Buddha and His Dhamma

Ambedkar during his later years, before he died in 1956, had converted to Buddhism. He chose Buddhism over other religions like Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, etc., as it talked about scientific knowledge, humanity, and equality, and he wanted to get rid of the caste rigidities and social inequalities that he faced during his lifetime. His memorable book The Buddha and his Dhamma talks about Ambedkar's perspective on Buddhism and the founder of the religion, Siddhartha Gautama or Buddha. Ambedkar discusses the fundamental points related to said religion and contains his explanation of dhamma and discusses the biography of Buddha, his teachings, his missionary activities, his con­temporaries, and the establishment of the Sangha, or the first Buddhist Council, and so forth. This book is heavily popular among the neo-Buddhists, or Navayanas, and it is referred to as the Bible for under­standing neo-Buddhism.