In this provocative and scholarly book, Kancha Ilaiah propounds a view of Gautama Buddha and his sangha that will change the way we think of both. Eschewing both religious obscurantism and a conventional reading of history, Kancha Ilaiah uses his considerable erudiction to take us on a journey into the past, to rediscover the life and thought of this man who gave up kingship to search for the truth. Along the way he uncovers the roots of democratic Indias long-fought battle with absolute monarchy and the hegemony of caste.