Religion, caste and modernity

Religion and caste are often critically viewed by modernity for its rootedness in the traditional world view. In India, caste as an oppressive social organization has got its sanctity from Hinduism. Dalits are the worst victims of the caste system as advocated by Hinduism. Interestingly, in contemporary times, religion becomes a rallying point for many social and political struggles. In this context, the chapter explains how Ambedkar’s conception of religion and modernity is important in promoting the democratic, humanistic and rational world view by countering the caste system. Ambedkar overcomes the tradition–modernity dichotomy by arguing for a religion that stands for reason and righteous social life. By applying this criterion, he rejects Hinduism as a religion and endorses Buddhism. He reconstructs Buddhism as a humanistic religion that stands on rationality and morality. The chapter further argues that Ambedkar proposes an alternative modernity against colonial and Brahmanical modernity from a Dalit point of view. He adds a new dimension to the liberal–communitarian debate by mediating both traditions of western political philosophy from an indigenous perspective.