SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
Earlier this month, our correspondent - NPR's Diaa Hadid - was in the central Indian city of Nagpur. She was there covering the 100-year anniversary celebration of a powerful Hindu nationalist movement. But across town, she found another celebration that told a different story of the same country.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: (Speaking Hindi).
DIAA HADID, BYLINE: I was watching centennial events of the Hindu nationalist movement - the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, or RSS. It embraces martial discipline.
UNIDENTIFIED CROWD #1: (Singing in non-English language).
HADID: It also calls for the primacy of Hindus in Hindu-majority India.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: (Singing in non-English language).
UNIDENTIFIED CROWD #1: (Singing in non-English language).
HADID: At the ceremony, hundreds of followers pledge their allegiance to the Hindu motherland.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: (Singing in non-English language).
HADID: The ideology of the RSS dominates India today. A former member - the prime minister, Narendra Modi - has governed for over a decade through a party closely linked to the RSS. That party is known by its acronym, the BJP, and it also governs states that cover nearly half of India. And they've passed laws that make it difficult to convert to another religion legally. And so what happens just across town from the RSS celebrations seems even more remarkable.
(CROSSTALK)
HADID: Thousands of people converge to renounce Hinduism and embrace an entirely new faith - Buddhism. It's part religious event, part rally.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: (Chanting in non-English language).
UNIDENTIFIED CROWD #2: (Chanting in non-English language).
(SOUNDBITE OF ORGAN TUNING UP)
HADID: It's celebratory.
(SOUNDBITE OF DRUMMING)
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #4: Hello.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #5: Hello.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #4: Hello.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #5: Hello.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #4: Hello.
HADID: A band warms up.
(SOUNDBITE OF INSTRUMENTS WARMING UP)
HADID: There's tchotchkes for sale - key rings, necklaces, badges. Most feature a man with a serious bespectacled face...
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #6: (Non-English language spoken).
HADID: ...Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar. He was the architect of India's secular constitution, and he fought for the dignity and rights of people like himself. He was born into one of the lowest castes of Hinduism. They're known as Dalits.
(CROSSTALK)
HADID: Like Takshashila Gajbhiye, a geologist whose ancestors were Dalits. She runs a stall offering biscuits to attendees. She says Ambedkar's efforts are why much has changed for Dalits, like quotas in government jobs and education. But she says discrimination lingers.
TAKSHASHILA GAJBHIYE: (Speaking Marathi).
HADID: She says marriage with upper-caste folks is still largely taboo. So is breaking bread with Dalits. She says the lingering stigma of being untouchable hasn't ended.
UNIDENTIFIED MONK: (Speaking Hindi).
HADID: And despite crafting a relatively progressive constitution, Ambedkar believed that Hinduism could never reform its caste system. So in 1956 in Nagpur, Ambedkar decided to escape caste. He renounced Hinduism and embraced Buddhism, a casteless faith. And that inspired many Dalits to follow his example.
UNIDENTIFIED MONK: (Speaking Hindi).
HADID: To this day, on the anniversary of his conversion every year, hundreds of Dalits repudiate Hinduism and embrace Ambedkar's faith. Buddhist monks clad in orange robes perch on a makeshift stage in a grassy field.
UNIDENTIFIED MONK: (Speaking Hindi).
HADID: One monk calls out to a gathering crowd, take off your shoes. Stand in rows.
He reads out the 22 vows that Ambedkar wrote when he converted.
UNIDENTIFIED MONK: (Chanting in Hindi).
HADID: The first few vows reject faith in important Hindu gods. "Repeat after me," the monk says. "I won't believe in Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu."
UNIDENTIFIED MONK: (Chanting in Hindi).
UNIDENTIFIED CROWD #3: (Chanting in Hindi).
UNIDENTIFIED MONK: Brahma.
UNIDENTIFIED CROWD #3: Brahma.
UNIDENTIFIED MONK: Vishnu.
UNIDENTIFIED CROWD #3: Vishnu.
HADID: "I won't believe in Lord Rama, Lord Krishna."
UNIDENTIFIED MONK: Ram.
UNIDENTIFIED CROWD #2: Ram.
UNIDENTIFIED MONK: (Chanting in Hindi).
HADID: The crowd vows to follow Lord Buddha's path.
UNIDENTIFIED MONK: (Chanting in Hindi).
UNIDENTIFIED CROWD #3: (Chanting in Hindi).
UNIDENTIFIED MONK: (Chanting in Hindi).
UNIDENTIFIED CROWD #3: (Chanting in Hindi).
HADID: The ceremony runs for just a few minutes. Then monks and converts raise their fists and shout, long live the Buddha. Long live Ambedkar.
UNIDENTIFIED MONK: (Chanting in Hindi).
UNIDENTIFIED CROWD #3: (Chanting in Hindi).
UNIDENTIFIED MONK: (Chanting in Hindi).
UNIDENTIFIED CROWD #3: (Chanting in Hindi).
UNIDENTIFIED MONK: (Chanting in Hindi).
UNIDENTIFIED CROWD #3: (Chanting in Hindi).
HADID: Twenty-one-year-old Divyani Dudhe (ph) walks out holding her conversion certificate.
DIVYANI DUDHE: (Speaking Marathi).
HADID: It certifies her new identity that comes with dignity for her and, she says, which honors Ambedkar's repudiation of Hinduism, in a festival that takes place side by side with celebrations of a powerful Hindu nationalist movement.
Diaa Hadid, NPR News, Nagpur. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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