Marathi Buddhists are Buddhists of Marathi ethnic and linguistic identity. The religious community resides in the Indian state of Maharashtra. They speak Marathi as their mother-tongue. 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.
Deekshabhoomi monument, located in Nagpur, Maharashtra, where B. R. Ambedkar converted to Buddhism in 1956, is the largest stupa in Asia.
Ambedkar delivering speech during conversion, Nagpur, 14 October 1956
Marathi Buddhists are celebrating 62nd Dhammachakra Pravartan Din at Aurangabad Caves area in Aurangabad, Maharashtra on 18 October 2018.
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.
