Coming together on the 110th birth anniversary of late Dalit leader B.R. Ambedkar, the representatives of the Dalit outfits repeated the "fundamental principles of Buddhism," a 22-point charter by which Ambedkar swore in 1956 at Nagpur, when he converted to Buddhism.

According to P. Sainath, an Amnesty International award-winning journalist and author, Dalits form 16.48 percent of India's more than billion-strong population.

"Naangal Indukkal alla, yaarukkum adimai alla (We are not Hindus, nor are we anyone's slaves)," speakers and participants declared at the Ambedkar Manimandapam, the venue of the anniversary meeting, here Saturday. Dalit Murasu and the Dalit Media Network organized the memorial function.

"We have not given a call for a conversion to Buddhism. This time we wanted to do more than that. We wanted to remind the people of what Ambedkar said and what he practiced," Punitha Pandian, the editor of Dalit Murasu, a well-circulated monthly
magazine in its fifth year of publication, said.

"One needs to first break out of the shackles of the Hindu caste system. One needs to declare oneself a non-Hindu. For spiritual satisfaction, people need a religion. That is the reason for embracing Buddhism," said V. Vasanthi Devi, former vice-chancellor of the Manonmani University.

"Bringing Dalit groups into the ambit of Hinduism is a post-Gandhi phenomenon. Gandhi called us Dalits, Harijans or children of god. Now everyone wants to take the support of these backward groups on their road to power. Even the RSS (right-wing
Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh) calls us Hindus. But political issues of economic empowerment for Dalits and land rights remain un-addressed," said S. Natarajan, head of the "Panchami Nilameetpu Iyakkam (Movement for the recovery of land belonging
to the depressed classes).

"When I looked for a flat to rent in Chennai a few months ago, the first question I was asked by my landlord after I had paid Rs.80,000 as advance was 'what is your caste'?" Said Velu Annamalai, an engineer, who has spent 30 years abroad, recalling
a personal experience.

"We only hope to initiate a debate on this issue, given that several groups in the country are already seriously considering this option -- conversion to Buddhism on a mass scale. The All-India Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes Employees' Association, with one million members, has announced that it would be embracing Buddhism on October 14," said P.Chandrakesan, a Dalit leader.

"There is no such identity a person can claim as Hindu even if ideologues of Hinduism have been harping on a seamless pan-Indian Hindu identity. We Dalits and Adivasis (another socially underprivileged class) have never been, are not, and shall never be Hindus for we have no caste. Caste Hindus should not think that we are 'quitting' Hinduism. How can we quit something we do not belong to?" he added.

Among others who spoke at the function were Viduthalai Rajendran, the general secretary of the Periyar Dravida Kazhagam (PDK), Tamizh Mariyan, a Buddhist scholar, author Aa Marx and human rights activist S.V. Rajadurai.