100,000 outcasts to change their faith
Friday October 13 2006
The rally in Nagpur will mark the 50th anniversary of the conversion to Buddhism of Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, a scholar and constitutionalist who fought for the rights of India's "untouchables" - the downtrodden people now known as Dalits.
There are an estimated 180m Dalits in India and 70m tribespeople. Traditionally compelled to perform the most menial, degrading and dangerous tasks, Dalits occupy the bottom rung of the caste ladder, at the opposite end of the social spectrum to the Brahmins, who constitute less than 5pc of the population of India.
Dr Ambedkar, a Buddhist revivalist, publicly rejected the scriptures of Hinduism before converting about 380,000 of his supporters. Tomorrow's ceremony, led by Dr Udit Raj, the president of the India Justice Party, and expected to be attended by Bollywood stars, is part of a wave of Buddhist conversions planned across India this month, when millions are expected to embrace a new religion.
The mass conversion tomorrow comes at a politically sensitive time as minority religious groups fear that Hindu extremists are becoming increasingly antagonistic towards them. (© The Times, London)
- Ashling O'Connor
