List of Buddhist conversions in India

Since Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar's conversion, several thousand people from different castes have converted to Buddhism in ceremonies including the twenty-two vows.
 List of Buddhist conversions 
In 1956, Ambedkar adopted Buddhism with lakhs of people as "Dalits' path to liberation". Therefore, there is a lot of interest towards Buddhism among the Indian society especially Dalits. Being influenced by Ambedkar, every year thousands of people accept Buddhism. Most of the converts have come from Hindu Dalit community, who consider Ambedkar as their Messiah or liberator. Influenced by Ambedkar, many famous people have embraced Buddhism, including people like Mallikarjun Kharge, Ramdas Athawale, Udit Raj, Laxman Mane, Poolan Devi, Sushma Andhare, Eknath Awad, etc.
+ List of mass Buddhist conversions in India Date  Place  Converted people  Former religion/caste/category  Source and Note 14 October 1956  Deekshabhoomi, Nagpur, Maharashtra  Approx. 500,000 (including B. R. Ambedkar, Savita Ambedkar, Bhaurao Gaikwad, Gangadhar Pantawne etc.)  Mostly Hindus (dalit or SC), and some Muslims, Christians and Sikhs  B. R. Ambedkar and his wife Savita first embraced Buddhism through Mahathero Chandramani. Then became a Buddhist, B. R. Ambedkar converted all people to Buddhism. 15 October 1956  Deekshabhoomi, Nagpur, Maharashtra  approx. 300,000  Mostly Hindus (dalit or SC), and some Muslims, Christians and Sikhs  B. R. Ambedkar converted all people to Buddhism. These were people who did not reach the conversion program on 14 October in time. 16 October 1956  Chandrapur, Maharashtra  more than 300,000  Mostly Hindus (dalit or SC)  B. R. Ambedkar converted all people to Buddhism. 7 December 1956  Chaitya Bhoomi, Mumbai, Maharashtra  More than 1,000,000  Mostly Hindus (dalit or SC)  It is the biggest religious conversation. Ambedkar had pledged to take a conversion program in Mumbai on 16 December, but he died on 6 December. So at the time of Ambedkar's funeral, people accepted Buddhism by witnessing his dead body. Bhadant Anand Kausalyayan converted all people to Buddhism. December 1956  Delhi  30,000  Mostly Hindus (dalit or SC)  People converted to Buddhism by witnessing the ashes or bones of Ambedkar. December 1956  Agra, Uttar Pradesh  20,000  Mostly Hindus (dalit or SC)  People converted to Buddhism by witnessing the ashes or bones of Ambedkar. 13 April 1957  Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh  200,000  Mostly Hindus (dalit or SC)  People converted to Buddhism by witnessing the ashes or bones of Ambedkar. Sangharakshita converted all people to Buddhism. 1985  Junagadh, Gujarat  5,000  Hindus dalit or SC)  4 November 2001  Delhi  50,000  Hindu dalits (SC)  Buddhist leader and political activist, Udit Raj, organised the large mass conversion. 14 October 2006  Gulburga, Karnataka  Hundreds of people  Hindu dalits  Bhante Bodhi Dhamma, senior Japanes bhikkhu, conducted the 'deeksha' ceremony. Mallikarjun Kharge was the chief guest of the program."Hundreds embrace Buddhism in Gulbarga-Bangalore" , Times of India 27 May 2007  Mumbai, Maharashtra  100,000, incl. Laxman Mane  Maharashtra's VJ-NT Hindus of 42 different castes  The conversion has done by under the leadership of Ramdas Athawale and Laxman Mane. 13 October 2016  Ahmadabad, Kalol, and Gandhinagar and Surendranagar cities, Gujarat  211  Hindu Dalit   October 2016  Gandhinagar and Surendranagar, Gujarat  2,000  Hindu dalit or SC)  May 2017  Saharanpur district, Uttar Pradesh  850  150 families of Hindu dalit or SC)   14 April 2016  Dadar, Mumbai, Maharashtra  2; Rohit Vemula's mother Radhika Vemula, and brother Raja Vemula  Hindu Dalit  Prakash Ambedkar converted these persons to Buddhism. 1 October 2017  Ahmadabad and Baroda, in Gujarat  More than 300  Hindu Dalit   25 December 2016  Deekshabhoomi  5,000  Hindu OBC   25 December 2017  Deekshabhoomi  5,000  Hindu OBC, and Christians and Muslims  http://www.archakmanews.com/over-5000-hindus-and-christians-embrace-buddhism-in-maharastras-nagpur/amp/ 11 April 2018  Shirasgaon, Maharashtra  More than 500  Hindu Dalits   29 April 2018  Una, Gujarat  300 - 350  Hindu Dalits   2 June 2018  Ladakh Bhavan, Delhi  120  Hindu Dalits  People from Haryana 19 October 2018 Pukharayan village, Kanpur Dehat district, Uttar Pradesh  More than 10,000  Hindu SC and OBC  18 October 2018, on Dhammachakra Pravartan Day  Deekshabhoomi, Nagpur, Maharashtra  62,000  Hindus (dalit or SC)  Surai Sasai converted all people to Buddhism. 6–8 October 2019, on Dhammachakra Pravartan Day  Deekshabhoomi, Nagpur, Maharashtra  67,543  Hindus (dalit or SC)  Surai Sasai converted all people to Buddhism. 8 October 2019, on Dhamma chakra Pravartan Din Ahmadabad, Mehsana, and Idar (Sambarkantha district) in Gujarat  500 Hindu SC  27 October 2019  Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Memorial, Shahibaug, Ahmadabad, Gujarat  1,500  SC Hindus   14 October 2020  Hathras, Ghaziabad district, Uttar Pradesh  236  Valmiki (SC Hindus)  Valmiki (Balmiki) people adopted Buddhism in protest against Hathras case.

References

Category:Buddhism in Asia
Category:B. R. Ambedkar
Category:Religion in India
Category:Hinduism
Category:Religious behavior and experience