New Delhi: As many as 236 Valmiki people in Ghaziabad have converted to Buddhism in protest against caste discrimination and the Uttar Pradesh government’s handling of the Hathras brutality, in which the victim belonged to this particular caste group, Indian Express has reported.
The Valmikis are Dalits and are recognised as a Scheduled Caste.
On October 14, Valmikis in Karera village of Ghaziabad changed their religion to Buddhism in the presence of Rajratan Ambedkar, the great-grandnephew of B.R. Ambedkar.
However, a first information report (FIR) was filed at Sahibabad police station on Thursday against unidentified people for “spreading false rumours about religious conversions”, the report said. The FIR was filed under IPC sections 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, etc) and 505 (whoever makes, publishes or circulates any statement, rumour or report).
Ajay Shankar Pandey, Ghaziabad additional district magistrate said the “rumour” was being probed.
But, at least 236 people were issued certificates by The Buddhist Society of India, bearing signature of Rajratan and Bhadant Arya Nagarjuna Surai Sasai, chairman of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Memorial Committee, Ambedkar told Indian Express. “How can they say religious conversion in Karera on October 14 is a rumour? I was present there. There is a Facebook Live video of the event; there are photographs of the event. What is the basis of this FIR?” he asked. He had also tweeted pictures of the event after two days.
बाल्मीकि समुदाय के लोग बौद्ध धम्म की दीक्षा और २२ प्रतिज्ञा लेते हुए के ऐतिहासिक क्षण। pic.twitter.com/CfSJ0FpfDq
— 𝐑𝐚𝐣𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐧𝐚 𝐀𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐝𝐤𝐚𝐫 (@Raj_Ambedkar) October 16, 2020
Keshav Kumar, circle officer, Sahibabad told Indian Express that they are investigating the allegations as the certificates only bear the date of conversion. “The allegation that the documents are not authentic will be investigated. No arrests have been made in the matter so far.”
The Buddhist Society of India was founded in 1955 by B.R. Ambedkar.
Also read: A Personal Account of Sikhism’s Inclusive Embrace
As per the Indian law, one can change their religion legally; however, governments and the police have been known to use the bogey of so-called “forced conversions” to harass converts and proselytisers.
Among those who converted to Buddhism is Inder Ram (65), from east Delhi’s Shahdara. He worked as a mechanic until a few years ago, according to another report by the Indian Express. He said what happened in Hathras triggered them to change their religion. “There is no caste in Buddhism; no one is a Thakur or a Valmiki there. Everyone is a human being, everyone is just a Buddhist.”
Four men from the Thakur or upper caste community last month allegedly gangraped and assaulted a 19-year-old Dalit woman in Hathras, leading to her death. Despite an imposition of section 144 in the area, hundreds of people rallied in support of the four accused Thakur men and demanded ‘justice for them’.
The Dalit woman in her dying declaration had reportedly mentioned the names of four persons who raped her.
One of the purported converts, The Telegraph reported, stressed that the police’s act of hasty cremation of the victim was “un-Hindu” since, as per Hindu tradition, unmarried Hindus should be buried rather than cremated after death. He further added that the entire episode made them feel that they don’t belong to the Hindu community, and hence, there was no point staying in the religion.
Nand Kishore Gurjar, local MLA from the Bharatiya Janata Party, reportedly said: “I have sent a complaint to chief minister Yogi Adityanath to probe the rumour of religious conversions. I believe that Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and Pakistan’s intelligence agency are behind this rumour.”
