Dalit Hindus

Last updated

Hindu Dalits
Total population
c.200 millions [1]
Regions with significant populations
Flag of India.svg  India 18 millions
Flag of Bangladesh.svg  Bangladesh 5.5-6.5 millions [2]
Flag of Nepal.svg    Nepal 3.5 millions [3]
Flag of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan 3.1 millions [4]
Religion
Majority
Hinduism
Minority
Ravidassia, Adi Dharm
Related ethnic groups
Dalit Christian, Dalit Muslim

Dalit Hindus, or Lower Class Hindus are Dalit community whose are adherent to Hinduism and are at the lowest rank of Varna system, who are either considered as Shudra or Avarna. They are mostly present in South Asian countries, mainly in India, Nepal, [5] Pakistan [6] and Bangladesh. [7]

Contents

Origins

The Dalits (formerly Untouchables) were considered as the lowest people in the Hindu varna who do low-class jobs. Though after there have been several sects among them such as Balmikism, Ramnami, Ravidassia, Kabir panth taking inspiration from the Dalit saints. The Bhakti movement has also resulted in their upliftment in the society.

Conversion

There has been a significant conversion of Dalits to Islam and Christianity during the Muslim rule and Company rule in India. Though there has also been conversion to Buddhism, after the B. R. Ambedkar conversion to Navayana.

Buddhism

The conversion of Dalits from Hinduism to Buddhism started after the conversion of B. R. Ambedkar and the movement is continued in modern-India mainly in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh. [8] There have been numerous incidents where Dalits have converted from Hinduism to Buddhism, due to Caste-related violence. [9]

Christianity

The first conversion to Christianity in India was by the Dalits of South India, though during the Company rule there was also a massive conversion of Hindus, mainly Dalits to Christianity. [10] Even in modern times, there is a conversion of Dalit Hindus to Christianity in India, Pakistan and Nepal. [11]

Islam

Re-conversion

Many Hindu organisations such as Arya Samaj and Vishva Hindu Parishad have worked extensively for bringing Dalits back to Hinduism in the form of Gharwapsi movement from Islam and Christianity. [12] [13] There has also been a demand of caste-less Hindu society and has been integrating Dalits in the movement of Hindutva. [14] [15]

See also

Related Research Articles

Hindutva (transl. Hinduness) is the predominant form of Hindu nationalism in India. As a political ideology, the term Hindutva was articulated by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar in 1923. It is used by the organisation Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and other organisations, collectively called the Sangh Parivar.

B. R. Ambedkar Indian jurist, economist, politician and social reformer (1891–1956)

Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar was an Indian jurist, economist, social reformer and political leader who headed the committee drafting the Constitution of India from the Constituent Assembly debates, served as Law and Justice minister in the first cabinet of Jawaharlal Nehru, and inspired the Dalit Buddhist movement after renouncing Hinduism.

Bahujan Samaj Party Indian political party

The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is a national level political party in India that was formed to represent Bahujans, referring to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes (OBC), along with religious minorities. According to Kanshi Ram, when he founded the party in 1984, the Bahujans comprised 85 percent of India's population, but were divided into 6,000 different castes. The party claims to be inspired by the philosophy of Gautama Buddha, B. R. Ambedkar, Mahatma Jyotiba Phule, Narayana Guru, Periyar E. V. Ramasamy and Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj. Kanshi Ram named his protégée, Mayawati, as his successor in 2001. The BSP has its main base in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh where it was the second-largest party in the 2019 Indian general election with 19.3% of votes and third-largest in the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly election with 12.88% of votes. Its election symbol is an elephant which is the same symbol historically used by Dr. Ambedkar's Scheduled Castes Federation.

Dalit Buddhist movement Modern sociopolitical movement among Dalits

The Neo Buddhist movement is a religious as well as a socio-political movement among Dalits in India which was started by B. R. Ambedkar. It radically re-interpreted Buddhism and created a new school of Buddhism called Navayana. The movement has sought to be a socially and politically engaged form of Buddhism.

Untouchability Discriminatory practices against certain social groups

Untouchability is a form of social institution that legitimises and enforces practices that are discriminatory, humiliating, exclusionary and exploitative against people belonging to certain social groups. Although comparable forms of discrimination are found all over the world, untouchability involving the caste system is largely unique to South Asia.

Dalit, also known as untouchable, is a name for people belonging to the lowest stratum castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold varna system of Hinduism and were seen as forming a fifth varna, also known by the name of Panchama. Dalits now profess various religious beliefs, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Christianity, Islam and various other belief systems. Scheduled Castes is the official term for Dalits as per the Constitution of India.

Mahar Caste in India found predominantly in the state of Maharashtra

Mahar, meaning "original inhabitants of Maharashtra", is an Indian caste found largely in the state of Maharashtra and neighbouring areas. Most of the Mahar community followed B. R. Ambedkar in converting to Buddhism in the middle of the 20th century. As of 2017 the Mahar caste was designated as a Scheduled Caste in 16 Indian states.

Sanskritisation is a term in sociology which refers to the process by which castes or tribes placed lower in the caste hierarchy seek 'upward' mobility by emulating the rituals and practices of the dominant castes or upper castes. It is a process similar to "passing" in sociological terms. This term was made popular by Indian sociologist M. N. Srinivas in the 1950s.

Chuhra, also known as Bhanghi and Balmiki, is a Dalit caste in India and Pakistan. Populated regions include the Punjab region of India and Pakistan, as well as Uttar Pradesh in India, among other parts of the Indian subcontinent such as southern India. Their traditional occupation is sweeping, a "polluting" occupation that caused them to be considered untouchables in the Hindu caste system.

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Gail Omvedt American-born Indian sociologist (1941–2021)

Gail Omvedt was an American-born Indian sociologist and human rights activist. She was a prolific writer and published numerous books on the anti-caste movement, Dalit politics, and women's struggles in India. Omvedt was involved in Dalit and anti-caste movements, environmental, farmers' and women's movements, especially with rural women.

Navayana Branch of Buddhism

Navayana means "new vehicle" and refers to the re-interpretation of Buddhism by Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar; it is also called Neo-Buddhism and Ambedkarite Buddhism. Ambedkar was a polymath, theologian and scholar of Buddhism. He was born in a Dalit (untouchable) family during the colonial era of India, studied abroad, became a Dalit leader, and announced in 1935 his intent to convert from Hinduism to a different religion, and he has studied all the major religions of the world in depth, including Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, and Buddhism, for nearly 21 years. Thereafter Ambedkar studied texts of Buddhism, found several of its core beliefs and doctrines such as Four Noble Truths and "non-self" as flawed and pessimistic, then re-interpreted these into what he called "new vehicle" Buddhism, or Navayana. Ambedkar held a press conference on 13 October 1956, announcing his rejection of Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism, as well as of Hinduism. Thereafter, he left Hinduism and adopted Navayana, about six weeks before his death. Its adherents see Navayana Buddhism not as a sect with radically different ideas, but rather as new movement founded on the principles of Buddhism.

Persecution and discrimination against Dalits has been observed in the countries such as Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Nepal, the UK, and the US.

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Ghar Wapsi is the programme of religious conversion to Hinduism and Sikhism from Islam, Christianity and other religions, conducted by Indian Hindu nationalist organisations Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and their allies. The term owes to the Hindu nationalist ideology that all people of India are ancestrally Hindu and, hence, conversion to Hinduism is one of "returning home" to their ancestral roots.

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References

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  3. "Dalits in Nepal: Story of Discrimination | ヒューライツ大阪". www.hurights.or.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 2022-02-23.
  4. Patel, Shaista Abdul Aziz. "It is time to talk about caste in Pakistan and Pakistani diaspora". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2022-02-23.
  5. Welle (www.dw.com), Deutsche. "Nepal: Deadly caste-based attacks spur outcry over social discrimination | DW | 16.06.2020". DW.COM. Retrieved 2022-02-22.
  6. Mehdi, Tahir. "In Pakistan, Dalits' dreams have turned into a nightmare". Scroll.in. Retrieved 2022-02-22.
  7. "Oppressed Dalits of Bangladesh fight for their future". The Independent. 2008-12-20. Retrieved 2022-02-22.
  8. Shetty, V. T. Rajshekar (1983). Ambedkar & His Conversion. Dalit Sahitya Akademy.
  9. Varagur, Krithika (2018-04-11). "Converting to Buddhism as a Form of Political Protest". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2022-02-22.
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  11. Yadav, Bhupendra (2010-11-02). "What drives the Dalits to Christianity?". The Hindu. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 2022-02-22.
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  14. Menezes, Dale Luis; Kanekar, Amita (2015-03-13). "'Ghar Wapsi': Owner of the house or servant?". Round Table India. Retrieved 2022-02-22.
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