“There will be no India without Bhim”. B. R. Ambedkar's Socially Engaged Buddhism and the Dalit Movement in Modern India
Abstract
The article analyzes socially engaged Buddhism, one of the most important concepts of the neo‑Buddhist Amedkarite community of India, followers of Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (1891–1956), the leader and ideologist of the Dalit movement. Ambedkar considered Hinduism to be one of the forces that support the caste system, and saw his task as ensuring that at least representatives of the “low” castes found some other religious basis for themselves, and ceased to be (or be considered?) Hindus, if they ever were. He believed that only religious conversion would allow the Dalits to get rid of the burden of “untouchability”. Turning to Buddhism as one of the egalitarian religions that originated in India, Ambedkar created a socio‑religious project, which he called Navayana ("new chariot", in relation to the already existing schools of Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism). In the modern Dalit‑Ambedkarite community, B. R. Ambedkar has become a cult figure: songs are dedicated to him, statues are erected, and his life is a role model. Based on the study of the biography of B. R. Ambedkar, his works on the theory of the caste system and the interpretation of the position of the Pali Canon, the article analyzes the concept of socially engaged Navayana Buddhism, describes the main stages of the formation of the Dalit movement in modern India.
Supporting agencies: This research was supported by the Russian Science Foundation, project No. 24–28–00439, “Indigenous India on the eve of great changes: ethnographic observations during the Indo-Soviet expeditions of the 1970–1980th, and contemporary outlook”. https://rscf.ru/project/24–28–00439/
About the Author
M. B. Shcherbak
N.N. Miklukho-Maklai Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology, Russian Academy of Science
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Maria B. Shcherbak — Junior Research Fellow
Moscow
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Review
For citations:
Shcherbak M.B. “There will be no India without Bhim”. B. R. Ambedkar's Socially Engaged Buddhism and the Dalit Movement in Modern India. State, Religion and Church in Russia and Worldwide. 2025;43(3):147-172. (In Russ.)
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