INDIA:More than 50,000 low-caste Hindus and nomadic tribal people have converted to Buddhism before a vast crowd in India's western port city of Mumbai in the hope of escaping the oppressive rigidity of the centuries-old caste system and finding a life of dignity.
Monks in orange and saffron robes administered religious vows yesterday to the converts at a race track where many of the tribals had their faces painted and ritually flagellated themselves, before being admitted to follow the non-violent path of Buddhism.
At a signal from the monk conducting the proceedings, the congregation - some emaciated or carrying babies - stood up, took off their shoes and repeated Buddhist chants.
Many of the converts were low-caste Hindus once considered "untouchables" by the higher castes and generally associated with "unclean" jobs like scavenging and cleaning toilets.
Comprising about one-sixth of India's population of more than 1.2 billion, the untouchables (known as Dalits) are trapped in Hindu India's rigid caste system.
This is an ancient hereditary class order that divides society into four categories with thousands of complex subdivisions. The highest (or priestly) class are called Brahmins while the lowest, manual labourers, are the Sudras. In between are the Kshatriyas (warriors) and the Vaishyas (traders).
According to the tenets of Hinduism, caste cannot be changed except through the endless cycle of death and rebirth which is dependent on Karma or fate, dictated in turn by good deeds performed during a lifetime.
Although the Indian constitution dating back to the early 1950s forbids caste discrimination, Dalits are still often beaten or killed if they use a well or worship at a temple reserved for upper castes in rural areas.
Indian politicians who condemn the caste system as "regressive" and "invidious" are largely to blame for perpetuating it.
For decades, conversion has been a sensitive issue in India with right-wing Hindus accusing Christian missionaries of proselytising with inducements such as free schooling and healthcare. But the missionaries, who have long demanded greater rights for Dalits, say those who convert often do so to escape the stifling caste system.
Hindus comprise about 80 per cent of India's population and Muslims about 13 per cent. Christians are fewer than 3 per cent and other minorities such as Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and Zorastrians make up the rest.