Word: ambedkar
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...distinct faiths - is the world's most populous democracy, despite the efforts of insurgents and religious extremists to derail it. Indeed, in the aftermath of the recent Mumbai terror attacks, the city did not erupt in sectarian riots as some had feared it would. Back in 1949, B.R. Ambedkar, the low-caste architect of India's constitution, called democracy "topdressing on Indian soil." Yet today, Mayawati Kumari, a member of a Dalit, or untouchable, caste is one of the nation's biggest political stars - albeit one with a penchant for accepting lavish gifts. "The fact that a leader like Mayawati...
...Buddhist in the 2001 census, but the vast majority are the descendants of Dalits, who converted to Buddhism en masse in the 1950s as a reaction against their low status in the Hindu caste hierarchy. It was an inspiring political revolution, led by the great Dalit activist B.R. Ambedkar, but its success gave contemporary Buddhism in India the stigma of a lower-caste movement. That's changed with this recent move toward the faith among the élite. Sarao estimates that urban, affluent followers of Buddhism in India may number about 1 million...
...pair's greatest conflict occurred in 1932 when, thanks to Ambedkar's lobbying, the British agreed to grant communal electorates to untouchables separate from the Hindus. Gandhi went on a fast in a Pune prison opposing that decision, which he saw as a division of Hindu voters. But Ambedkar bargained hard, and the Mahatma agreed to a historic compromise?instead of separate electorates, a specified number of seats in provincial and national legislative bodies were reserved exclusively for untouchables, a reservation system that is still used in India to ensure a voice for untouchables in India's parliament...
...After his death Ambedkar was all but forgotten, and the political party faded in significance. But the 1990s saw an extraordinary revival of interest in the great untouchable leader. India's 160 million former untouchables (who now call themselves Dalits, or "the oppressed") have become more politically aware and assertive thanks to education and government jobs, and Ambedkar has been resurrected as their rallying symbol. Patel's film on Ambedkar is drawing large Dalit audiences, and the screenings are like political carnivals. The audience identifies completely with the hero, cheers him wildly at every opportunity and hurls insults...
...corner of New Delhi's Parliament compound stands an oversized bronze statue of Ambedkar. In one hand he holds a copy of India's constitution (the one he helped write); the forefinger of the other points toward parliament. Beyond parliament lies President House, occupied for the first time by a Dalit, K.R. Narayanan, who rose from a poor outcaste family in Kerala to hold the highest office in the land. Every Dalit who goes to see Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar will no doubt walk away with the hope that one day his life too will be transformed...