Dr. Ambedkar; India; dalits; liberal democracy; religion
摘要
The Conversion Event of 1956 spearheaded by Babasaheb Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, the turn of events and debates that preceded it as well as the various ways in which scholars have looked at the Neo-Buddhist movement in India, can be seen as constituting a ' critical event ' not only in the biography of the Indian Nation but also in the biographies of those who identify themselves as Buddhists in India today. The present study is an exploration of the ideas of Dr. Ambedkar on religion in general and Buddhism in particular, setting them in the backdrop of key debates in Sociology and Anthropology regarding the nature and meaning of religion as a category as well as the implications of association between religion and power. Further , an attempt is made to probe the implications of the intervention of Dr. Ambedkar as consisting in and giving rise to primarily a dual emphasis , namely the larger project of constructing a 'modern' religion consonant with the political philosophy and praxis of liberal democracy and a religion of (communitarian) identity for dalits.
目次
Abstract 43 Introduction: Critique of the Brahmanic Social Order 43 Babasaheb Ambedkar's Understanding of Religion 46 The Dual Emphasis 47 a) Identity-Religion 48 b) Religion for Engagement in Civil Society 50 Conclusion 51 Notes 52 References 53
