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{{short description|Buddhists of Marathi ethnic and linguistic identity}}
{{infobox ethnic group
|group= Marathi Buddhists
|image=Deekshabhoomi - panoramio.jpg
|caption=[[Deekshabhoomi]] monument, located in [[Nagpur]], [[Maharashtra]], where [[B. R. Ambedkar]] converted to Buddhism in 1956, is the largest [[stupa]] in Asia.<ref>{{cite news|last=Bhagwat|first=Ramu|title=Ambedkar memorial set up at Deekshabhoomi|url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2001-12-19/mumbai/27228796_1_dr-ambedkar-narayanan-smarak-samiti|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131016083900/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2001-12-19/mumbai/27228796_1_dr-ambedkar-narayanan-smarak-samiti|url-status=dead|archive-date=16 October 2013|accessdate=1 July 2013|newspaper=[[The Times of India]]|date=19 December 2001}}</ref>
|population = {{flag|India}} 6,531,200 (2011)
|popplace = [[Maharashtra]]
|langs = [[Marathi language|Marathi]]
|rels= [[Navayana|Buddhism]]
|related= [[Mahar]]s • [[Marathi people]]
}}

'''Marathi Buddhists''' {{lang|mr-Latn|Marāṭhī Baud'dha}}) are [[Buddhist]]s of [[Marathi people|Marathi ethnic]] and [[Marathi language|linguistic]] [[Identity (social science)|identity]]. The religious community resides in the [[Indian state]] of [[Maharashtra]]. They speak [[Marathi language|Marathi]] as their [[mother-tongue]] (first language). The Marathi Buddhist community is the largest Buddhist community in India. According to the 2011 Indian census, Marathi Buddhists constitute 5.81% of the population in Maharashtra, which is 77% of the total Buddhist population in India.<ref name="census2011">{{cite web|title=Population by religion community – 2011|url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/C-01/DDW00C-01%20MDDS.XLS|website=Census of India, 2011|publisher=The Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150825155850/http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/C-01/DDW00C-01%20MDDS.XLS|archivedate=25 August 2015}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:Dr. Ambedkar delivering speech during conversion.jpg|thumb|Ambedkar delivering speech during conversion, Nagpur, 14 October 1956]]

Almost all Marathi Buddhists belong to the [[Navayana]] tradition, a 20th-century [[Dalit Buddhist movement|Buddhist revival movement]] in India that received its most substantial impetus from [[B. R. Ambedkar]] who called for the conversion to Buddhism by rejecting the [[Caste system in India|caste]]-based society of Hinduism, that considered them to be the lowest in the hierarchy.<ref>{{cite book|title=Political Ideas in Modern India: thematic explorations |author1=Thomas Pantham |author2=Vrajendra Raj Mehta |author3=Vrajendra Raj Mehta |year= 2006|publisher=Sage Publications|isbn=0-7619-3420-0|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KJejtAaonsEC&pg=PA48 |page=48}}</ref>

B. R. Ambedkar publicly converted on 14 October 1956, at [[Deekshabhoomi]], [[Nagpur]], over 20 years after he declared his intent to convert. He converted approximately 600,000 people to Buddhism.<ref name="Buswell2013p34">{{cite book|author1=Robert E. Buswell Jr.|author2=Donald S. Lopez Jr.|title=The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DXN2AAAAQBAJ |year=2013| publisher= Princeton University Press|isbn =978-1-4008-4805-8|page=34}}</ref> The conversion ceremony was attended by Medharathi, his main disciple Bhoj Dev Mudit, and Mahastvir Bodhanand's Sri Lankan successor, Bhante Pragyanand.<ref name="maren_roots"/> Ambedkar asked Dalits not to get entangled in the existing branches of Buddhism (Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana), and called his version [[Navayana]] or 'Neo-Buddhism'. Ambedkar would die less than two months later, just after finishing his definitive work on Buddhism. Many Buddhists employ the term "Ambedkarite Buddhism" to designate the Buddhist movement, which started with Ambedkar's conversion.<ref name="maren_roots">{{Cite book|last=Bellwinkel-Schempp|first=Maren|chapter=Roots of Ambedkar Buddhism in Kanpur|editor-last=Jondhale|editor-first=Surendra|editor2-last=Beltz|editor2-first=Johannes|title=Reconstructing the World: B.R. Ambedkar and Buddhism in India|location=New Delhi|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2004|pages=221–244|chapter-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120801180947/http://www.maren-bellwinkel.de/artikel/ambedkarbuddhism.pdf|url-status=bot: unknown|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120801180947/http://www.maren-bellwinkel.de/artikel/ambedkarbuddhism.pdf|archivedate=1 August 2012|url=http://www.maren-bellwinkel.de/artikel/ambedkarbuddhism.pdf}}</ref> Converted people call themselves "-Bauddha" i.e. Buddhists.

==Population==
[[File:District wise Buddhist population percentage, India census 2011.png|thumb|District wise Buddhist population percentage, India census 2011. India's West-centre area, [[Maharashtra]] shows Marathi Buddhist population.]]

Almost all Marathi Buddhists are converts from [[Hinduism]]. Most Buddhist Marathi people belong to the former [[Mahar]] community who adopted Buddhism with Ambedkar in 1956.<ref>{{cite book|last=Jaffrelot|first=Christophe|authorlink=Christophe Jaffrelot|title=Dr Ambedkar and Untouchability: Analysing and Fighting Caste|year=2005|publisher=Orient Blackswan Publisher|isbn=8178241560|pages=119–131|chapter=The ‘Solution’ of Conversion}}</ref><ref name="zelliot">{{cite book |editor-last=Smith |editor-first=Bardwell L. |title=Religion and the Legitimation of Power in South Asia |year=1978 |publisher=Brill |location=Leiden |isbn=9004056742 |pages=88–90 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x2Jzn_LuLasC&pg=PA88 |first=Eleanor |last=Zelliot |authorlink=Eleanor Zelliot |chapter=Religion and Legitimation in the Mahar Movement}}</ref>

In the 1951 census of India, In Maharashtra, 2,487 (0.01%) respondents said they were Buddhist. The 1961 census, taken after B. R. Ambedkar adopted Navayana Buddhism with his millions of followers in 1956, showed an increased to 2,789,501 (7.05%).<ref>Kantowsky, Detlef (1997). [https://www.buddhismuskunde.uni-hamburg.de/pdf/4-publikationen/buddhismus-in-geschichte-und-gegenwart/bd2-k06kantowsky.pdf Buddhisten in Indien heute], Indica et Tibetica 30, 111</ref>

Marathi Buddhists account for 77.36% of all [[History of Buddhism in India|Buddhists in India]].<ref name="census2011"/> According to the [[2011 Census of India]] there are 6.5 million Buddhists in Maharashtra but Buddhist leaders claim there are about 10 to 12 million Buddhists in Maharashtra. Among cities [[Mumbai]] has largest Buddhist population accounting for 4.85% of total Mumbai population. Almost 90 per cent of [[Navayana]] Buddhists live in the state.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://m.asianews.it/index.php?art=3482&l=en|title=INDIA Indian Buddhists reject religious census|website=m.asianews.it}}</ref> 5,204,284 (79.68%) Marathi Buddhists belong to the [[Scheduled Caste]] category.<ref>{{cite news|title=बौद्ध बढ़े, चुनावी चर्चे में चढ़े|url=https://aajtak.intoday.in/story/huge-increase-in-the-population-of-dalit-budhist-in-india-1-872858.html|accessdate=30 January 2018|work=aajtak.intoday.in|language=hi}}</ref>

==Notable Marathi Buddhists==
{{Cat see also|Indian Buddhists|Ambedkarites}}
{{More citations needed|talk=Are all enteries Marathi Buddhists? |date=January 2021}}

===Business===
* [[Milind Kamble]], national president of [[Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry]]<ref>https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/others/sunday-read/the-buddhism broadcast/articleshow/64716857.cms</ref>
* [[Kalpana Saroj]] (born 1961), entrepreneur and a Tedx speaker<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Layout/Includes/CREST/ArtWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=CREST&BaseHref=TCRM%2F2010%2F05%2F29&ViewMode=HTML&PageLabel=5&EntityId=Ar00400&DataChunk=Ar00501&AppName=1|title=Caste No Bar|last=Pronoti|first=Datta|date=29 May 2010|work=The Crest Mumbai|access-date=12 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180116140050/http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Layout/Includes/CREST/ArtWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=CREST&BaseHref=TCRM%2F2010%2F05%2F29&ViewMode=HTML&PageLabel=5&EntityId=Ar00400&DataChunk=Ar00501&AppName=1|archive-date=16 January 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.thehansindia.com/posts/index/2013-08-31/Kalpana-8211-Symbol-of-true-grit-70641|title=Kalpana – Symbol of true grit|website=The Hans India|date=31 August 2013|language=en|access-date=2018-01-16}}</ref>

===Law and Justice===
* [[B. R. Ambedkar]] (1891-1956), jurist, barrister, and first Law and Justice Minister of India
* [[B. C. Kamble]] (born 1919), jurist and lawyer
* [[R. D. Bhandare]] (born 1916), governor of Bihar and Andhra Pradesh
* [[Bhushan Gavai]] (born 1960), justice in the [[Supreme Court of India]]<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=petWCgAAQBAJ&q=r+s+gavai+religion&pg=PT170|title=Living with Religious Diversity|last1=Sikka|first1=Sonia|last2=Puri|first2=Bindu|last3=Beaman|first3=Lori G.|author3-link=Lori G. Beaman|date=2015-08-11|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781317370987|language=en}}</ref>

===Literature and activism===
* [[Savita Ambedkar]] (1909–2003), social activist and writer
* [[Raja Dhale]] (1940–2019), social activist and writer
* [[Namdeo Dhasal]] (1949 2014), social activist and writer
* [[Suresh Bhat]] (1932–2003), poet
* [[Gangadhar Pantawne]], writer, reviewer and Ambedkarite thinker
* [[Shankar Ramchandra Kharat|Shankarrao Kharat]], writer and member of the [[Maharashtra Legislative Council]]
* [[Dagdu Maruti Pawar]], writer and poet
* [[Pradnya Daya Pawar]], poet and fiction writer
* [[Arun Kamble]], writer and social activist
* [[Baburao Bagul]], writer and poet
* [[Bhau Panchbhai]], poet, writer and activist
* [[Urmila Pawar]], writer and activist
* [[Laxman Gaikwad]], novelist
* [[Yashwant Manohar]], poet and writer
* [[Vaman Kardak]], poet and playwright
*[[Keshav Meshram]], poet
*[[Sharankumar Limbale]], author
*[[Datta Bhagat]], Author

===Acting and Music===
* [[Adarsh Shinde]], singer, musician<ref>https://www.bhaskar.com/maharashtra/pune/news/MH-PUN-HMU-wedding-pics-of-well-known-singer-adarsh-shinde-5007221-PHO.html</ref>
* [[Vitthal Umap]], singer<ref>https://divyamarathi.bhaskar.com/news/MAG-samir-paranjape-rasik-article-in-marathi-5473432-NOR.html</ref>
* [[Bhalchandra Kadam]], actor, comedian<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-in-the-shadow-of-caste-2547684|title = In the shadow of caste|newspaper = DNA India|date = 23 September 2017}}</ref>
* [[Abhijeet Sawant]], actor and singer
* [[Kushal Badrike]], actor, comedian
* [[Vaishali Mhade]], singer
* [[Abhijeet Kosambi]], singer
* [[Surekha Punekar]], Indian folk artist
* [[Prahlad Shinde]], Singer
* [[Somnath Waghmare]], documentary filmmaker and researcher
* [[Usha Jadhav]], actress

===Politics===
* [[Yashwant Ambedkar]], member of MLC
* [[Prakash Ambedkar]], member of the parliament
* [[Anandraj Ambedkar]], political activist
* [[Ramdas Athawale]], state minister of India, and member of the parliament
* [[Rajkumar Badole]], Social Justice And Assistance Minister, Maharashtra
* [[Bhaurao Gaikwad]], Member of the parliament
* [[R. D. Bhandare]], governor of Bihar and Andhra Pradesh<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KK0_AAAAMAAJ&q=%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%9A%E0%A4%82%E0%A4%A6%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B0+%E0%A4%A7%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%82%E0%A4%A1%E0%A5%80%E0%A4%AC%E0%A4%BE+%E0%A4%AD%E0%A4%82%E0%A4%A1%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%87+%E0%A4%AC%E0%A5%8C%E0%A4%A6%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%A7|title = Sattā ke sūtradhara: Ājādī ke bāda Bhārata|last1 = Jhā|first1 = Vikāsa Kumāra|year = 1994}}</ref>
* [[R. S. Gavai]], Governor Bihar And Kerala, Member of the parliament, Former Chairman of Maharashtra Legislative Council
* [[Nitin Raut]], cabinet minister and MLA<ref name="divyamarathi.bhaskar.com">https://divyamarathi.bhaskar.com/news/23-ministers-belong-to-the-maratha-community-in-thackeray-government-126408482.html</ref>
* [[Rajendra Gavai]], political activist
* [[Jogendra Kawade]], cabinet minister, and Member of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly
* [[Laxman Mane]], political activist
* [[Eknath Gaikwad]], MP and state minister
* [[Varsha Gaikwad]], School Education [[Cabinet Minister]] of Maharashtra<ref name="divyamarathi.bhaskar.com"/>
* [[Sulekha Kumbhare]], minister
* [[Sanjay Bansode]], state Minister of Maharashtra<ref name="divyamarathi.bhaskar.com"/>
* [[Mukul Wasnik]], minister for social justice and Empowerment
*[[Tukaram Shrangare]], Union Minister For State For Communications
*[[Murlidhar Chandrakant Bhandare]], Governor of Odisha
*[[Sudhakar Tukaram Shrangare]], Member of Parliament
*[[Sunil Gaikwad]], Member of Parliament
*[[Sharad Bansode]], Member of Parliament
*[[Prakash Gajbhiye]], Member of MLC
*[[Nashikrao Tirpude]], 1st Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra
*[[Ramratan Janorkar]], Mayor of Nagpur
*[[Suresh Mane]], politician
*[[Waman Meshram]], President Of Bahujan Kranti Morcha
*[[B. D. Khobragade]], Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha
*[[Balkrishna Ramchandra Wasnik]], member of Parliament from Bhandara and Buldhana
*[[Avinash Mahatekar]], State Minister of Maharashtra<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sarkarnama.in/rpi-claims-phaltan-seat-say-avinash-mahatekar-42223|title = रिपाइचा फलटण मतदारसंघावर दावा : अविनाश महातेकर}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nagpurtoday.in/minister-of-social-welfare-avinash-mahatekar-visited-dikshit-bhoomi/07191927|title = समाजकल्याण राज्यमंत्री अविनाश महातेकर यांची दीक्षाभूमीला भेट}}</ref>
*[[Chandrakant Handore]], Minister Of Maharashtra<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://scroll.in/article/894323/bombay-high-courts-dalit-ruling-reflects-the-communitys-loss-of-ideological-cohesion|title=Bombay High Court's 'Dalit' ruling has come in handy for the politics of Hindutva|first=Anand|last=Teltumbde|website=Scroll.in}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/cabinet-offlimits-for-sons---daughters/538737|title=Cabinet off-limits for sons & daughters - Indian Express|website=archive.indianexpress.com}}</ref>
*[[Dadasaheb Rupwate]], politician<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.saamana.com/dadasaheb-rupwate-memorial-program/|title=कालकथित दादासाहेब रुपवते स्मृतिदिनानिमित्त विशेष कार्यक्रमाचे आयोजन|website=www.saamana.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://maharashtratimes.com/maharashtra/mumbai-news/premanand-rupwate-passed-away-in-mumbai/articleshow/65274161.cms|title=ज्येष्ठ आंबेडकरी कार्यकर्ते प्रेमानंद रुपवते यांचे निधन|website=Maharashtra Times}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://scroll.in/article/875573/how-indias-dalits-had-to-cope-when-the-backlash-began-after-ambedkars-death|title=How India's Dalits had to cope when the backlash began after Ambedkar's death|first=J. V.|last=Pawar|website=Scroll.in}}</ref>
*[[N. M. Kamble]], Indian Politician

===Economists and Educationists===
* [[Narendra Jadhav]], economist, educationist and author
* [[Bhalchandra Mungekar]], economist and author
* [[Sukhadeo Thorat]], economist and author
* [[Shankarrao Kharat]], Vice Chancellor of Dr BAMU Aurangabad

===Political scientists===

* [[Anand Teltumbde]], scholar, writer, and civil rights activist

===Sociologists===

* [[Sharmila Rege]], sociologist, feminist scholar and author of Writing Caste, Gender

===Journalists===

* [[Uttam Kamble]], An Indian journalist who had been the Chief Editor of [[Sakal] Media Group and He is a post-modern author with around 63 published books

===Sports===
*[[Mona Meshram]], cricketer
*[[Avinash Sable]], athlete

==Culture==
[[File:Gate of Vipassana Buddha Vihar and Aurangabad caves, and Ambedkar statue.jpg|thumb|Marathi Buddhists are celebrating 62nd Dhammachakra Pravartan Din at [[Aurangabad Caves]] area in [[Aurangabad, Maharashtra|Aurangabad]], [[Maharashtra]] on 18 October 2018.]]

===Festivals===
* [[Buddha Purnima]], public holiday in Maharashtra
* [[Ambedkar Jayanti|Babasaheb Ambedkar Jayanti]], public holiday in Maharashtra
* [[Dhammachakra Pravartan Day]], public holiday in Maharashtra
* [[Vesak]], public holiday in Maharashtra

==See also==
* [[Dalit Buddhist movement]]
* [[Marathi people]]
* [[Religion in Maharashtra]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20180708074717/http://blog.cpsindia.org/2016/01/religion-data-of-census-2011-xi_19.html?m=1 Indian Buddhist Data from the 1951 census to the 2011 census]

{{Buddhism topics}}

[[Category:Ambedkarites]]
[[Category:Buddhism in Maharashtra]]
[[Category:Buddhist communities of India]]
[[Category:Demographics of India]]
[[Category:Navayana Buddhists]]
[[Category:Social groups of Maharashtra]]

Marathi Buddhists - Revision history

Portileostah: correct content after review and corrected details to improve readability

->Sidchandra78: /* Notable Marathi Buddhists */ made a seprate article List of Marathi Buddhists

imported>Notfrompedro: no articles