Navayana of Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar: Buddhist Modernism as an Instrument of Social Transformation

Abstract

The article examines the phenomenon of Navayana (Neo-Buddhism) created by Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (1891–1956) as an instrument of changing the social identity of the untouchables from the Mahar community. The problem of untouchability and vestiges of the caste system in India became more acute during the struggle for independence. To build a new Indian nation, it was necessary to include in its ranks all strata of Indian society, including communities of the so-called untouchables. The most interesting in this regard is the social project of B.R. Ambedkar, who tried, drawing on the history of the Mahar community on the one hand and the religious conversion on the other, to create a new social identity for the untouchables. Ambedkar advocated the complete destruction of the caste system in India and considered a complete break with Hinduism as the only opportunity for low castes to gain equal rights. Ambedkar saw the religious conversion as the only way of getting rid of untouchability.