,000 of his supporters to convert at the same time.[citation needed] Part of the significance of this plan was that Ram's followers include not only Untouchables, but persons from a variety of castes, who could significantly broaden Buddhism's support. But, he died 9 October 2006[5] after a lengthy illness; he was cremated as per Buddhist tradition.[6]

Another popular Dalit leader, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Bahujan Samaj Party leader Mayawati, has said that she and her followers will embrace Buddhism after the BSP forms a government at the Centre.[7]

Maharashtra

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Flag symbolises Dalit movement in India.

Japanese-born Surai Sasai emerged as an important Buddhist leader in India. Sasai came to India in 1966 and met Nichidatsu Fujii, whom he helped with the Peace Pagoda at Rajgir. He fell out with Fuji, however, and started home, but, by his own account, was stopped by a dream in which a figure resembling Nagarjuna appeared and said, "Go to Nagpur". In Nagpur, he met Wamanrao Godbole, the person who had organised the conversion ceremony for Ambedkar in 1956. Sasai claims that when he saw a photograph of Ambedkar at Godbole's home, he realised that it was Ambedkar who had appeared in his dream. At first, Nagpur folk considered Surai Sasai very strange. Then he began to greet them with "Jai Bhim" (victory to Ambedkar) and to build viharas. In 1987 a court case to deport him on the grounds that he had overstayed his visa was dismissed, and he was granted Indian citizenship. Sasai and Bhante Anand Agra are two of main leaders of the campaign to free the Mahabodhi Temple at Bodh Gaya from Hindu control.[8]

A movement originating in Maharashtra but also active in Uttar Pradesh, and spread out over quite a few other pockets where Neo Buddhists live, is Triratna Bauddha Mahāsaṅgha (formerly called TBMSG for Trailokya Bauddha Mahasangha Sahayaka Gana). It is the Indian wing of the UK-based Triratna Buddhist Community founded by Sangharakshita. Its roots lie in the scattered contacts that Sangharakshita had in the 1950s with Ambedkar. Sangharakshita, then still a bhikshu, participated in the conversion movement from 1956 until his departure to the UK in 1963.

When his new ecumenical movement had gained enough ground in the West, Sangharakshita worked with Ambedkarites in India and the UK to develop Indian Buddhism further. After visits in the late 1970s by Dharmachari Lokamitra from UK, supporters developed a two-pronged approach: social work through the Bahujan Hitaj (also spelled as Bahujan Hitay) trust, mainly sponsored from the general public by the British Buddhist-inspired Karuna Trust (UK), and direct Dharma work. Currently the movement has viharas and groups in at least 20 major areas, a couple of retreat centres, and hundreds of Indian Dharmacharis and Dharmacharinis.[9]

Funding for movement's social and dharma work has come from foreign countries, including the Western countries and Taiwan. Some of the foreign-funded organisations include Trailokya Bauddha Mahasangha Sahayaka Gana[10] and Triratna (Europe and India). Triratna has links with the 'Ambedkarite' Buddhist Romanis in Hungary.[11]

Organized mass conversions

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Deekshabhoomi Stupa in Nagpur where Ambedkar converted to Buddhism.

Since Ambedkar's conversion, several thousand people from different castes have converted to Buddhism in ceremonies including the twenty-two vows.

1957
In 1957, Mahastvir Bodhanand's Sri Lankan successor, Bhante Pragyanand, held a mass conversion drive for 15,000 people in Lucknow.[2]
2001
A prominent Indian Navayana Buddhist leader and political activist, Udit Raj, organised a large mass conversion on 4 November 2001, where he gave the 22 vows, but the event met with active opposition from the government.[12]
2006, Hyderabad
A report from the UK daily The Guardian said that some Hindus have converted to Buddhism. Buddhist monks from the UK and the U.S. attended the conversion ceremonies in India. Lalit Kumar, who works for a Hindu nationalist welfare association in Andhra Pradesh, asserted that Dalits should concentrate on trying to reduce illiteracy and poverty rather than looking for new religions.[13]
2006, Gulbarga
On 14 October 2006, hundreds of people converted from Hinduism to Buddhism in Gulburga (Karnataka).[14]
2006
At 50th anniversary celebrations in 2006 of Ambedkar's deeksha.[15] Non-partisan sources put the number of attendees (not converts) at 30,000.[16] The move was criticised by Hindu groups as "unhelpful" and has been criticised as a "political stunt."[16]
2007, Mumbai
On 27 May 2007, tens of thousands of Dalits from Maharashtra gathered at the Mahalakshmi racecourse in Mumbai to mark the 50th anniversary of the conversion of Ambedkar. The number of people who converted versus the number of people in attendance was not clear.[17] The event was organised by the Republican Party of India leader Ramdas Athvale.[18]

Criticism of conversions

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Critics have argued that efforts to convert Hindus to Ambedkarite Buddhism are political stunts rather than sincere commitments to social reform.[19][20] On May 2011, Vishwesha Teertha stated that conversion doesn't add any benefit to the status of dalits.[21]

On 17 June 2013, the converted Dalits asked for their Buddhist certificates, which had been delayed.[22]

Relationship with Hindu nationalism

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The rise of Hindu nationalism in India has posed a threat to Indians who practice religions other than Hinduism. Under the incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government ruled by Indian Prime Minister Narenda Modi, Ambedkarite Buddhists continue to protest against the caste structure purported by Hindu nationalists in the form of mass conversions.[23] The BJP has attempted to lure Dalit votes using more updated, inclusive Hindutva rhetoric, but this has been met with pushbacks by Dalit Buddhist leaders.[24]

Since the 1980s, Hindutva politics has incorporated Dalit culture and folklore in their political rhetoric in attempts to attract them to a greater right-wing ideology.[25] Groups such as the BJP have gone so far as to involve them in the anti-Muslim riots in the state of Gujarat in 2002.[25] The greater RSS-BJP Hindutva movement also employs other manipulative tactics such as misleading less-fortunate Dalit groups to gain votes, [26] This has given some Dalits recognition and a sense of inclusion in Hindu India in the contexts of of electoral participation and self-mobilization. The BJP has also co-opted Dalit political movements, denying their distinctiveness and viewing them as part of the Hindu project. This “saffronizing” of Dalit movements systematically erases local Dalit identities. [27]

Despite its supposed support for a majority Dalit populace in India, the BJP has committed atrocities against the group among others who go against the grain of the BJP ideology.[28] Specifically, Dalits have been targeted by mobs of upper-caste Hindus for voicing their opinions on Dalit issues on social media channels such as Facebook.[28] The Dalit conversions from Hinduism to Buddhism have continued through the incumbency of the BJP government as late as 2018.[29] The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a paramilitary Hindu nationalist volunteer organization that oversees the BJP, has voiced its concerns regarding the ongoing conversions. It has threatened and even physically attacked against those who attempt to convert from Hinduism into other religions as an act of protest.[29]


The Dalit Buddhist movement today is kept alive through educated, middle-class Dalits and other loosely related groups.[26] These castes still use Ambedkarite ideology as a guiding and unifying force of political mobilization against the BJP majority.[26][30] Many Ambedkarites have been drawn to the movement as a result of exclusionary policies in many Indian states that prevent Hindus from converting to Islam or Christiatnity from Hinduism.[23] Article 25 of the Indian Constitution designates Buddhism as a sub-sect of Hinduism — although this policy inherently downplays the separation between Hindus and Buddhists, Ambedkarites use it as a loophole in order to legally and symbolically convert away from Hinduism as a means of protest. [31] Dalits who do not identify with Dalit Buddhism but aim to escape their "untouchable" social status see view the legality of conversion as a simpler avenue to freedom than navigating the bureaucracy associated with converting to religions such as Islam.[32]


Prime Minister Modi himself has explicitly co-opted Buddhism as a means of garnering support for the BJP among Dalit Buddhists in India. [33] In 2016, he launched a movement titled Dhamma Chakra Yatra, a political/religious pilgrimage wherein almost 100 Buddhist monks traveled around the state of Uttar Pradesh in order to speak to voters about Modi's views on Buddhism and Ambedkar. [33] This was another attempt to reconcile the Ambedkarite narrative with the predominantly Hindu-centric BJP rhetoric. Prominent Buddhist leaders in Uttar Pradesh voiced their concerns and made clear their separation from any Buddhist monks who contributed to this cause, stating that Dhamma Chakra Yatra was actually a movement to slander Buddhism. [34]

  1. ^ Census GIS HouseHold Archived 6 July 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ a b c d Bellwinkel-Schempp, Maren (2004). "Roots of Ambedkar Buddhism in Kanpur" (PDF). In Jondhale, Surendra; Beltz, Johannes (eds.). Reconstructing the World: B.R. Ambedkar and Buddhism in India (PDF). New Delhi: Oxford University Press. pp. 221–244 (PDF). {{cite book}}: Check |archiveurl= value (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. ^ Das, Shiv Shankar. "Ambedkar Buddhism in Uttar Pradesh (1951–2001): An Analysis of Demographic, Social, Economic and Political Developments" (PDF). RINDAS International Symposium Series I. Ryukoku University, Japan. pp. 56–74. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 April 2014. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
  4. ^ Das, Shiv Shankar. "Buddhism in Lucknow: History and Culture From Alternative Sources" (PDF). Ambedkar Times. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 April 2014. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
  5. ^ "BBC NEWS – South Asia – Indian Dalit leader passes away". Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  6. ^ "Kanshi Ram cremated as per Buddhist rituals". The Hindu. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  7. ^ "Kanshi Ram cremated as per Buddhist rituals". The Hindu. 10 October 2006. Retrieved 30 August 2007.
  8. ^ Doyle, Tara N. (2003). Liberate the Mahabodhi Temple! Socially Engaged Buddhism, Dalit-Style. In: Steven Heine, Charles Prebish (eds), Buddhism in the Modern World. Oxford University Press. pp. 249–280. ISBN 0-19-514698-0.
  9. ^ "Wayback Machine" (PDF). 20 April 2012. Archived from the original on 20 April 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  10. ^ "TBMSG: Trailokya Bauddha Mahasangha Sahayaka Gana". Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  11. ^ "Jai Bhim Network". www.jaibhim.hu.
  12. ^ "50,000 Dalits embrace Buddhism". Buddhism Today. Retrieved 30 August 2007.
  13. ^ "Untouchables embrace Buddha to escape oppression", The Guardian
  14. ^ "Hundreds embrace Buddhism in Gulbarga-Bangalore", Times of India
  15. ^ "Prominent Indian female politician to embrace Buddhism". The Buddhist Channel. 17 October 2006. Retrieved 30 August 2007.
  16. ^ a b Prerna Singh Bindra ."Heads, I win...", The Week Magazine, 18 November 2001.
  17. ^ "BBC NEWS – South Asia – Mass Dalit conversions in Mumbai". Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  18. ^ Nithin Belle. "Thousands of Dalits in 'mass conversion'" Archived 11 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Khaleej Times, 28 May 2007
  19. ^ Nanda, J. N. (6 August 2017). "Bengal: The Unique State". Concept Publishing Company – via Google Books.
  20. ^ "Conversion: Ram Raj's rally was probably just an exercise in self-promotion", The Week
  21. ^ "Udupi Dalits Conversion to Buddhism Adds No Benefit to Status – Pejavar Swamiji". Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  22. ^ "Dalit converted to Buddhism seeks community certificate. Deccan Chronicle June 17, 2013". Archived from the original on 21 June 2013. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  23. ^ a b Varagur, Krithika (2018-04-11). "Converting to Buddhism as a Form of Political Protest". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2019-11-03.
  24. ^ Kamble, Swati. "Despite political setbacks in India, Dalit voices grow stronger". The Conversation. Retrieved 2019-11-03.
  25. ^ a b Kanungo, Pralay (2007). Teltumbde, Anand (ed.). "Co-Opting Dalits into the Hindutva Fold". Economic and Political Weekly. 42 (20): 1852–1854. ISSN 0012-9976.
  26. ^ a b c "Divided they stand: Why marginal Dalit castes still lack political clout". The Economic Times. 2019-05-24. Retrieved 2019-11-17.
  27. ^ Palicha, Pooja P. (2013-2). "Book Review: Badri Narayan, Fascinating Hindutva: Saffron Politics and Dalit Mobilisation and Gail Omvedt, Understanding Caste: From Buddha to Ambedkar and Beyond". Contributions to Indian Sociology. 47 (1): 164–166. doi:10.1177/006996671204700113. ISSN 0069-9667. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  28. ^ a b "Violence Against Dalits,Muslims Reported From Across India". NewsClick. 2019-05-25. Retrieved 2019-11-17.
  29. ^ a b "RSS fumes over Dalit conversion to Buddhism in Modi's Gujarat". National Herald. Retrieved 2019-11-17.
  30. ^ Guru, Gopal. "Nationalism as the Framework for Dalit Self-Realization." Brown Journal of World Affairs". CC Advisor. Retrieved 2019-12-08.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  31. ^ Varagur, Krithika (2018-04-11). "Converting to Buddhism as a Form of Political Protest". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2019-12-07.
  32. ^ "The shocker". Frontline. Retrieved 2019-12-07.
  33. ^ a b "India's PM Modi Uses Buddhist Monks to Woo Dalit Voters in Uttar Pradesh | Buddhistdoor". www.buddhistdoor.net. Retrieved 2019-11-17.
  34. ^ Jha, Dhirendra K. "Monks claim that Modi's Buddhist messenger is actually out to defame Buddhism". Scroll.in. Retrieved 2019-11-17.
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