(Asian independent)
(AUSTIN), TX –Following a lecture by Dr. Santosh Raut (Harvard University) on Bhimrao Ambedkar’s version of Buddhism to a packed audience of UT students, faculty, and community members, the Ambedkarite Buddhist Association of Texas (ABAT) donated the collected writings and speeches of Bhimrao Ambedkar to the South Asia Institute at the University of Texas at Austin on November 4, 2024.
Bhimrao Ambedkar (1891-1956) is an important thinker for India and the world. As a member of an “untouchable” caste, he suffered discrimination, harassment, and exclusion throughout his life. He was highly educated, earning doctoral degrees from Columbia University and the University of London. Once back in India, he began a lifelong campaign to secure legal and social protections for India’s “untouchables” and “lower” castes.
“Unlike many of the other Indians of his day, Ambedkar wasn’t educated solely in the colonial power dominating India”saysDr. Scott Stroud, a professor of communication studies at the University of Texas at Austin. “He spent many years in New York City, soaking up the thought and democratic atmosphere of Columbia University and teachers like John Dewey.” His time in America shaped his appreciation for democracy, social equality, and the complex nature of injustice in India.
In the 1940s, Ambedkar was tasked by Jawaharlal Nehru to help lead the drafting of India’s constitution. At the end of his life, Ambedkar pushed for conversion to Buddhism. As Dr. Santosh Raut argued in his lecture at the donation ceremony, Ambedkar’s promotion of Buddhism in the 1940s and 1950s was a way for “untouchables” to escape caste discrimination in India. Dr. Raut is an assistant professor of aesthetics and philosophy at the English and Foreign Languages University in Hyderabad, India, as well as aPostdoctoral Fellow for Buddhist Ministry at the Harvard Divinity School.
Ambedkar was a powerful scholar and orator, authoring many books and delivering hundreds of speeches. These writings and speeches are collected in the 18-volume set, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Writings and Speeches. Ambedkar was convinced that democracy in India could only be achieved if the habits and customs of caste hierarchy are reformed. While the constitution he took a heavy hand in drafting outlawed untouchability, the troublesome outlooks of caste still plague those born into the so-called “lower castes” after the constitution’s ratification.
The donation of these 18 volumes of Ambedkar’s collected works will enable students and faculty associated with the South Asia Institute to have easier access to his views on caste, democracy, and equality. ABAT is proud to help students at the University of Texas at Austin, as well as other universities, have more access to the scholarly and political works of Ambedkar, one of the leading political and philosophical figures of Twentieth century India.“We Ambedkarites certainly owe so much to Babasaheb Ambedkar,” Yogesh Khankal of ABAT states, “so we wish to enable others to learn about this great social reformer. The gift of his books is an ideal way to do this.”
The Ambedkarite Buddhist Association of Texas (ABAT) is a registered non-profit organization that started through the initiative of four Ambedkarite families living in Texas. Now, ABAT brings together hundreds of Ambedkarites and individuals interested in resisting caste discrimination in its events in Texas. More information on ABAT, its history, and its activities can be found here: https://abatusa.org/.
CONTACT:Jagdish Bankar/Yogesh Khankalcontactabatdallas@gmail.com
