Theravada Buddhism and Modernization

Anagarika Dhammapala and B.R. Ambedkar

Bibliographic Data

ID2763646
AuthorsBalkrishna Govind Gokhale, Balkrishna Govind Gokhale Balkrishna Govind Gokhale (1Professor Emeritus, Department of History and Asian Studies, Wake University, Winston-Salem, NC 27106, U.S.A.)
Year1999
Volume34
Issue1
Pages33-45
Publication date1999-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Asian and African Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0021-9096 • E-ISSN: 1745-2538
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/002190969903400104
OpenAlexW4240067394
LanguageEN
Citations received2

The twentieth century saw a revival of Buddhism in Sri Lanka and India. Though in both countries it was an instrument of choice it played different roles. The Buddhist revival in Sri Lanka led by Anagarika Dhammapala (1864-1993) though a "spin-off" from the Theosophical movement, became a basis for the Simhala renaissance involving a restatement of the faith and reaffirmation of its cultural values. In India Dr. B.R. Ambedkar (1891-1956) turned to Buddhism in his search for an alternate cultural identity for millions of untouchables (particularly the Mahar community) in his rebellion against the Hindu caste system and its ancialliary social by-product, untouchability. In both cases what was once perceived as an ascetical and renunciatory paradigm was turned into an instrument of political action and social activism

Buddhism · Caste · Dharma · Faith · Hinduism · Islam · Modernization theory · Political science · Politics · Social science · Sociology · Theology · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Asian Geopolitics and Ethnography · Gender Studies · Indian and Buddhist Studies · Indian History and Philosophy · Law · Philosophy · Religious studies

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