BHOPAL:A major controversy has erupted over the issue of mass conversion of 50,000 people be- longing to Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STS) and other Backward Classes (OBCs) to Buddhism.
While various Hindu organizations, including the Shiv Sena, are up in arms against the conversions, the two leading Buddhist organizations-Akhil Bharatiya Budh Gaya Mahabodhi Mahaviharare and the Bharatiya Bodhi Mahasabra are at logger- heads over the venue of the ceremony. While the former organized the mass conversion ceremony (supposed to be the biggest ever) in New Bhopal, the latter will be holding a parallel function on the Bharat. Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHE) grounds The Bodhist have been trading claims and counter-claims on the genuineness of the two functions. Proponents of the ceremony claim to have the blessings of all Bodh priests. The Saturday function would be conducted by Mahavihar Mukti Andolan chief Bhadant Nagarjun Sural Sasai. However, the Deeksha ceremony would be led by the Kushi Nagar head priest Gyaneshwar Maha Asthveer. Meanwhile, local convener of the Bodh Dhamma Diksha ceremony. Bhante Satyanand, claimed that the organizing committee for the function had been assured of full protection Mohammed Shafi Queroshi and Chief Minister Digvijay Singh, especially in the wake of the discuss
by Governor eruption threat posed by Hindu organizations.
Alleging that the Saturday ceremony was politically motivated, Satyanand claimed that the same did not enjoy the patronage of even a single Bodhi priest. Be- sides, he said, the ceremony would be attended, among others, by Prakash Ambedkar, MP, Prof Joginder Kawade, convenor of the Dalit Mukti Sena, and Bheem Singh Patel, Bahujan Samaj Party MP from Rewa.
Prominent among those who at- tended the function were Ambedkar’s widow, Mai Saheb Savia
Ambedkar, and of M.L.Nimesh, head of the State- level Anusuchit Jati, Jan Jati Karmachari-Adikari Singh. Interestingly, Nimesh and Mira. Tai, daughter-in-law B.R.Ambedkar and mother of Prakash Ambedkar, are locked in a legal battle over the chainman- ship of the Bharatiya Bodhi Mahasabha. The suit is pending in a Maharashtra court. According to the court order, till the issue is decided, all activities of the organization stand banned.
The court order puts a question mark on whether an organization whose activities are banned can hold a function of this stature.
Article extracted from this publication >> May 27, 1994
