First Islam, then Christianity and now Buddhism – Dalit thinkers are leading the new wave of anti-Hindu conversion

Hinduism, as the mobile-laptop generation calls it, has roots in one of the oldest civilisations. There is a mention of Sanatan Dharma in the Vedic Scriptures, dating back to ancient times. There was a time when the followers of Hindu dharma stretched to South East Asia and the Pacific region.

However, then began the religious persecution and systematic violence in the form of massacres, cultural genocide. universities and Gurukuls were burnt to ashes, desecration of temples were done. The game which was played at the backend was of religious conversion, sometimes forcefully and sometimes by luring.

First Islam came and unleashed a cultural genocide. They were successful in converting a huge population by dangling the sword of massacre on their necks. Then conversion to Christianity spread its wings during the British colonial rule. But, while these two are often talked about, the conversion to Buddhism is often saved from the public eye.

250 Dalits convert to Buddhism in Rajasthan  

As per reports, 250 Dalits have converted to Buddhism in the Baran district of Rajasthan, citing atrocities by the upper caste community. The video of the incident has been going viral in which individuals can be seen immersing idols and pictures of Hindu deities in the Betli river of Rajasthan. This has been done under a protest named Akrosh rally, in Bhulon village of Chhabra block of Baran.

Read More: The Blight of Conversion

The step was taken by the members of the Dalit community after an incident of atrocity. Balmukund Bairwa, the president of District Bairaw Mahasabha Yuva Morcha has alleged that Rajendra and Ramhet Airwal, two youth belonging from the Dalit community who had organised Durga arti in Bhulon village, were assaulted by upper caste men, Rahul Sharma and Lalchand Lodha. To mark, this was the time when Navratri was going on.

The case has been registered under the SC and ST Act and the police have arrested the accused.

The conversion nexus

For many it may look like a simple law and order issue, which might have been resolved with the intervention of the administration. Although the police are carrying out the investigation in the matter and have arrested the accused, the new phenomenon visible here was conversion to Buddhism.

Earlier in October, over 450 Dalits in Karnataka’s Shorapur city had converted to Buddhism to give up the ‘untouchables tag they still carry with themselves’. Something, for which a proper law exists in the nation. Regarding the incident, Devendra Hegde had said, “By choosing Buddhism, we’re not just rejecting Hinduism which promotes the caste system and inequality but we’re also walking in the path of our guru Dr. B R Ambedkar. In preparation for the same, the ones who vowed to convert, threw photos of Hindu gods in a river, calling it “respectful visarjan.”

How ‘scholars’ are mediating conversion

For a diverse country like India, it is compulsory to safeguard the varied traditions and cultures. For this purpose, keeping a tab on the menace of conversion is equally important. The issue of religious conversion is a constant and prominent issue in the political discourse of the nation. Though often shunned by the left liberal cabal, there are actually alleged thinkers at work, who are actually running a conversion spree. Something which is visible in every conversion event.

The trend is too simple to understand and can be broken down into steps. First, cherry pick any incident in which the victim happens to belong from a lower community. Second, paint the upper caste- lower caste narrative, and rather than seeking law and order intervention, focus on brewing a political narrative. Third and the final step, provoke the victims to denounce Hinduism and accept Buddhism. However, these so-called scholars hide the reality that adopting Buddhism can be a sign of protest but the move does not add any cultural transformation to their social status. The flag bearers of the conversion movement are Hedge and Dilip Mandal. Some of his tweets stand in deposition for the same.

Pro-Buddhism or Anti-Hinduism

The debate needs to be resolved, that the alleged professors, the ones on a conversion spree, do they really embrace Buddhism and the principles the religion preaches or they simply want to just malign the Sanatan Dharma. It is said, if your religion is good, you don’t have to repeat it before people. People will see it through your actions. The same is the case with these Neo-Buddhists, they are less focussed on Buddhism rather their singular focus lies on mocking Hindus and the beliefs and practices of Sanatan Dharma.

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