Ambedkarites and sacralization of B.R. Ambedkar in modern India
https://doi.org/10.28995/2658-4158-2023-4-88-101
Abstract
Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (1891–1956), a Dalit leader born in the caste of Mahars, received an excellent Western education and advocated the abolition of caste discrimination, is an extremely significant person in the scheduled caste community of modern India. Having given the oppressed castes the opportunity to acquire a new social identity through the adoption of Buddhism, Ambedkar became in their eyes a hero-liberator. Attention to the personality and legacy of Ambedkar began to grow steadily against the background of the arrival in politics of people from the scheduled castes, who were opposed to the politics of hindutva. At present, the significance of the personality of B.R. Ambedkar for the Indian nation is recognized at the highest state level. The leaders of the country open new memorial museum complexes, monuments, refer to the works of Ambedkar in public speeches. From our point of view, we can talk about the inclusion of B.R. Ambedkar in a kind of political pantheon of «great leaders of the past». Basing on the concept of E. Burns of the euhemerization of political leaders, as well as analyzing printed and sculptural images of Ambedkar, ritual practices and folklore of the ambedkarite community, the author describes the mechanisms of sacralization of Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar in the modern Republic of India.
Supporting agencies: The article is published the framework of the project RSF 22–28–00505 «Special Worlds» of India: small peoples and social groups. Ethnocultural Strategies for Preserving and Smoothing Differences», 2022–2023.
About the Author
M. B. Shcherbak
N.N. Miklukho-Maklai Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology, Russian Academy of Science
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Maria B. Shcherbak
32A, Leninsky Av., Moscow, 119334
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Review
For citations:
Shcherbak M.B. Ambedkarites and sacralization of B.R. Ambedkar in modern India. Studia Religiosa Rossica: Russian Journal of Religion. 2023;(4):88-101. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.28995/2658-4158-2023-4-88-101
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