Decades ago, Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar brought hundreds of thousands of people together in the Dalit Buddhist movement after he converted to Buddhism in his frustration over the caste system and social discrimination. A similar sentiment reigned over Ambedkar Bhavan yesterday, as large crowds swarmed there to mark Babasaheb’s 125th birth anniversary and watch another momentous conversion.

Embracing Buddhism this time, were Raja and Radhika Vemula, the brother and mother of Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula, whose death in January had sparked a storm across the country. The police was out in full force, along with a swarm of media persons out to report on their conversion to Buddhism yesterday.