Jai Bhim: Dispatches from a Peaceful Revolution

Hundreds of people were waiting as the ‘Deccan Queen’ drew in from Bombay. Waving garlands, banners, and lamps, they roared and chanted slogans as a smiling, orange-robed figure stepped down from the train. The crowds came from the poorest section of Indian society, but the monk they were greeting hailed from Tooting, London. It was crazy, dream-like, reversal of the usual jet-age guru syndrome. And it was hard for Terry Pilchick to believe that this was the same person who had once taught him to meditate, on a retreat in the quiet Surrey countryside. Now, this man was about to lead him into an encounter with the most extraordinary experiment in revolution taking place today. In the 1940’s and 50’s, Bhimrao Ramjets Ambedkar – champion of India’s 60 million ‘Untouchables’ – could have launched a violent struggle for freedom. Instead, he asked his people to find dignity, strength, and prosperity by converting to Buddhism. There are now millions of new Buddhists in India; they still meet and part with the words, ‘Jai Bhim!’ – ‘Victory to Bhimrao Ambedkar’. But has Ambedkar’s vision of a radical, non-violent revolution been accomplished? Travelling around the Buddhist localities, in city slums and remote villages, meeting and living with Ambedkar’s modern followers, Terry Pilchick gained an intimate impression of their extraordinary world, and of the unique revolution they are building. In a colourful, moving account, he takes us into that world, allowing us to witness the revolution for ourselves. Jai Bhim! is a colorful, humorous yet moving meeting with these new Buddhists and the unique revolution they are building in the city slums and remote villages of modern India. The author, Terry Pilchick, has practiced meditation and mindfulness since the 1970s. He was ordained into the Western Buddhist Order in 1974 and has worked full-time ever since as a Buddhist teacher, writer and publisher. These days he works as a meditation and mindfulness teacher (MBSR/MBCT), mentor and life-coach in the UK and abroad.