List of converts to Buddhism from Hinduism

This is a list of notable converts to Buddhism from Hinduism.

Persons

B. R. Ambedkar

Name	Nationality	Notes	Refs.
B. R. Ambedkar	Indian	Polymath, revolutionary, Social reformer, father of Indian Constitution, revivalist of Buddhism in India, founder of Navayana Buddhism	[1][2]
S. N. Goenka	Burmese-Indian	the Foremost Lay Teacher of Vipassana meditation of Modern Time, Founder of multitude of Meditation Centers all-over the World, Raised in a Staunch Conservative Hindu Family in Burma.	[3][4]

• Balachandran Chullikkadu (born 1957), Malayalam language poet from Kerala[5]
• Bhadant Anand Kausalyayan, Punjabi, initially joined Arya samaj and then became a Buddhist monk on Feb 12, 1928.
• Laxman Mane (born 1949), author and social worker.[6]
• Swami Prasad Maurya, politician[7]
• Udit Raj (born 1958), prominent Indian social activist and Buddhist polemicist[8]
• Rahul Sankrityayan (1893–1963), Hindi author and translator[9]
• Iyothee Thass (1845–1914), Siddha practitioner and leader of the Dravidian movement[10]
• Lenin Raghuvanshi (born 1970), activist, one of the founding members of People's Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR)[11]
• Lalai Singh Yadav (1921-1993), a social justice activist and play writer. He translated Periyar E. V. Ramasamy's The Key To Understanding True Ramayan from Tamil to Hindi as Sachi Ramayan Ki Chabi[12]

References

1. In the 1950s
2. "B R Ambedkar: 10 Facts You Probably Don't Know About the Father of the Indian Constitution". The Better India. 14 April 2017. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
3. Braun, Erik (1 October 2013). "S. N. Goenka, Pioneer of Secular Meditation Movement, Dies at 90". Tricycle: The Buddhist Review. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
4. "Global Goenka Centers". www.dhamma.org. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
5. Malayalam poet embraces Buddhism Rediff – January 24, 2000
6. "One lakh people convert to Buddhism". The Hindu. 28 May 2007. Retrieved 26 April 2010.
7. Varagur, Krithika (11 April 2018). "Converting to Buddhism as a Form of Political Protest". The Atlantic. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
8. 50,000 DALITS EMBRACE BUDDHISM Archived 6 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine – Buddhism Today
9. Revival of the Buddha Dhamma in India Archived 5 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine Sunday Observer – April 14, 2002
10. Existential dilemmas The Hindus – June 6, 2010
11. Kaveree Bamzai (10 April 2009). "The young surge". India Today.
12. https://hindi.theprint.in/opinion/why-did-become-a-buddhist-the-sachchi-ramayana-printer-lalai-yadav/44163/