WI: Ambedkar converted to another religion?

B. R. Ambedkar was a Dalit (Untouchable) rights activist, who in the 1930s was convinced that Hinduism was not the right religion for Dalits and it was one of the main reasons Dalits were put in deplorable conditions. In 1935 he met with Christian, Muslim (Ambedkar would later speak out against Islamic ideologies in India), Sikh and Buddhist religious leaders, and he was swayed to become a Buddhist. When Ambedkar publically converted to Buddhism it lead to a mass conversion of Dalits to Buddhism. In fact a lot Buddhists in India have ancestors who were once Dalits.

But let's say that Ambedkar doesn't convert to Buddhism. How different would India be had Ambedkar converted to Islam, Christianity or Sikhism?
 
B. R. Ambedkar was a Dalit (Untouchable) rights activist, who in the 1930s was convinced that Hinduism was not the right religion for Dalits and it was one of the main reasons Dalits were put in deplorable conditions. In 1935 he met with Christian, Muslim (Ambedkar would later speak out against Islamic ideologies in India), Sikh and Buddhist religious leaders, and he was swayed to become a Buddhist. When Ambedkar publically converted to Buddhism it lead to a mass conversion of Dalits to Buddhism. In fact a lot Buddhists in India have ancestors who were once Dalits.

But let's say that Ambedkar doesn't convert to Buddhism. How different would India be had Ambedkar converted to Islam, Christianity or Sikhism?

Well, the big two ones would be Islam and Sikhism.

With Islam, which had a cultural presence in India and conflict with Hinduism, it would skew power dynamics more toward the Muslims and ultimately, it could be that the parition of India may happen differently as a result since there would be a shift in the dynamics. More of the lower classes may embrace Islam and lead to a classist struggle potentially.

With Sikhism, it is a similar case. It lacks the caste system and was historically formed from Hindu-Muslim interactions and schools of thought. A wide scale conversion of Sikhism would lead perhaps to more migration and focus on the Punjab region, the birthplace of Sikhism and perhaps Sikhism could rise up to become a third player in the power plays of the subcontinent. This could mean that besides India and Pakistan, we'd get a third area foe the sikhs (though given location, I reckon the Sikhs would get what would be Pakistan and how India would divided for Islam and HIndu follwoers is hard to say... maybe a north/south divide?)

Christianity is the big wild card, especially which brand of Christianity
 
B. R. Ambedkar was a Dalit (Untouchable) rights activist, who in the 1930s was convinced that Hinduism was not the right religion for Dalits and it was one of the main reasons Dalits were put in deplorable conditions. In 1935 he met with Christian, Muslim (Ambedkar would later speak out against Islamic ideologies in India), Sikh and Buddhist religious leaders, and he was swayed to become a Buddhist. When Ambedkar publically converted to Buddhism it lead to a mass conversion of Dalits to Buddhism. In fact a lot Buddhists in India have ancestors who were once Dalits.

But let's say that Ambedkar doesn't convert to Buddhism. How different would India be had Ambedkar converted to Islam, Christianity or Sikhism?
If he converts to Christianity, then the utter hatred many in the Hindu Nationalist movement have for that religion is likely to redouble.
 
Ambedkar converted to Buddhism on October 14, 1956, twelve years after independence. Hence no question of it affecting partition that happened twelve years ago. Ambedkar believed that it was the coming of Islam that destroyed Buddhism in India. Hence he had a negative view of Islam and had no chance of choosing Islam for conversion. He was a great admirer of Lord Goutham Buddha and believed that only way for the liberation of Dalits was the message of Dhamma. He didn't possess any special admiration for either Sikhism or Christianity. His conversion to Buddhism was not a sudden decision. He consulted with many religious leaders and social activists and took almost two decades before taking the final plunge.
 
I certainly don’t think he’d convert to Islam or Christianity - too foreign and exclusivist. Sikhism is far too Punjabi and Jat for the Mahar to follow.

But a possibility I have been curious about is if he converted to Lingayatism. Just as Indic as Buddhism, and even more anti-casteism.
 
I'm not an expert about India, so what I'm going to say may be ASB, but what if, instead of a religion, Ambedkar decide to follow a political ideology, with a little Totalitarian flavour that can be recognized as similar to a religion? What if Ambedkar decide that Communism is the best option for the Untouchables? In that way, Communism would have an enourmosly bigger support by the Indian population than OTL in the 40s.
 
I'm not an expert about India, so what I'm going to say may be ASB, but what if, instead of a religion, Ambedkar decide to follow a political ideology, with a little Totalitarian flavour that can be recognized as similar to a religion? What if Ambedkar decide that Communism is the best option for the Untouchables? In that way, Communism would have an enourmosly bigger support by the Indian population than OTL in the 40s.

I doubt it. Ambedkar called the Communist Party "Brahman Boys"
 
I doubt it. Ambedkar called the Communist Party "Brahman Boys"
Right. The Communist Party in those days was dominated by the Brahmins. Even today after 70 years of independence a dalit has not been elected to the Politbureau of CPI(M). Same is the case with the CPI, I think, but not sure. The majority of the politbureau are forward caste Hindus. I think there is only one backward caste Hindu and a Christian in CPI(M) Politbureau which have 15 members. The Communist Chief Ministers of West Bengal, which they ruled for almost three and a half decades uninterrupted, were all Brahmins. In Kerala too the first Chief Minister was a Brahmin, Com. E.M.S.Namboodiripad. Then E.K.Nayanar, C.M. for three terms, was also a forward caste Nair. The two Chief Ministers from CPI, Achyutha Menon and P.K.Vasudevan Nair were also forward caste Hindus. Most of the General Secretaries of the CPI(M) were also Brahmins. I also admit that the present C.M. of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan and his CPI(M) predecessor Achyuthanandan belong to backward castes.
 
He could convert to one of India's indigenous christian branches, such as the church of st thomas.
The problem is that Indian Christianity IIRC is just as caste-bound as the Hindus, mostly from having been in South Asia for almost two millenia.

I mean, it is possible that he converts anyway, but itould create immense social tensions in the Church.
 
Well, ultimately, it is examining the what-ifs.

From seeing what we know, Sikhism is potentially the most likely for an alternate one. Though it may not fully be accepted.
 
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