The Great Mass Conversion 

October 14, 1956

 400,000 people converted to Buddhism in Nagpur

Dr Ambedkar, the former Law Minister and leader of the Untouchable community at that time, who had been working for their welfare for many, many years, had eventually come to the conclusion that conversion to Buddhism was the only way in which they could ever change the situation.

They were untouchable, they were outside caste in India, they were the lowest of the low, and even though the laws had been changed, still they were having a very hard time, still they were being discriminated against. Ambedkar converted to Buddhism in October 1956, along with 400,000 followers.  

The ceremony took place in Nagpur in central  India on the 14th of October. Ambedkar decided that there had to be an ordination for lay people, corresponding to monastic ordination for monks, and he called this lay ordination 'dhamma diksha'. It consisted of two parts. First of all taking the Refuges and Five Precepts, refuge in Buddhism, Dharma, and Sangha, and the usual Five Precepts. And then secondly taking 22 vows. Ambedkar took the refuges and five precepts and then he repeated himself 22 vows which he had drawn up personally. Not traditional vows, Ambedkar devised these vows and he repeated them by himself aloud at that gathering. Those 22 vows had the intention of completely separating the new Buddhists from their old Hindu religion. In the course of those vows, they explicitly renounced Hinduism: they promised to give up the worship of the Hindu gods and goddesses, to whom very often animal sacrifice would be offered. In other words, those vows made it clear that it was not possible to be a Buddhist and a Hindu

“What are the teachings of the Buddha?” Ambedkar asked. Some say Samadhi, some say Vipassana, others, compassion, mysticism, enlightenment, or retreat from the world. But the key question for the untouchables was ,”Did the Buddha have a social message?” Did he teach justice, love, liberty, equality and fraternity? Could the Buddha answer Karl Marx? “These questions are hardly ever raised in discussing the Buddha’s Dhamma,” Ambedkar observed. “My answer is that the Buddha has a social message. He answers all these questions.” 

"In turning the dharma wheel for his own time, Ambedkar offered a socially engaged Buddhism that focused on economic justice, political freedom and moral striving. In his book The Buddha and His DhammaAmbedkar presents Prince Siddhartha as a leader attuned as much to the political forces of his time as to existential issues of old age, sickness, and death. Ambedkar questioned the traditional teachings of karma and rebirth which are used in Hindu society to explain and justify untouchability- in effect blame the victims of social inequality. He also questioned the role of Buddhist monks who seek spiritual perfection while appearing to ignore the material sufferings of the masses around them. “ (From Christopher Queen’s article p. 66)

For Ambedkar freedom of thought was best exemplified by the historical Buddha, who rejected dogmatism in favor of free inquiry. The Buddha, Ambedkar wrote, using language borrowed from his mentor John Dewey, “wished religion not to be encumbered with the dead wood of the past. He wanted that it should remain evergreen and serviceable at all times…No other religious leader has shown such courage.” (From Queen’s article p. 66)

October 14, 1956: CONVERSION TO BUDDHISM.
December 6, 1956: Ambedkar died at 64 years old. 

The conversions in Nagpur sparked off others all over India. It was the greatest event for Buddhism in  India for many hundreds of years. Former untouchables felt that they were free. Free from Hinduism, free from the caste system. They felt that they had been reborn. When our teacher,  Sangharakshita, was moving around amongst them, months and years after The  Mass Conversion,  he used to ask, "What difference has becoming Buddhist meant for you?" and nine times out of ten the reply  was,"Now that I'm a Buddhist, I feel free", and that seems to have been the most important thing of all - socially, psychologically, spiritually, free. (from Tape 183, Sangharakshita)

Sources:  India – A New Beginning by Lokamitra, FWBO Newsletter 1978; Tape 183: Great Buddhists of the Twentieth Century - TAPE 2 - Sangharakshita; Christopher  Queen’s article, p. 66, Tricycle Spring 1993