When we were in Nagpur, Anuradha and I would visit Diksha Bhoomi on Dussehra every year. It was here that B.R. Ambedkar took diksha (initiation) into Buddhism on October 14, 1956. The occasion is commemorated every year, and lakhs of people turn up. This was in the 1990s; I believe the crowds are even larger now. It is also the day when the sarsanghchalak of the RSS issues his public address on a ground just about 5km away. In those days, barely a few thousand people would be present at the RSS function.
There was a Buddhist temple in one corner of the Diksha Bhoomi ground. But, what interested us most was the fact that the ground was ringed with hundreds of bookshops selling volumes on Ambedkar(ism), Buddhism and dalit literature. While the speeches were on, people would be browsing the book stalls and interacting with others. Those days, the government would make little arrangements for those gathered. It was more like a dalit mela than a religious gathering.
After receiving ordination, Ambedkar gave dhamma diksha to his followers. An important part of the ceremony was 22 vows; among them, giving up one’s faith in Hindu gods and rituals. He administered vows to 3.8 lakh followers that day. Though Ambedkar died a few months after converting, most of the Mahars (Ambedkar’s caste and 70 per cent of the dalit population of Maharashtra) converted to Buddhism eventually.
While living in Indora, Nagpur’s biggest dalit basti, and working among the bidi workers of Bhandara, I remember some workers who had made it their life’s mission to go from house to house in Mahar localities, explaining Ambedkar’s mission. These workers convinced people to replace idols and photos of Hindu deities with those of Ambedkar and the Buddha. The youth would enthusiastically take up the mission, but the elderly would often be resistant.
Yet, there is Brahminical influence on even the converted dalits. According to Ramesh Sakpal (a Mayanagar youth of the 1970s; now a retired employee of the Railways) about 70 per cent of Mahars celebrate the major Hindu festivals and many even keep photos of Hindu gods in their inner rooms, while the Buddha and Ambedkar are seen in the outer rooms. This was corroborated by his wife, Asha, and daughter Dipti. Dipti added that while many of her friends are non-dalit Buddhists, most of her dalit contemporaries (younger generation) know little about Buddhism.
After Ambedkar’s conversion to Buddhism, the dalit Buddhists of Maharashtra split into numerous factions, thereby weakening the reform trend. Soon after Ambedkar’s death, B.C. Kamble formed the Buddha Shasan Sabha, which practised a more rigid form of the religion; majority members are Konkan Mahars. The most popular is the Bhartiya Bauddha Mahasabha; most marriages, funerals and other rites are conducted under its auspices. Then there is the Triratna Maha Sangh and the Trailokya Maha Sabha.
Recently, cults founded in Taiwan/China have sprouted. Like Tao, which makes no reference to Ambedkar and strongly believes in reincarnation, which he had opposed. They are focusing not only on dalits but also others. They say their difference with the other factions is that those merely recite the slokas, which few follow or even understand, while they appeal to reason and try to convince through discourse. They are not only vegetarians, but also shun garlic and onion. The various factions have their own rules.
If we look at Indian history from time immemorial, there have been vast movements against the Brahminical interpretation of Hinduism and the pernicious caste system. But with cunning, duplicity and ruthless brutality, they were either able to destroy these movements or co-opt them. Buddhism, which attacked all rituals of the Vedic religions, was viciously attacked or co-opted. But, the rationality and justice in Buddhist scriptures could never be suppressed forever, and it emerged in a new form as the Bhakti Movement in the 12th century.
This was followed by the non-Brahmin movement in the 19th century by Jyotirao Phule, Periyar and others. Phule himself belonged to the Mali (gardener) caste. He fought against both the caste system and patriarchy. In Tamil Nadu, the Periyar movement took on a similar but more militant form, attacking orthodox Brahmins.
In the 20th century, the seeds of the dalit movement sown by Ambedkar were militantly revived by the Dalit Panther movement of 1973-1974, which attacked Brahminism, and promoted Buddhism and rational thinking. This was followed by four major dalit revolts in Maharashtra and numerous smaller ones over the next three decades. The dalit movement also spread to all parts of the country, particularly Uttar Pradesh, the heart of Brahminical thinking.
But, with the present hindutva wave and fierce Brahminical offensive, most of the reform movements have themselves got Brahminised and even the dalit movement has been confined to certain castes and have got more immersed in identity/electoral politics, negating Ambedkar’s and the Dalit Panthers’ radical traditions.
In my experience, the conversion to Buddhism introduces a certain amount of rational thinking within the person that facilitates modern thought and culture. But without strong mass movements of the entire oppressed against the ruling classes, this trend of Buddhism and Ambedkar are slowly being co-opted. So much so that the Brahmins consider Buddha an avatar of Vishnu!
Without the total annihilation of the caste system, democratisation of Indian society is inconceivable. Buddhism is just one of the tools in this change. Any radical change in India must build on the long traditions of the anti-Brahminical movements through history.
Ghandy is an activist and author.
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