CHENNAI, INDIA, December 6, 2002: Eighty-six people converted to Christianity and Buddhism in Chennai on Friday to protest against the Anti-Conversion Act of the Tamil Nadu government, organizers claimed. The All India SC and ST Federation, the main organizer of the program, had earlier said 2,000 dalits (“untouchables”) would embrace Buddhism and another 1,000 Christianity. However, police did not allow most of the people to enter the venue of the program, S. Ranganathan, president of the Tamil Nadu Dalit Federation, one of the organizers, alleged. He said 56 people embraced Christianity and 30 became Buddhists at the program, but only two came on stage to announce that they had converted. The program, held at a church in suburban Seliyur, was organized as part of the observance of the death anniversary of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar.
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