In June 1936, the Hindu Mahasabha leader B. S. Moonje and the Dalit leader and trenchant critic of Hinduism Dr B. R. Ambedkar jointly proposed mass conversions of the ‘untouchables’ to Sikhism. According to Ambedkar, if the untouchables converted to Sikhism, they would leave the Hindu religion but not Hindu culture. The untouchable converts to Sikhism would escape caste oppression without getting ‘denationalized’. This initiative provoked a major controversy, and leaders as diverse as M. M. Malaviya, Mahatma Gandhi, M. C. Rajah and P. N. Rajabhoj expressed their views on the subject. This article explores what Ambedkar meant by expressions like ‘de-nationalization’ and ‘Hindu culture’. Malaviya’s anxieties about the weakening of the Hindu community because of this initiative, Rajah’s fear that mass conversions could lead to a Sikh–Hindu–Muslim problem at a national level, Gandhi’s emphasis on spiritual values and the voluntary removal of untouchability in a spirit of repentance, and Tagore’s universalist and humanist attitude towards religion are explored. The complex political and intellectual responses of Hindu and Dalit leaders to the proposed mass conversions to Sikhism in the mid-1930s reveal dimensions not often considered in mainstream narratives about Hindu nationalism or Dalit conversions.

1936年6月，印度教大圣会领袖BS Moonje和达利特人领袖以及对印度教的尖锐批评家BR Ambedkar博士联合提议将“贱民”转变为锡克教。根据安贝德卡（Ambedkar）的说法，如果无法触及的人converted依了锡克教，他们将离开印度教，但不会离开印度教文化。坚定不移地信奉锡克教的convert依者可以逃脱种姓的压迫而不会被“国有化”。这项倡议引起了很大的争议，马拉维（MM Malaviya），圣雄甘地（Mahatma Gandhi），MC拉贾（MC Rajah）和PN拉贾博伊（PN Rajabhoj）等领导人都表达了对此问题的看法。本文探讨了Ambedkar所谓的“去民族化”和“印度文化”等词的含义。由于这项倡议，马拉维亚（Malaviya）对印度教社区的衰落感到担忧，拉贾（Rajah）担心会发生大规模conversion依，这会在全国范围内引发锡克教徒，印度教徒和穆斯林的问题，甘地（Gandhi）强调精神价值观，并以悔改的精神自愿消除不可触及的事物，并探讨了泰戈尔（Tagore）对宗教的普遍主义和人道主义主义态度。在1930年代中期，印度教徒和达利特领导人对拟定的大规模改信锡克教的政治和思想上的复杂反应，揭示了在有关印度教民族主义或达利特转变的主流叙事中并不经常考虑的方面。