Ambedkar’s Vision on Social Justice – Buddhist Perspective

Sumanapal Bhikkhu

Like the Buddha B R Ambedkar was also concerned about social justice. But the difference between them was that while the Buddha did not have to face the problem personally, Ambedkar had to do it. He was born an outcaste or untouchable.  He had to wear cast off clothes, had to it the left over’s of the foods of his higher caste masters and all these were thought to be well-deserved punishment for some misdeeds which he committed in a former existence.

After coming back to India after the completion of his higher education in Europe and America, he returned to India and joined the Indian National Congress for taking part in the freedom movement. Gandhi and the congress party had proclaimed that no country is good enough to rule over another. Ambedkar went a step further. He maintained that no class was good enough to rule over another class. Though Ambedkar criticized the British for their oppression of India, he devoted more of his time and energy for the social, economic, educational and legal upliftment of the Depressed Classes. He demanded a separate electorate for them and as a result of this conflict started between him and the Indian National Congress under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi. Ambedkar established the depressed classes Welfare Association for the purpose of spreading culture and education among the depressed classes of India and representing their grievances.

In those days, the Depresses classes had to face a lot of discrimination against them. They did not have the right to enter the Hindu temples, draw water from public tanks or wells, take admission to schools and move freely in the public places. Ambedkar led his followers in a series of non violent campaigns to assert the rights of the “untouchable” and due to this he became very unpopular in the Congress Party and among the caste Hindus who dominated it. The conflict reached a climax in the Second Round Table Conference where Mahatma Gandhi challenged Ambedkar’s right to represent the depressed classes. But the British Government was convinced by the arguments put forward by Ambedkar and granted the Dalits a separate electorate which they had demanded. In response Gandhiji threatened to fast till death and this created quite a stir among the Indians.  So eventually, Ambedkar accepted joint electorate instead of separate electorate though the number of reserved seats was increased. The Poona Pact was signed and with this Ambedkar emerged as an undisputed leader of the depressed classes.

Gradually, Ambedkar realized that the caste Hindus were not going to change their outlook and so he adopted a different tactics. He encouraged the depressed classes to raise their standard of living and join policies to have political power. He began to think of discarding Hinduism and adopt another faith as the depressed classes had not future as Hindus. He declared that though he had been born as a Hindu he did not intend to die as one. At that time he had been seriously considering the question of conversion. He thought that the best option was Buddhism because of its ideal of equality and peace. From then on the built up intimate relationship with many Buddhist nations such as Sri Lanka and Burma and established many Buddhist association lie the Bharatiya Buddha Mahasabha or Indian Buddhist Society in India. He further announced that he was going to adopt Buddhism in the October of the year 1956. And then finally on 14th October of that year he, true to his words, formally embraced Buddhism with 380,000 men, women and children.

Though Ambedkar died only after seven weeks of his conversion he did a lot for Buddhism. Gaining inspiration from him many people embraced Buddhism as their religion and that resulted in a staggering increase in the Buddhist population of India which became evident in the census of 1961.