Up to 100 Dalits from Jind district recently converted to Buddhism after non-fulfilment of their demands, despite protesting for 115 days.
The group had demanded an ordinance by the state government against the Supreme Court ruling that had made amendments to the Schedule Caste/Schedule Tribe Prevention of Atrocities Act, which had introduced a provision of anticipatory bail in the act while directing that there would be no automatic arrests on any complaint filed under the law.
They had also demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into an alleged gang-rape in Jhansa.
Speaking to ANI, Dinesh Khapad, a Dalit leader, said Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar had agreed to fulfil their demands on March 7. However, protesters had to resort to a religious conversion due to non-fulfilment of the same.
"He (chief minister Khattar) had agreed to fulfill our demands within 12-15 days. We gave an ultimatum on May 20 that we will convert if he doesn't fulfil our demands in a week. He visited Jind on May 26, but did not spare any time to meet our representatives. So we started a march towards Delhi on May 27 and converted to Buddhism on June 2," Khapad added.
On a related note, various Dalit organisations had called for a nationwide shutdown or a 'Bharat Bandh' to protest against the Supreme Court's ruling in March. At least nine persons were killed across the country due to the violent protests that erupted against the ruling in April.
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