An incredible life story is that of B.R. Ambedkar, a man who had to overcome tremendous caste discrimination to get to where he did, the main author of the Indian Constitution, recipient of the Bharat Ratna.
In thinking about the plight of Dalits in India, Ambedkar decided to convert to Buddhism, and is largely credited with founding the Dalit Buddhist movement.
Yesterday, during a commemorative death anniversary speech, the State Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment, Fakir Vaghela, also the managing trustee of Dalit Adhikar Sangh, angered the crowds by associating Ambedkar with his Hindu past. While Ambedkar and his followers considered themselves Buddhist, Vaghela portrayed him as a Hindu leader, justifying his statements later by saying that “Ambedkar did not adopt Islam or Christianity but Buddhism; and one cannot deny the fact that Hinduism is the foundation of Buddhism” (article).
This event brings up a nebulous notion that floats around in Hinduism — the notion that Buddhism grew out of Hinduism, and thus is a purer subset, most evident in Buddha as an avatar of Vishnu. But while classing Buddhism as a subset is comfortable to Hindus, being classed, and thus subordinated, to Hinduism is understandably not acceptable to many Buddhists. If Christians began to claim that Hinduism is a subset of itself, wouldn’t we feel more slighted than honored? In focusing only on B.R. Ambedkar’s Hindu past, Vaghela ignored Ambedkar’s commitment to Buddhism, and aggravated this natural instinct present in the audience, the instinct to break out from being considered merely a subset of another faith.
Related posts:
One Comment
I have had several instances myself in which I dealt with this controversy. The other day, in speaking with a Jain girl, I mention that Jainism was a subset of Hinduism, which she vehemently denied.
As a Hindu, I have come to the understanding that all religions are aspects of Hinduism since it is believed that Hinduism is all-encompassing. Yet I do take your point – how would I feel if someone declared Hinduism to be a subset of Christianity? I’m having trouble reconciling these two points.
Post a Comment