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A MASS RALLY BY THE UNTOUCHABLES OF INDIA IS SHUT DOWN BY AUTHORITIES, BUT A SMALLER RALLY TAKES PLACE IN ANOTHER LOCATION By Rick Buhler - November 5, 2001 From: http://www.truthorfiction.com/

[Note from Steve Shultz: In the early 80's I used to love to listen to Rich Buhler on Christian radio during LA drive time in California. Now he does this site, www.truthorfiction.com Here is an update on the India Story. If you sign up, tell them THE ELIJAH LIST sent you. Just for the fun of it. -- Steve Shultz

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Summary of original eRumor:

============================ This began on the eRumor underground with several different versions, but they all pointed to a rally to be held in New Delhi, India, on November 4 at which up to one million Hindus planned to renounce their Hindu faith. Most versions also said that a presentation of Christianity was to be made at the rally by Dr. Rochunga Podiate, a native of India who is a Christian leader living in the United States.

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The Truth:

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11/4/01 A Planned mass rally at which upwards to one million Hindu DALITS were going to renounce Buddhism in India was shut down by the government on Sunday.

Amidst confusion, a spontaneous rally was held at a different location where the dalit leader Ram Raj led several thousand Hindus into Buddhism. Ram Raj became a Buddhist himself, declaring that his name is now Udai Raj.

The rally was to have been held at the Ramlila grounds at New Delhi, but the permit for the event was revoked at the 11th hour. Leaders from among the outcastes criticized the government for blocking the rally, saying that authorities were giving in to militant Hindus. The rally was switched to Ambedkar Bhawan in central Delhi. Initial rough crowd estimates vary. An Indian newspaper says there were 3,000. The Associated Press says there were 20,000.

There are nearly 300 million Dalits in the country and an estimated one million of their delegates had said in writing that they intended to come to the rally and to publicly renounce their Hindu faith. Most of them intended to turn to Buddhism.

Whenever there is a large number of people making such a decision, there is concern that it is being done for social or political reasons rather than personal ones. Christian leaders who have access to Ram Raj, however, have said that he wanted the delegates to make individual decisions and that he originally wanted there to presentations at the rally for Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam. The terrorist events of September 11 resulted in Islam being removed from the agenda, but Christians involved with Ram Raj have had the understanding that there would be some kind of representation for Christianity.

News about the November 4 rally started appearing in the media in India and there were calls for the rally to be canceled and for Ram Raj to be removed from his job as tax collector for New Delhi. He is one of the few Dalits to advance to any level of influence. The news reports also alleged that the rally was going to turn into an attempt to convert the people to Christianity, which would be even more disturbing to the political leaders than a conversion to Buddhism.

Dr. Rochunga Pudaite, Founder and President of Bibles For the World, said that it had been clear to him and his associates that he had been invited to speak at the rally. Another Christian leader who has had interaction with Ram Raj, however, told TruthOrFiction.com that he and a colleague had been told they would be the ones to speak. After the public controversy over any possible Christian participation, the plans for Christians to appear, pass out literature, or baptize any Christian converts were canceled.

Many of the Dalits, or literally "broken people," live in slums of mud and foul water and are relegated to doing India’s "dirty jobs." They are the lowest of the low.

In recent years, the Dalits have begun to fight back and a civil rights movement has emerged. In fact, many African-Americans have taken interest in, and applauded, the Dalits’ efforts to improve their lives. The more the Dalits have pushed for progress, however, the more opposition has emerged from higher caste segments of Indian society.

Ram Raj has risen to the forefront as a the popular leader of the outcasts and has argued eloquently for various improvements in human rights for the Dalits and some have likened him to Martin Luther King in the Civil Rights Movement in the United States.

Dr. Pudaite says that not since Ghandi has there been this kind of leader the Indian people have followed.

After working hard for improvements for the Dalits, Ram Raj came to a point where he concluded that the Dalits needed to change religions because they didn’t have much a chance for progress as Hindus.

The result was that through his influence, it was decided that there would be a massive gathering in India, at which one-million mostly college-educated dalits would renounce Hinduism.

http://www.truthorfiction.com/

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Note from Steve Shultz, Charisma News Service also did a story today on this event:

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CHARISMA NEWS SERVICE Mon, Nov 05, 2001 Vol. 3 No. 157

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LEAD STORY: by Andy Butcher charisma@strang.com

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INDIA RALLY FAILS TO YIELD WIDESPREAD CHRISTIAN CONVERSIONS

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Instead, thousands who took part turned en masse to Buddhism

A highly publicized rally at which leaders of India's millions of downtrodden "untouchables" planned to renounce their Hindu faith went ahead yesterday, but without the widespread turning to Christ anticipated by some Christian groups.

Up to 1 million Dalits had been expected to take part in the rally in New Delhi, despite threats of disruption by Hindu extremists. But media reports said that only between 8,000 and 20,000 turned up, while thousands of others were said to have been prevented from traveling to New Delhi for the gathering.

Those who took part converted en masse to Buddhism, reported "The Hindu." Ram Raj, who convened the event, said it was a historic moment, as thousands were "liberated from the clutches of the caste system," the newspaper reported. Under India's caste system, the "untouchables" are typically restricted to the most menial jobs and shunned by other groups.

In recent weeks the rally had become the focus of international prayer appeals from Christian groups who said the event could trigger a conversion landslide among the Dalits. One organization said that 300 million Indians were "in the valley of decision," and the rally was "a gateway for us to present the gospel."

National leaders criticized exaggerated claims about the rally and downplayed their involvement. They said their presence at the event was to show solidarity with the Dalits in rejecting oppression. They dismissed claims that mass baptisms would follow the rally.

One leader, Rodrick Gilbert, said that misinformation could jeopardize future relations between Dalits and Christians. "Some Christians have not understood the whole story and have spread false information, which is hurting our mobilization efforts," he told The Elijah List. "A lot of exaggeration about the event has damaged our efforts to build trust with the Dalit leaders."

According to one report, Raj had initially been open to Christian representatives presenting the gospel at the rally, but had been angered by groups he believed had misrepresented the Dalit movement to raise money.

Among those at the New Delhi ceremony - held on the same day as the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church -- was Tina Lambert, advocacy director for Christian Solidarity Worldwide. She said that it was a privilege to "be with the poor and oppressed of India and to offer our solidarity to them in their struggle for basic dignity and human rights."

She said the rally was "as political as it was religious," and that it "could be just the beginning of an incredible movement to challenge the caste system and offer hope to the poor and oppressed in India."

Indian newspapers reported that thousands followed Raj's lead in turning to Buddhism. Raj's head was shaved in the Diksha ceremony, in which he renounced Hinduism and embraced the teachings of Buddha.

In a prayer appeal before yesterday's ceremony, Dr. Joseph D'Souza, president of the All India Christian Council, criticized "irresponsible publicity" in the West regarding the event. The Dalit movement had "huge implications" for the country's minority Christian population, he added.