Fear sees Buddhist population drop in State

Fear of losing caste-based reservations and the political confusion created around it has seen the Buddhist population in Karnataka — home to some of the largest Buddhist monasteries in south India — decline by a startling(very surprising, astonishing, or remarkable) 3 lakh followers.

The trend revealed in the religion-wise census released recently, shows that the followers of Buddhism has declined to around 95,000, down from 3.93 lakh (or, second highest in the country) enumerated in 2001. The fall is even starker in north Karnataka, where Kalaburagi and Bidar have seen more than 2.5 lakh persons ‘leave’ the Buddhist fold.

On the contrary, the neighboring State of Maharashtra has seen a steady rise in population of followers.

Dalit activists, who were involved in the social movement that also saw a rise in conversions in the late 90s, say Karnataka remains among the few States not to extend caste-benefits to converted Dalits, which has led to a fear of declaring themselves Buddhists.

The steep decline has reverberated(have continuing and serious effects) through the community here, and numerous groups and Buddhist scholars have come together to form an umbrella organisation to pressure the government.

The steep decline has reverberated through the community here

in the State

Source: The Hindu, 15-Dec-2015