This task gains significance and urgency from the fact that in two
significant examples of injustice and oppression, caste and gender, the
argument and struggle for justice are, in the main, disconnected from
the Hindu tradition.2 In the case of caste oppression, many seek liberation,
not through engagement with Hinduism, but by conversion
to other religions or by the rejection of religion. It is instructive that
the largest number of converts in India from Hindu traditions to Buddhism
and Christianity come from the so-called untouchable castes,
popularly referred to as the Dalits.3 The most famous convert, Dr.
B. R. Ambedkar, felt hopeless about the possibility of social liberation
through Hinduism, publicly renounced the tradition and, with almost
three million followers, embraced Buddhism. He was convinced that
caste injustice and oppression were intrinsic to Hinduism.