Deekshabhoomi is a sacred monument of Navayana Buddhism located in Nagpur city in the state of Maharashtra in India; where B. R. Ambedkar with approximately 400,000 of his followers– mainly Dalits, several thousand of whom had been converted to Christianity– embraced Buddhism on Ashoka Vijaya Dashami on 14 October 1956. Ambedkar played a significant role in the revival of Buddhism in India, and inspired many such mass conversions to Buddhism.
Deekshabhoomi Stupa
22 vows given by Ambedkar at Deekshabhoomi
Ambedkar and Deekshabhoomi on a 2017 postage stamp of India
Bust of Babasaheb Ambedkar at Deekshabhoomi
Navayāna, otherwise known as Navayāna Buddhism, refers to the modern re-interpretation of Buddhism founded and developed by the Indian jurist, social reformer, and scholar B. R. Ambedkar; it is otherwise called Neo-Buddhism and Ambedkarite Buddhism.
A Navayāna Buddhist shrine with Ambedkar's portrait and The Buddha and His Dhamma book. The photograph is on the event of the 50th Dhammachakra Pravartan Day.
Buddhist flag of Navayana Buddhists
Inscription of 22 vows at Deekshabhoomi, Nagpur
Ambedkar delivering a speech during mass conversion in Nagpur, 14 October 1956.