When religion itself was biased against us, what other form of world-building did we have? The formless God was never neutral, already colonized. Dalits were told we are impure, untouchable, not allowed in temples. So when God itself denies you, where do we turn to?
For Dalit women this relationship with spirituality is deep and painful. There is no one to protect you. No God standing by you. Society hates you. Men dominate you. Caste crushes you. Still you have so much love inside. Dalit women carried love from generation to generation. She is the ultimate figure of sacrifice, dispossessing everything for children, for husband, and for the community without receiving the same back. No respect. No dignity. Only suffering.
So she holds a god of her own. Even if that god is not holding her. The Brahminical system created gods who belong only to them. Our people formed their own gods in their nearest surroundings. Many times those who loved beyond caste were killed and later made into local deities. Masoba, Mariaai, these are not just gods, they are history of violence and memory. Stone became god because stone at least not rejecting you. That stone is silent but not humiliating you.
Especially for Dalit women, these stone gods were their emotional support. In this cruel world, the hard stone was the only place to lodge their soft faith that maybe something good would happen. When everything is turned against you, faith becomes our last refuge.
So when Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar did Kalaram Mandir Satyagraha it was not about praying Ram. It was about dignity. It was about saying that temples cannot be the private property of the upper caste. If god is there then he cannot be only caged to a single caste. Babasaheb’s act was a political attack on spiritual monopoly. He showed dignity is not someone’s personal property. Ramabai understood this more intimately. She lived devotion through hunger and humiliation. When she asked to go to Pandharpur to see Vitthal, Babasaheb said they would build a new Pandhari – this was the testament of their love. It is not just an emotional story. Such promise is as profound as any Satyagraha. It is saying we don’t need to beg in front of god who rejects us. That’s why Buddha became so central to his philosophy.
Buddha was against Brahminism. He rejected caste. He gave Dhamma and Sangha. He gave Maitri. For a community who never got respect, Buddhism gave self respect. It gave acceptance. It said you are human first.
“Conversion day was golden day not because religion changed but because mind changed. We stopped asking for entry and started building our own path.”
Conversion day was golden day not because religion changed but because mind changed. We stopped asking for entry and started building our own path.
And again Dalit women carried this forward. In many houses women spread Buddhism. They teach children, they go to vihara, they keep photos of Buddha and Babasaheb, they practice Maitri in daily life. Buddhism in the community survived because of women. To understand spirituality here you have to understand marginalization. Dalit women were denied love, denied god, denied dignity. Still she created a place for her faith. First through stone gods. Then through Buddha.
Her spirituality is not blind belief. Its the her way about the world.