Religious Roundup:

Thousands of people have been attending mass ceremonies in India


at which hundreds of Hindu


converted to Buddhism and Christianity.

[Click the photograph for the BBC story]

The Dalits - once known as Untouchables - hope to escape the prejudice and discrimination they often face.

A couple of weeks ago, I was at the house of Bihar Dalit journalist and social activist Umesh Manjhi, whom I taught at a journalism workshop some years ago. His sister was converting to Buddhism at the Maharashtra meeting, he told me. Manjhi, who hails from Bihar's Musahar [rat-eater] caste, says that Musahars were not actually castes at all but tribals.
The question is, is this 'conversion' just politics? If it's just for political ends, doesn't it defeat the purpose?
These converts known as 'Ambedkarites', are often looked down upon by the traditional Buddhist heirarchy, so what do these 'changing religion' practices really achieve?














BBC REPORTED


Pakistan couple jailed because Islamic Law doesn't acknowledge Gender-Reassignment surgery







A Pakistani court has jailed a married couple for three years for perjury after a dispute over the husband's sex. Last week the court ruled that the husband was, in fact, a woman, despite sex-change surgery and that the couple had lied about his sexual status. It also said their marriage was un-Islamic because it was same-sex.







The case is believed the first of its kind in Pakistan. The couple said they would appeal against the sentence and have asked President Musharraf to help.






Shumail Raj, 31, had sex-change surgery to become a man and then married his cousin - who was aware of the condition but says she needed his help to avoid being forced into wedlock with someone else.

Raj had undergone surgery twice in Pakistan over the past 16 years to become a man. But tests carried out by doctors on behalf of the court ruled that Raj, who has a beard an moustache, was still a woman. He himself says that he needs to go abroad for more treatment even though his breasts and uterus have been removed.
The judge, Khawaja Mohammad Sharif, said he was issuing a "lenient" sentence, below the maximum punishment, because the couple had apologised.






Reports said Mr Raj and his 24-year-old wife Shahzina Tariq appeared shocked by the verdict.







"We appeal to President Musharraf to intervene. Mr Musharraf is talking about moderation and enlightenment. We hope he will do something for us," Mr Raj said.

Earlier, the couple told the court that they had got married so that the wife could avoid an arranged marriage.






The bride's father wants to annul the wedding . But the couple argue that they married to protect the bride from being sold into marriage to pay off her uncle's gambling debts.






Shahzina Tariq says they are not homosexuals and they married because they are in love.






They were arrested a fortnight ago after the bride's family complained about the gender of her husband.