Transcript Buddhist Conversion as a Counter-Discourse to create Ambedkarite

BUDDHIST CONVERSION AS A
COUNTER-DISCOURSE TO CREATE
AMBEDKARITE IDEAL SOCIETY
Sanjeev Kumar
Assistant Professor
SPM College
University of Delhi
[email protected]
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What is a Discourse?
Architecture of Religion: Hinduism
Archeology of Religion: Hinduism
Conversion as Counter-Discourse
Future Course??
DISCOURSE?

It is to discover the various subtle forms of
practices
that
perpetuate
caste
system
throughout time and space. The discursivity of
any sociological phenomena or structure
continuously keeps reproducing it’s structure to
suit the changing time and space while keeping
intact the essentiality of exploitation or whatever
purposes it posses.
VEDIC: VARNA SYSTEM OF HINDU
RELIGION
Brahman
Kshatirya
Vaishya
Shudra
BRAHMANICAL STRUCTURE OF HINDU
RELIGION?
Brahman
Kshatriya
Viashya
Shudra
Ati-Shudra: Untouchable
ACTUAL ARCHITECTURE OF HINDU
RELIGION
Ati-Shudra: Untouchable:
Unseeable: Unapproachable:
Unhearable.
Shudra: Practitioner
Vaishya:
Practitioner
Kshatriya:
Practitioner
Brahman:
Creator
MANIFESTATION
OF
RELIGION:
SOCIO-CULTURAL SPHERES
• Religious
Texts
• Rituals
• Cultural
Transcendental
Institutional
• Temple/Idol
• Family
• Educational
• Other Social
Practices
• Marriage:
Endogamy
• Division
Labourer
• Untochabi
lity:
Purity
Modalities
MANIFESTATION OF RELIGION:
POLITICAL SPHERE
• Castist
Democracy
• PseudoSecularism
Brahmanical
state
Institution
• State organs
• Market/economy
• Civil society
organisations
• Merit vs.
reservation
• Exclusion vs.
inclusion
• Atrocity
• Invisibility
Modality
WHY DO WE FOLLOW RELIGION?

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Every Human needs religion because:
Human is God fearing being
Human is Aspiring being
Human is afraid of uncertainty
Myth and Mystery attract Human
Human is curious being
Human is imitative creature
WHAT RELIGION OFFERS?
It creates myth to instigate curiosity in the
human
 Then mystify the curiosity again to keep human
beings exploring the no-existence and unexplorable
 Creates fear and expectation in the name of
god
 To fulfill expectation, fear and uncertainty
provides rituals and structure of inequality
such as caste.

HOW INDIVIDUAL PRACTICE?
Religion is the superstructure mythologised by religious
texts, operate to justify caste and patriarchal structure at work.
Q- How Individual practice this?
A- Individual practice this caste and religious structure at both
conscious and unconscious level. Three ways to practice it:
(a) Dominance/ Forced:
Because of the power structure and
dominance of dominant high caste other castes are forced to
obey the structure. If revolts against it then atrocity and
exclusion takes place.
(b) Hegemony (Force + Consent): Individual also practice this
structure, because they find it good for their welfare. For ex:
people doing rituals to please god for welfare and doing so
maintains caste system happily
(c)
Servility (Naturalization/ Internalisation): this practice is
so deeply internalized by the individual, that they find it
neither good nor bad but normal and natural system of society.

WHAT IS CASTE SANCTIONED BY HINDU
RELIGION?
Hindu Religion: Transcendence:
The Grand Myth
State: Merit Vs. Rights
&Representation
Social:
Untouchablity,
Graded Inequality,
Imitation
Family based
on Edogamy
and village
exogamy
Individual: PsycheConscious and Subconscious level
AMBEDKAR’S ATTACK ON CASTE AND
RELIGION
Religious
 Social
 Political
 Educational
Strived to build
 Movement
 Education
 Legal Structure
 Religious Domain

ATTACK ON BRAHMANISM
ATTACK ON RELIGIOUS TEXTS
WHY AMBEDKAR THINKS SO
THUS HE REVOLTED AGAINST ALL
SCRIPTURES
CASTE AND RESERVATION
ULTIMATE CURE TO THE CASTE ‘DISEASE’
BUDDHIST MASS CONVERSION AS THE
COUNTER-DISCOURSE
Since Caste and religiosity have not only
inserted into society, family and state
institutions but captured the psychological
domain of the people which gets
reproduced and revised according to the
time and space then there is a need of
counter way of life.
 An Ideal Society based on social
endosmosis, equality, liberty and fraternity,
associated way of life, moral purification of
not only victim but also perpetrator.
 That Idea society is not something coming
from outside or abstract, but transforming
the existing one into a new one.

DECLARES FOR CONVERSION
TRANSFORMATION OF SOCIETY INTO
IDEAL SOCIETY THROUGH CONVERSION
Shudras
Vaishya
Buddhist Society:
Untouchables,
Shudras,
Vaishyas and
other nonbrahmanicals
Kshatriya,
Brahmans
CONVERSION DISCOURSE TO BREAK
THE CHAIN OF CASTISM
Humani
ty
Liberty
Buddhist
Culture:
Social/Political
Endosmosis
Democracy
based on
Fraternity
Equality
BUDDHISM IS NEITHER MEANS NOR END: BUT A
CONTINUOUS PROCESS TOWARDS FRATERNITY

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The Society after conversion is not going to be a perfect society.
So Ambedkar wanted the associated way of life to exercise
community feeling based on democratic principles. Because until
Brahmanism is completely destroyed it’s infection will keep
spreading the caste disease and its ghosts and spirits. So
conversion of certain community will not suffice the
emancipation of humanity until complete annihilation of
Brahmanism takes place.
Notwithstanding Brahmans will start converting into Buddhism
to pollute the entire Buddhist fraternity as the inevitable rule of
Brahmanism. In that caste, The physical and numerical
conversion into Buddhism will not suffice to end Brahmanism.
But The inherent practice of Fraternity, Equality and Liberty in
Buddhism based on Democratic principle to maintain the
personal and social endosmosis shall only end the Brahmanical
content and intent in the larger run.
METHOD OF CHANGE AND EMANCIPATION
BUDDHISM AS A DEMOCRATIC PROCESS
TO MAINTAIN SOCIAL ENDOSMOSIS
Equality
Liberty
Loving
kindness
Fraternity
Democracy