Ambedkar, Bhim Rao,

Ambedkar, Bhim Rao : PH.D., Barrister at Law (1891–1956). Indian Bst. who founded a movement in India for converting millions of the Scheduled Castes (‘Untouchables’) to Bsm. Horrified with the conditions in which they lived he dedicated his life to their redemption. Became a Member of the Bombay Legislative Assembly and Law Minister to the Central Government, where he helped draft the present Constitution. On 31 October, 1956, at Nagpur he and his wife with half a million followers formally renounced Hinduism and took Pansil (q.v.) from a Bst. Thera. Already a sick man, he died soon after. His work is being carried on by the Indian Bst. Society he founded, under the inspiration of the English Bhikshu Sangharakshita (q.v.) See, The Buddha and his Dhamma (1957).