‘Everyone is equal here’: 44 Dalits from 8 Gujarat districts embrace Buddhism

Two days before his 89th birthday, Anand Parmer, a writer and union leader based in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad, embraced Buddhism, following the footsteps of his idol Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar. “But it was just a technicality,” he said, adding “I have been living as a Buddhist for a long time”.

Parmar has translated, among others, two books on Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, the architect of Indian Constitution, from Hindi to Gujarati. (On October 14, 1956, Ambedkar embraced Buddhism, along with an estimated 365,000 to 600,000 Dalit followers, marking one of the largest religious conversions in history.)

Parmar was among 44 people from the Scheduled Castes hailing from eight districts of Gujarat, who converted to Buddhism at a ceremony hosted by the Lotus Bauddh Sangh Trust in Nava Vadaj area of Ahmedabad on Wednesday.

The converts are from Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Gandhinagar, Mehsana, Rajkot, Surendranagar, Sabarkantha and Patan districts. Ten of the 44 people – six families included –  are minors.

Parmar, who was in Class 9 in 1956, said he was present at the spot during the police firing at Congress House that became a landmark moment in the Mahagujarat Movement to bifurcate Bombay State along linguistic lines.

“From childhood, I lived among those who followed Dr Ambedkar, and listened to them carefully. Later, I read his works and studied LLB. I helmed a trade union in the municipal corporation, and followed his ideals. Over the years, my friends have been urging me to convert to Buddhism, but that was just a technicality. I have been a Buddhist for a long time.”

Parmar has translated a book by Dr Ambedkar’s private secretary Nanak Chand Rattu on the later years of Ambedkar, and another written by Sohanlal Shastri.

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The ceremony, held on Ashok Vijaydashami day, was presided over by Bhante Pathik Shreshti of the Amar Baudhh Vihar in Surendranagar, said its organiser, Prashant Mehta. The conversions were carried out in accordance with the Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act, 2003, and Rules, 2008, he added.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Ritesh Solanki, 26, who works as a quality control engineer in a firm in Sanand, said: “The main reason for converting to Buddhism is that we have no rights in the caste based system.” “Though the situation is better in cities, social injustice continues in villages,” Solanki claimed.

Solanki, who hails from a small village near Sanand, said that nobody else from his family, including his wife, parents or sister, have converted to Buddhism, but he had spoken to them about his decision.

“This is my personal decision and my family members continue to be Hindus. When the police called my home for verification after I submitted the application to convert to Buddhism at the Collectorate, my father supported me… My wife may convert in the years to come, but it’s totally her decision,” he said.

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Solanki said that when he was younger, slogans of ‘Jay Bhim’ would be heard around his neighbourhood but that he learnt more about it after reading about Dr Ambedkar’s work for social upliftment.

Solanki said that one of his relatives had converted to Buddhism more than a decade ago and that he reached out to the organisation through him.

“There is no caste system in Buddhism and everyone is equal,” he said.

On Tuesday, 76 people from Dalit communities had adopted Buddhism at a function held near Gita Mandir of Ahmedabad city.