(RNS) — Many Buddhists today trace their social justice activism to the work of BR Ambedkar, the Indian caste abolitionist who once led a mass conversion of Dalits, or lower caste, to Buddhism. (RNS) ...

Explore the origins of the caste system, rooted in political and economic factors rather than purity, pollution, or race.

I met Minal at a retreat center in rural England in March 2023, and we became fast friends. We were there to attend a Buddhist course, with six other women from different parts of the world. Over the ...

NEW DELHI — “We are Hindus no more, and inferior to nobody,” declared Ramkumar, a low-caste Indian from the northern Indian state of Utter Pradesh. Ramkumar, a bureaucrat in the state government, ...

MUMBAI, India (AP) -- About 2,000 low-caste Hindu Indians bowed before orange-robed monks and recited prayers as they converted to Buddhism in a mass ceremony Sunday that they said would bring them ...

(The Conversation) — Several US universities now recognize caste as part of nondiscrimination policies. Two scholars of South Asian studies explain how caste-based violence isn’t limited to Hinduism, ...

YAVATMAL, India (Reuters) - Taking off his shoes and joining his palms together in prayer, young engineer Ravi Turkane stands under a sizzling sun waiting to be reborn as a Buddhist. Sign up here.

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their ...

Vikki Velasquez is a researcher and writer who has managed, coordinated, and directed various community and nonprofit organizations. She has conducted in-depth research on social and economic issues ...