A day after ‘‘converting’’ to Buddhism at a public function here, the families of two of the Dalits killed in the Jhajjar lynching said today they weren’t aware that it was a conversion ceremony. And Gurgaon Deputy Commissioner Anil Rastogi told PTI that only five persons had embraced Buddhism and none was connected with the families of Dalits lynched in Jhajjar. When contacted, national chairman of the AICSC/ST Udit Raj said that the denials were coming following pressure from the district administration and the VHP. ‘‘We haven’t done anything secretly. The conversion was there for everybody to see,” he said. The families, speaking at a meeting called by the Lok Janshakti Party and the Dalit Sena, said they believed the function — organised by the All-India Confederation of SC/ST Organisations — was a protest against the lynching. Asked why he’d had his head tonsured, Buddhram — father of Dayanand, a victim of the lynching — said he’d been told that the ritual was in protest against the killings in Dulina. He added that he didn’t know any of the mantras that he was made to recite, leave alone understand them. Yesterday, after the ceremony, he’d said: ‘‘We want to live with dignity, whatever our work may be. We have faced enough social discrimination.’’ Ratan Singh, father of Virendra, another victim, said that he had been pressurised to attend the function. Satyaprakash Jarawata, state president of the Lord Buddha Club — the co-organisers of yesterday’s function — said that they had the names of all who’d converted but the legal formalities were yet to be completed. The event was not recorded.
