ABSTRACT
The religion played a big role in shaping societies. Personally, Babasaheb Ambedkar rated the spiritual aspect of religion to be more important for him but for the sake of Dalit community, he emphasised its existential utility. Many a Dalit reformer claimed Buddhist legacy. Buddhism, according to Ambedkar, is the only religion which is most compatible with modern rationality and modern science. If conversion could de-caste the Dalits from their primordial caste identity, they would be able to effectively counter the orthodox religiosity of Hinduism. The constitutional definition of scheduled castes, official term for the Dalits, was restricted to Hinduism. At its inception in 1950, the constitution recognised only Hindu Dalits. The relevant constitutional order was amended to include all Sikh Dalits. In 1956, Ambedkar led the conversion to Buddhism along with his followers, which however caused the convert Dalits to lose their legal status as scheduled castes and thereby most constitutional benefits of reservations.
