Bhimrao Ambedkar
(1891-1956)

Charismatic leader of the outcastes or ‘untouchables’ of India. Born into the caste of the Mahar untouchables, Ambedkar converted to Buddhism on 14 October 1956 at Nagpur. He regarded Buddhism as the religion most capable of resolving the problems of caste that in his view had plagued India down the centuries. Across India thousands of untouchables followed his example as a protest against their social exclusion. Today almost all the Mahars of Maharashtra regard themselves as Buddhist.

A Dictionary of Buddhism, Oxford University Press, 2003, 2004 (which is available in electronic version from answer.com)