Over 80 people embraced Buddhism on Sunday during a Buddhists Renaissance Conference at Guduvancherry, citing caste and gender discrimination in Hinduism, reports TNIE.

According to reports, hundreds of Buddhists attended the event which was presided over by monk Vinaya Rakkhita Bhante from Bengaluru. The conference was reportedly organised by an association for Buddhists called Mass Movement for Transformation (MMT).

"Buddhism teaches equality and also how to respect fellow human beings. I have faced discrimination indirectly during my college days also. We are historically Buddhists, so I call it reversion," said S Suganes, who works as an assistant professor in a government medical college to TNIE.

Several at the event reportedly referred to the belief that Dalits were originally Buddhists before Hinduism emerged as the majority religion.

The Association then passed a resolution to hold Buddha Dhamma classes in all districts. The Young People's Buddhist Association (YPBA) meanwhile adopted a resolution to identify statues of Buddha which are scattered across Tamil Nadu.