Ahmedabad/New Delhi- Inspired by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, Dalits continue to embrace Buddhism in many parts of the country. Dr. Ambedkar himself adopted Buddhism on 14 October 1956 at Deekshabhoomi in Nagpur, along with about four lakh followers. On Ashoka Vijayadashami, on 21 October, 44 members of the Scheduled Caste community from eight districts of Gujarat adopted Buddhism at a ceremony in Ahmedabad’s Nava Vadaj area. A day earlier, on Tuesday, 76 Dalits had also embraced Buddhism at an event near Geeta Mandir in the city.
Meanwhile, a new debate has emerged on social media over whether Dalits should convert at all. Bahujan intellectuals such as senior IRS officer Nethrapal have raised questions about the legal risks. He says anti-conversion laws can affect a person’s reservation status, and that thousands of conversion-related cases are pending in courts.
The Nava Vadaj ceremony was organised by the Lotus Buddhist Sangh Trust and presided over by Bhante Pathik Shreshthi of Amar Buddha Vihar, Surendranagar. Organiser Prashant Mehta said the conversions were carried out under the provisions of the Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act, 2003, and its 2008 Rules.
The 44 converts came from Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Gandhinagar, Mehsana, Rajkot, Surendranagar, Sabarkantha and Patan districts. Ten of them were minors, belonging to six families.
Ahmedabad-based writer and union leader Anand Parmar, who attended, said he had long been living a Buddhist life. He has also translated two books on Dr. Ambedkar from Hindi into Gujarati.
Ritesh Solanki, 26, a quality control engineer at Sanand, said: “In the caste system we don’t get our rights. The situation is better in cities, but social injustice continues in villages. There is no caste system in Buddhism, and everyone is equal.”
According to government data reported by Gujarat Samachar in June, 545 people in Ahmedabad district changed their religion in the past two and a half years. More than 95 percent left Hinduism for Buddhism.
The main reasons cited were marriage, personal belief and social factors. About 60 percent of converts were from urban areas, and the rate was higher in areas such as Amraiwadi in east Ahmedabad. In the past year, applications have also come from rural areas such as Dholka, Sanand and Viramgam. Some Muslims and Christians also adopted Hinduism, and in many cases entire families, including children, converted.
Under the rules, anyone wishing to convert must seek permission from the District Collector’s office at least 30 days in advance. Permission is granted only after reports from the concerned sub-divisional officers and the police.
On one side are reports of Dalits adopting Buddhism. On the other, Bahujan intellectuals are debating the matter on social media. In his post, Nethrapal advised Dalits to think carefully before moving to another religion.
According to Nethrapal, a growing number of judicial decisions have denied reservation after conversion. He says conversion carries inherent complications and a high probability of losing reservation, so those converting should first take legal advice.
He explained that in states such as Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Karnataka, strict anti-conversion laws apply. If the legal provisions are violated, the conversion can be treated as illegal, and an illegal conversion can make the caste certificate invalid. He urged people to be careful and not be lured by false hopes. His advice: check the religion and caste recorded by your parents in school and transfer certificates, and report only that. In his words, if your father is Hindu, record Hindu, or there will be problems.
Nethrapal also questioned those who advise conversion. He says they should first legally adopt Buddhism themselves and obtain new caste certificates for themselves and their families. He argues that people are mixing religion into the issue and spoiling the discussion. In his view, being a Scheduled Caste Hindu is an advantage today. He asks why Dalits should convert to Buddhism, Christianity or Islam when converted Dalits also face discrimination, and says there are “zero perks” and a threat to reservation.
His advice is to remain a Hindu and remain a Dalit, and he says Dalits can prosper only through reservation. He emphasized that he never said not to convert, only that people should consult a lawyer and take a legal opinion first. He said a Supreme Court lawyer who defends the community agrees with him, and cited a Tamil Nadu High Court ruling that, according to him, held “Adi Dravidar Buddhist” not to be a valid Scheduled Caste.
Citing the 2011 Census, Nethrapal says only 84.42 lakh of India’s 121 crore people were Buddhist, about 0.7 percent. He gives state figures of 0.1 percent for Uttar Pradesh, 0.16 percent for Karnataka, 0.04 percent for Andhra Pradesh and 0.02 percent for Tamil Nadu. He says most Buddhists come from Maharashtra and, within it, from the Mahar community, of which he says about 60 percent are Buddhist and 40 percent Hindu. He argues that millions of Hindu Dalits follow their faith and deities and that this does not mean they disrespect Dr. Ambedkar.
Nethrapal says reservation is the only effective tool. He argues that government schemes rarely reach the intended beneficiaries, and that SC-ST entrepreneurs face a lack of bank capital and community business support. He says the best path is to use reservation to get into good colleges and then secure a stable salaried job in the government or private sector. He says this is not his personal experience but a finding of Azim Premji University’s State of Working India 2023 report.
Another point in the debate concerns ground realities. It holds that a typical Dalit Buddhist household keeps a Buddha idol, regarded as an avatar of Lord Vishnu, and does not formally convert. On paper he remains Hindu, observes all rituals and festivals, travels to Ayodhya and Prayagraj, and still respects Dr. Ambedkar’s ideology.
The debate thus stands between two paths. One is formal conversion to Buddhism inspired by Ambedkar, as with the 44 and 76 people in Ahmedabad. The other is the legal caution urged by those who stress protecting reservation.
According to the August 2026 USCIRF country brief on India, 13 of 28 states had anti-conversion laws as of June 2026. Maharashtra is the latest. Reports indicate the President gave assent to the Maharashtra Freedom of Religion Act, 2026 on 31 July. The states are Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Odisha, Arunachal Pradesh and Maharashtra. Challenges to these laws remain pending in the Supreme Court.
Scheduled Caste (SC) Status:
Under Paragraph 3 of the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 (issued pursuant to Article 341), Scheduled Caste status is strictly restricted to individuals professing Hinduism, Sikhism, or Buddhism. Converting to Islam, Christianity, or any other religion outside these three categories results in the immediate loss of SC status and associated benefits.
Backward Class (BC/MBC) Quotas and Article 16(4):
The Supreme Court (in Secretary to Government v. Sameer Ahamed N., 2026) ruled that an individual who converts to another religion cannot claim reservation under Article 16(4) solely based on pre-conversion social backwardness or a previous caste identity.
No Automatic Transfer:
Reservation attaches to a constitutionally or statutorily identified class with a shared social and historical link, not as an individual, transferable personal entitlement. A conversion certificate or a general state executive order cannot unilaterally create or transfer membership into a notified Backward Class (such as Backward Class Muslim communities).
To claim reservation benefits after conversion, a person must independently prove that they legally belong to a specific, recognized, and notified community under applicable state or central backward-class rules, rather than relying on their former religion or caste.
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