“In the 1980s, it was considered a great matter of pride in Western Uttar Pradesh if someone got admitted to an MBBS program. When Rahul Ji from our neighboring village secured admission, his name echoed across the nearby districts for years.”
These sentiments were conveyed to me by my esteemed colleague, Dr. Rajvir Singh, a long-standing associate of the Kanshi Ram movement and currently a Professor of Chemistry at the University of Bridgeport, Connecticut. It was Dr. Singh who introduced me to Dr. Rahul Deepanker in 2021. Dr. Deepanker has been living near Chicago, USA, for the past 50 years. Since our first conversation, each interaction with him has been intellectually enriching and inspiring. My deep admiration for him stems from his warm nature, intellectual clarity, and steadfast commitment to social transformation. His love for knowledge is evident in his extensive personal library- or rather, libraries- and his deep interest in American politics and global affairs, which continue to inspire young researchers like me.
This year, the Ambedkar International Center (AIC), based in Maryland, USA, invited Dr. Rahul Deepanker as a Distinguished Guest on its 13th Foundation Day. A highly respected medical professional, dedicated social thinker, and follower of Buddhist philosophy, Dr. Deepanker shared insights into his life—a remarkable blend of clinical excellence, intellectual curiosity, and deep-rooted commitment to social justice.
Dr. Deepanker hails from Ooncha Gaon in Bulandshahr district of Uttar Pradesh. He completed his MBBS from Meerut Medical College in 1975. During his college years, he was inspired by speeches from prominent Ambedkarite leaders like Buddh Priya Maurya and Sangh Priya Gautam, which sparked his interest in Dr. B. R. Ambedkar’s writings. After completing his MBBS in 1975–76, he undertook residency at Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in Delhi. In 1979–80, he cleared the preliminary Indian Administrative Service (IAS) exam. However, that same year marked a turning point in his life. After receiving marriage proposals from a US based family, he married Sujatha Ji and moved to the United States on July 20, 1980, beginning a remarkable journey as a medical doctor.
From 1981 to 1984, he completed his residency at Grant Hospital of Chicago under the American Board of Internal Medicine. Thereafter, he served for nearly four decades at Riverdale Medical Center, earning trust not just from the administration but also deep respect from the medical fraternity. He eventually became the President of the hospital, leading a team of over 300 healthcare professionals.
Alongside his medical practice, Dr. Deepanker has maintained a deep interest in issues of caste-based inequality and social justice. In his mid-forties, he pursued a Master’s degree in Liberal Arts from University of Chicago to develop a critical understanding of society and contribute to the upliftment of marginalized communities. Over a period of time, he made close connections with American scholars like Professor Owen M. Lynch, Gail Omvedt, Christopher Queen and many others.
His time in the U.S. has been closely tied to prominent Ambedkarites. In the 1970s, under the leadership of Dr. Shobha Singh, an organization named VISION (Volunteers in Service of Oppressed and Neglected) was founded. Through his association with VISION, he worked closely with scholars and Ambedkarite thinkers such as Dr. Shobha Singh, Dr. Har Dayal, Dr. Laxmi Narayan Bairwa, P. N. Arya, P. P. Laxman, and Velu Annamalai, gaining first-hand experience of the movement. Dr. Deepanker’s father-in-law, Shri Dinesh Singh Anand, was a dedicated Ambedkarite and author of two books, significantly shaping his social thought.
Inspired by Dr. Ambedkar’s vision of inclusive education, in 1997, he established the Deepanker Kanya Inter-College in his ancestral village in Uttar Pradesh. To this day, the school offers free education to over 500 girls from diverse caste backgrounds each year.
In 1989, he founded the organization New Republic India (NRI) and in 1994, the Indian Buddhist Association. From 1996 to 2018, he served as a Board Member and Trustee of the Parliament of the World’s Religions, representing the Buddhist tradition and bringing a critical anti-caste perspective to global interfaith dialogues. Around 20 years ago, he had the honor of meeting His Holiness the Dalai Lama personally in Dharamshala.
Dr. Deepanker has also maintained a deep engagement with Indian politics. Over the years, he has formed close ties with leading Dalit politicians such as Ram Vilas Paswan and Lalu Prasad Yadav, often inviting them to speak at public gatherings in the U.S. Notably, former Prime Minister V. P. Singh and senior journalist late Shri Kuldip Nayar also spent time at his residence. These political associations further deepened his activism, leading him to contest the 2014 Lok Sabha election from Bulandshahr as an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate.
In addition to all of this, Dr. Deepanker is also one of the founding members of AIC. On the occasion of its 13th Foundation Day, AIC honored Dr. Deepanker for his outstanding social work and requested him to continue guiding the organization with his vision.
It was an honor to emcee the event. The featured guest speakers: Dr. Saswati Natta and Bhante Revatha. Among the attendees were AIC President Shri Vijay Shankar Gautam, Rakesh Gupta, Sanjay Kumar, Mahendra Kumar, Kumar Natta, Vivek Ashoda, AIC Secretary Michelle B., Lakshman Nakka, and senior members like Ravi Ambedkar, Anju Gautam, Kavita Kumar, Shirish (photographer), along with several university students from Maryland, Virginia, and Washington D.C. Ambedkarites from Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia participated in the event.
Gaurav J. Pathania is an assistant professor of Sociology and Peacebuilding at Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. He is also an anti-caste poet, activist and community organizer. His social justice writings featured in The Boston Globe, and he has been interviewed by PBS and BBC on diaspora issues in the United States. Gaurav made his Hollywood debut in Ava DuVernay’s film ORIGIN, portraying Babasaheb Dr. Ambedkar.