**Peter Friedlander**

South and South East Asian Studies Program, School of Culture History and Language, College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2600, Australia; peter.friedlander@anu.edu.au

Received: 13 March 2020; Accepted: 23 April 2020; Published: 1 May 2020

**Abstract:** Jagjivan Ram (1908–1986) was, for more than four decades, the leading figure from India's Dalit communities in the Indian National Congress party. In this paper, I argue that the relationship between religion and politics in Jagjivan Ram's career needs to be reassessed. This is because the common perception of him as a secular politician has overlooked the role that his religious beliefs played in forming his political views. Instead, I argue that his faith in a Dalit Hindu poet-saint called Ravidas was fundamental to his political career. Acknowledging the role that religion played in ¯ Jagjivan Ram's life also allows us to situate discussions of his life in the context of contemporary debates about religion and politics. Je ffrey Haynes has suggested that these often now focus on whether religion is a cause of conflict or a path to the peaceful resolution of conflict. In this paper, I examine Jagjivan Ram's political life and his belief in the Ravidas¯ ¯ı religious tradition. Through this, I argue that Jagjivan Ram's career shows how political and religious beliefs led to him favoring a non-confrontational approach to conflict resolution in order to promote Dalit rights.

**Keywords:** religion; politics; India; Congress Party; Jagjivan Ram; Ravidas; Ambedkar; Dalit studies; ¯ untouchable; temple building
