Mass conversion: Dalits shift faith

[Awesome]

Mumbai: In what could be one of the biggest mass conversions in the country, thousands of tribal and Dalit Hindus are to embrace the Buddhist faith at a huge gathering in Mumbai on Sunday.

To mark the Golden jubilee of dalit icon Dr Ambedkar's conversion to Buddhism, lakhs of followers will converge at Mumbai's Mahalaxmi racecourse on Sunday to give up their religion. The event will be presided over by the Dalai Lama.

“They want to embrace Buddhism because it is a free religion. it is open to all. It preaches non violence and is not divided on basis of caste,” said Ramdas Athavle, leader, RPI.

October 14, 1956 was a historic day when over 3 lakh dalits led by Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar rejected Hinduism's caste divisions and embraced Buddhism. 50-years hence lakhs of Ambedkar followers will once again renounce the religion they were born to.

The number of dignitaries who attended the pre Buddhism ceremony—a precursor of Sunday’s event, confirmed Dr Ambedkar’s iconic status. Even as Dalit leaders hope, that the resurgence of Buddhist conversions also converts into political mileage, Ambedkar followers try and remind others their leader's real appeal.

“This would be the first ever mass conversion where millions of people will change their religion without any promise of money, or political power,” Narendra Jadhav, Vice Chancellor, Pune University said.

With the number of dalit atrocities across the country on the rise, perhaps it's time for the religion they leave behind to reconsider its exclusionist philosophy.

http://www.ibnlive.com/news/dalai-lama-to-preside-over-indias-biggest-mass-conversion/41410-3.html

Hinduism losing ground in India?

Anyone got any figures of growth rate of Hindus/Muslims/Christians/Buddhists in India?

 

[A.Rahman]

Thousands of low-caste Indian Hindus convert to Buddhism

MUMBAI (Reuters) - About 50,000 Indian low-caste Hindus and nomadic tribespeople converted to Buddhism before a vast crowd on Sunday in the hope of escaping the rigidity of the ancient Hindu caste system and finding a life of dignity.

Monks in orange and saffron robes administered religious vows to the converts as about half a million spectators, mostly Buddhists, cheered the ceremony at a horseracing track in downtown Mumbai.

Some of the converts were low-caste Hindus once considered as "untouchables" by the higher castes, but most were members of India's numerous nomadic tribes.

Many of the tribespeople had their faces painted and ritually flagellated themselves before being asked by the monks to give up their practices and follow the non-violent path of Buddhism.

"Whatever may have been your religion until now, from today you will take refuge in the teachings of the Lord Buddha," one told them.

At a signal from the monk conducting the proceedings, the converts, some of them visibly emaciated or carrying babies in their arms, stood up, took off their shoes and with folded hands repeated Buddhist chants.

Hindu scriptures separate people into Brahmin priests, warriors, farmers, labourers, and those beyond definition -- called "Dalits".

These low-caste Hindus, making up about a sixth of India's 1.1 billion people, were once considered "untouchable", performing the most menial and degrading jobs.

CULTURAL CHANGE

While the Indian constitution forbids caste discrimination, and spectacular economic success and exposure to Western culture have remoulded many social paradigms, the caste system has persisted, above all in villages.

Dalits are still often beaten or killed if they use a well or worship at a temple reserved for upper castes.

"I'm here because people from our village have decided to become Buddhist," said Santosh Mane, a landless labourer from a village about two hours' drive from Mumbai.

For decades, conversion has been a sensitive issue in India. Right-wing Hindus have accused missionaries, especially Christian preachers, of converting poor Hindus with inducements such as free schooling and health care.

But Christians, who have long demanded greater rights for Dalits, say those who convert often want to escape the oppressive caste system.

Hindus account for 80 percent of India's population. Muslims account for 13 percent, Christians less than 3 percent and minorities such as Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and Parsis the rest.

source: Yahoo news

 

[A.Rahman]

Conversion is a controversial subject in India, especially if it involves Hindus converting to Christianity or Islam.

Two weeks ago two Catholic priests were publicly beaten after being accused of trying to bring a group of local people into the Catholic faith.

But converting to Buddhism does not evoke much adverse reaction, as most hardline Hindu leaders believe Buddhism is an extension of Hinduism.

 

[KashifAsrar]

News update in ToI dated 28th May 2007.
Kashif

Thousands embrace Buddhism ​

Mumbai Witnesses One Of The Biggest Conversions In Recent Times


Shobhan Saxena | TNN



Mumbai: In a hugely symbolic gesture that may have a long-term effect on state and national politics, thousands of tribals and Dalits converted to Buddhism at a massive gathering here on Sunday, marking the 50th year of Dr B R Ambedkar’s conversion to the religion to escape the rigid Hindu caste system.
Though the number of people present at Mahalaxmi Race Course was a little less than the expected figure of 100,000, it was definitely one of the biggest mass conversions in modern Indian history.
In the past few years, thousands of Dalits and tribals have converted to Buddhism in different parts of the country, a move seen by political observers as an assertion of their identity that is influencing politics in a big way.
At the crack of dawn on Sunday, buses loaded with Dalits and tribals began to roll into the grounds surrounded by glass-and-steel highrises in the country’s financial hub. On a hot, sweltering summer day, men, women and children from 42 different castes brought to Mumbai by Dalit writer Laxman Mane, sat quietly throughout the day waiting for the moment they would be initiated into Buddhism. By evening, their number had swelled to at least 50,000.
As the day turned to dusk and speeches by Buddhist leaders like Rahul Bodhi were wrapped up, thousands of eager hands went up in the air amid loud Buddhist chants and ‘Jai Bhim’ slogans, initiating hundreds of new converts into the Buddhist fold. Organised by Babasaheb Ambedkar Pratishthan, the rally was just not a simple religious ceremony, it was also a show of strength by Maharashtra’s Dalit leader, Ramdas Athawale, who time and again is at loggerheads with other leaders in the country to claim Ambedkar’s true legacy.
Although the Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama, who was supposed to lead the ‘‘largest religious conversion in modern India’’, could not make it to the ceremony, there was a huge gathering of Buddhist monks in their maroon robes from different parts of India, as well as from other countries.
And, the absence of the world’s best-known Buddhist monk did not dampen the spirits of the people taking refuge in Buddhism as a symbol of turning their backs on caste discrimination and oppression. Carrying multi-coloured flags of the Republican Party of India and Ambedkar’s photos, and little Buddha statues and booklets, the Dalits and tribals waited with great patience as the event started late in the afternoon and meandered through long sessions of songs, dances and speeches.
Oblivious of the political implications of the ceremony, thousands turned the posh Race Course into a sea of white, waiting for the ‘major change’ in their social status.