Dalit Buddhist movement

Buddhism originated in ancient India and grew after Ashoka adopted it. By the 2nd century CE, Buddhism was widespread in India and had expanded outside of India into Central Asia, East Asia and parts of Southeast Asia. During the Middle Ages, Buddhism slowly declined in India, while it vanished from Persia and Central Asia as Islam became the state religion. According to Randall Collins, Buddhism was already declining in India by the 12th century, but with the pillage by Muslim invaders it nearly became extinct in India. In the 13th century, states Craig Lockard, Buddhist monks in India fled to Tibet to escape Islamic persecution, while the monks in western India, states Peter Harvey, escaped persecution by moving to south Indian Hindu kingdoms that were able to resist the Muslim power. Efforts to revive Buddhism in India began in the 19th century, such as with the efforts of Sri Lankan Buddhist leader Anagarika Dharmapala who founded the Maha Bodhi Society. The Maha Bodhi Society, according to Bhagwan Das, was not a Dalit movement however, because it mainly attracted upper-caste Hindus to Buddhism. Northern India The two Adi Dharma movements – those that rejected Hinduism in favor of Buddhism – were launched by the Swami Achhutanand Harihar in Uttar Pradesh and Babu Mangu Ram in Punjab. Born in an untouchable family, Achhutanand joined the Arya Samaj suddhi reform movement and worked there for about eight years (1905–1912). He felt Arya Samaj practiced untouchability in subtle ways, and subsequently left it to launch the socio-political Bharitiya Achhut Mahasabha movement. Southern India In 1898, Pandit Iyothee Thass founded the Sakya Buddhist Society also known as Indian Buddhist Association in Tamil Nadu. ==B. R. Ambedkar==

, Nashik, on 13 October 1935 Ambedkar was an Indian leader, influential during the colonial era and post-independence period of India. He belonged to a Dalit community, traditionally the most oppressed and marginalized group in Indian society. He was the fourteenth child in an impoverished Maharashtra Dalit family, who studied abroad, returned to India in the 1920s and joined the political movement. His focus was social and political rights of the Dalits. They invited Indian religious leaders, such as Muslims and Sikhs, to press their demands along religious lines, as well as B. R. Ambedkar as the representative leader of the untouchables. Gandhi vehemently opposed a constitution that enshrined rights or representations based on communal divisions, because he feared that such a constitution would not bring people together but divide them, perpetuate their status and divert the attention from India's struggle to end the colonial rule. After Gandhi returned from Second Round Table conference, he started a new satyagraha. He was immediately arrested and imprisoned at the Yerwada Jail, Pune. While he was in prison, the British government enacted a new law that granted untouchables a separate electorate. It came to be known as the Communal Award. In protest, Gandhi started fast-unto-death, while he was held in prison. The resulting public outcry forced the government, in consultations with Ambedkar, to replace the Communal Award with a compromise Poona Pact. Ambedkar accepted the Poona Pact under public pressure, but disagreed with Gandhi and his political methods. He dismissed Gandhi's ideas as loved by "blind Hindu devotees", primitive, influenced by spurious brew of Tolstoy and Ruskin, and "there is always some simpleton to preach them". Ambedkar concluded that Dalits must leave Hinduism and convert to another religion, and announced his intent to leave Hinduism in 1935. He considered Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Zoroastrianism and Buddhism. Ambedkar was approached by various leaders of different denominations and faiths. On 22 May 1936, an "All Religious Conference" was held at Lucknow. It was attended by prominent Dalit leaders including Jagjivan Ram, though Ambedkar could not attend it. At the conference, Muslim, Christian, Sikh, and Buddhist representatives presented the tenets of their respective religions in an effort to win over Dalits. Navayana Buddhism According to mainstream interpretations of Ambedkar's views, several of the core beliefs and doctrines of traditional Buddhist traditions such as the Four Noble Truths and Anatta were flawed and pessimistic, and may have been inserted into the Buddhist scriptures by wrong-headed Buddhist monks of a later era. These should not be considered as Buddha's teachings in their interpretation of Ambedkar's views, although there is no empirical evidence of the followers of this sect rejecting any of these concepts outright. Other foundational concepts of Buddhism such as Karma and Rebirth were seen to be considered as superstitions by Ambedkar according to them., although all such concepts are only reinterpreted in his work The Buddha and His Dhamma, the commentary of Ambedkar on Buddhism and thus the elaboration of all his interpretations. Ambedkar's new sect of Buddhism reinterpreted the Buddha's religion in terms of social equality. Ambedkar called his version of Buddhism Navayana or Neo-Buddhism. His book, The Buddha and His Dhamma, is the holy book of Navayana or Dalit Buddhists. According to Junghare, for the followers of Navyana, Ambedkar has become a deity and he is worshipped in its practice. Ambedkar's conversion After publishing a series of books and articles arguing that Buddhism was the only way for the Untouchables to gain equality, Ambedkar publicly converted on 14 October 1956, at Deekshabhoomi, Nagpur, over 20 years after he declared his intent to convert. Around 365,000 of his followers converted to Buddhism at the same ceremony. On this occasion, many upper caste Hindus too accepted Buddhism. After Nagpur, on 16 October 1956, Ambedkar again gave Buddhism to more than 300,000 of his followers at Chandrapur, since the place is also known as Deekshabhoomi. Inspired by this Ambedkar's conversion, 5,000 Tamils of Myanmar had accepted Buddhism in Rangoon under the leadership of Chan Htoon, the justice of the Supreme Court of the Union of Burma on 28 October 1956. As a result of Ambedkar’s movement, nearly three million Dalits converted to Buddhism, increasing the Buddhist population by 1,697% according to the 1961 census. The conversion ceremony was attended by Medharathi, his main disciple Bhoj Dev Mudit, and Mahastvir Bodhanand's Sri Lankan successor, Bhante Pragyanand. Ambedkar asked Dalits not to get entangled in the existing branches of Buddhism (Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana), and called his version Navayana or 'Neo-Buddhism'. Ambedkar would die less than two months later, just after finishing his definitive work on Buddhism. Many Dalits employ the term "Ambedkar(ite) Buddhism" to designate the Buddhist movement, which started with Ambedkar's conversion. Converted people call themselves "-Bauddha" i.e. Buddhists. Twenty-two vows == After Ambedkar's death==

The Buddhist movement was somewhat hindered by Ambedkar's death in 1956 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. However, in 1990, Scheduled Caste status was extended to individuals converted to Buddhism, which contributed to a 35.3% increase in the total Buddhist population from 4,719,796 in 1981 to 6,387,500 in 1991. According to the 2011 census, there are currently 8.44 million Buddhists in India among which 5.76 million are SCs, at least 6.5 million of whom are Marathi Buddhists in Maharashtra. 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 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. According to the 2001 census, almost 70% of the Buddhist population in Uttar Pradesh is from the scheduled castes background. 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. 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 after a lengthy illness; he was cremated as per Buddhist tradition. 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. Maharashtra 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. 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. 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 and Triratna (Europe and India). Triratna has links with the 'Ambedkarite' Buddhist Romanis in Hungary. Organized mass conversions 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. ;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. ;2006, Gulbarga :On 14 October 2006, hundreds of people converted from Hinduism to Buddhism in Gulburga (Karnataka). ;2006 :At 50th anniversary celebrations in 2006 of Ambedkar's deeksha. Non-partisan sources put the number of attendees (not converts) at 30,000. The move was criticised by Hindu groups as "unhelpful" and has been criticised as a "political stunt." The event was organised by the Republican Party of India leader Ramdas Athvale. ;2018, Nagpur :During 6–8 October, 2019 more than 55,000 Dalits converted to Buddhism in Nagpur, Maharashtra. ;2018, Meerut :On 24 October, 2018 about 1,500 people converted to Buddhism following an event organised in Swami Vivekanand Subharti University, Meerut. : ;2019, Ahmedabad :On 27 October, 2019 about 1,500 Dalits embraced Buddhism in a event organized in Sardar Vallabhahai Patel National Memorial. The mass conversion was organized by the Buddha’s Light International Association (BLIA) founded by Ven. Hsing Yun in 1992. The BLIA is associated with Fo Guang Shan, the largest Buddhist organization in Taiwan, also founded by Ven. Hsing Yun. ;2022, Delhi :On October 5, 2022 about 10,000 Hindus converted to Buddhism in Ambedkar Bhawan, Jhandewalan, New Delhi. ;2023, Porbandar :On 14 April, 2023 almost 50,000 people belonging to Dalit and tribal category embraced Buddhism in Porbandar, Gujarat. ;2023, Junagarh :On 21 May, 2023 more than 500 persons from 75 dalit families converted from Hinduism and embraced Buddhism in Junagarh, Gujarat. The converts pledged allegiance to Gautam Buddha's Panchsheel principles. ;2025, Surat :On 14 May, 2025 about 80 Dalit families converted to Buddhism following an event in Anand Buddha Vihar, Amroli, Surat, Gujarat. ;2025, Ahmedabad :On 02 October, 2025 not more than 120 dalits converted to Buddhism following an event in Kankaria, Ahmedabad, Gujarat. The reasons for conversion include caste-based discrimination, denied entry in Hindu temples, and influence of Ambedkar's conversion in the same time frame in 1956. Critique Prerna Singh Bindra argued a mass-conversion of Hindus to Ambedkarite Buddhism under Udit Raj to be a political stunt. ==Distinctive interpretation==

According to Gail Omvedt, an American-born and naturalised Indian sociologist and human rights activist: According to Omvedt, Ambedkar and his Buddhist movement deny many of the core doctrines of Buddhism. Ambedkar's formulation of Buddhism is different from Western modernism, states Skaria, given his synthesis of the ideas of modern Karl Marx into the structure of ideas by the ancient Buddha. ==Criticism of the movement==

Critics have argued that Neo-Buddhism does not have a strong influence, especially after the death of Ambedkar. Some critics also argue that Neo-Buddhism deviates too much from traditional Buddhism. Even though traditional Buddhism emphasizes equality among people, it does not deny the caste system. Politicians such as Udit Raj, Ramdas Athawale, Kanshi Ram and Mayawati have also been involved in staging or planning to stage mass conversions—these politicians are members of either the Bahujan Samaj Party or the Republican Party of India. According to Janet Contursi, Ambedkar reinterprets Buddhist religion and with Navayana "speaks through Gautama and politicizes the Buddha philosophy as he theologizes his own political views". Ambedkar's reinterpretations Ambedkar not only rejected Hinduism but also the most popular Buddhist schools. According to certain interpretations on Ambedkar's views, he considered all ideas in Theravada, Vajrayana and Mahayana Buddhism that relate to an individual's merit and spiritual development as insertions into Buddhism, and something that "cannot be accepted to be the word of the Buddha". Buddhism, to Ambedkar, must have been a social reform movement. Ambedkar's radical reinterpretations of the faith reinterpreted many of the main tenets of mainstream Buddhism such as renunciation, meditation, Samsara, Karma, reincarnation and even the Four Noble Truths. Although none of the concepts are rejected, the extent of the reinterpretation means many mainstream Buddhist sources claim it to be rejection of the core tenets of Buddhism. Ambedkar reinterprets the traditional story of The Buddha and the Great Renunciation in order to try and gain mass appeal from Dalits by giving the impression that The Buddha founded Buddhism as a social reform movement rather than a spiritual movement. Virginia Hancock writes about Ambedkar's reinterpretations as turning the Buddha into a politician. Scholars broadly accept that the depictions of the Buddha as a social reformer are inaccurate. Gombrich (2012), Modernist interpreters of Buddhism, states Gombrich, keep picking up this "mistake from western authors", a view that initially came into vogue during the colonial era. Empirical evidence outside of India, such as in the Theravada Buddhist monasteries of the Sinhalese society, suggests that class ideas have been prevalent among the sangha monks, and between the Buddhist monks and the laity. In all canonical Buddhist texts, the khattiyas (warrior class) are always mentioned first and never other classes such as brahmans, vessas, suddas. ==See also==