ON 14 OCTOBER 1956 , BR Ambedkar, considered the father of the Indian constitution and a pioneer of the Dalit movement converted to Buddhism in Nagpur, along with his wife, Savita Ambedkar. Around 500,000 Ambedkar’s Dalit supporters, who had gathered at the ceremony, also embraced Buddhism on that day.
Born into a Dalit family, in 1891, Ambedkar established himself as a scholar of law, economics and political science, earning doctorates from both Columbia University and the London School of Economics. Having suffered discrimination first-hand under the Hindu caste system, Ambedkar was politically active throughout his career as an academic and a lawyer, and spoke for the political rights of marginalised castes. He associated the continuance of the caste system with the iron hold of Hinduism over much of India. In…
