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About 50,000 Dalits from Orissa are to embrace Buddhism this year under the aegis of the All India Confederation of SC/ST Organisations as part of a campaign for a casteless society in India.
"They will embrace Buddhism on October 14 at New Delhi to kick off a movement for a casteless society in the country," said Ram Raj, the confederation's chairman.
He supported those Dalits converting to Christianity saying that it helped meet some of their basic needs for sustenance as well as development.
However, he clarified that embracing Buddhism by Dalits cannot be called conversion and was aimed at breaking the age-old caste system, which is biased against the Dalits.
Embracing Buddhism would be the first step in this direction, Ram Raj said.
The confederation has targeted at least one million Dalits from all over the country for embracing Buddhism. "We are hopeful of achieving our target," Ram Raj said in Bhubaneswar.
He said that Dalits' organisations were very strong in the cow belt and western India. "Dalits from Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Maharashtra will embrace Buddhism in large numbers," he said.
Opposing the anti-reservation policies of the Centre, he said reservations have helped Dalits progress, he said Dalits would give up their demands for reservations in jobs and education if the government promised them compulsory and equal education.
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