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The Great Conversion

Dr. Ambedkar and Buddhist Revival in IndiaChristopher Queen

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Courtesy Popular Prakashan PVT., LTD

AS AN UNTOUCHABLE BOY in village India at the turn of the century, Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (1891-1956) was forced to sit silently on a piece of burlap at the back of his classroom; his notebooks could not be handled by the teacher, and drinking water was poured into his mouth to avoid physical contact. Like the other boys from the Mahar community of untouchables, he was beaten if he accidentally touched a caste Hindu.

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