Dr Ambedkar - A Modern Bodhisattva
Wednesday 22 November 2023 7pm – 9:15pm
Tonight our friend Tasha Ramrous will lead an evening celebrating the famous Indian politician and civil-rights proponent Doctor Bhimrao Ambedkar.
More information on the night to follow soon
Doctor Bhimrao Ambedkar (14 April 1891 – 6 December 1956) was a member of the outcastes in India and through a mixture of hard work, skill and good fortune he graduated from the university of Bombay, studied economics at Columbia University and The London School of Economics receiving doctorates in 1927 and 1923. He also trained in the law at Gray's Inn, London.
On his return to India he joined the government and was instrumental in drafting the Indian Constitution when the country received its independence. He was a fierce advocate for the rights of the so-called untouchable castes (now known as Dalits) and when he was unable to secure social reform as part of the government he resigned and became a campaigner for Dalit rights, eventually converting to Buddhism in 1956 and initiating a mass conversion of nearly half a million Dalits, thus challenging the caste system by renouncing Hinduism in favour of the equality, liberty and brotherhood of Buddhism.
He died shortly afterwards and our own teacher, Sangharakshita, who had known him, was instrumental in helping the new movement to survive and prosper after the death of its leader. Since then millions of Dalits have converted to Buddhism which is now thriving again in India many centuries after its decline.
Our movement is also thriving and growing in India and today Ambedkar is widely revered by them as a 20th Century Bodhisattva
Open to all over 18