Indian law legally categorized Buddhists, Sikhs and Jains as Hindus

Evidence

Explanation II of Article 25(2)(b) of the Constitution was the first time in independent India when the law categorised Buddhists, Sikhs and Jains as ‘Hindu’, even if ‘only’ for the purpose of “providing social welfare and reform or the throwing open of Hindu religious institutions of a public character to all classes and sections of Hindus”. Later, codified Hindu personal law, like the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, etc., reinforced this position, as these statutes were applied to Buddhists, Sikhs and Jains. Pertinently, under Indian law an atheist is automatically classified as a Hindu. — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 579

Categorization

• ADDENDUM: Connects to the ongoing caste-annihilation theme: the state’s assimilation of minority religions into ‘Hindu’ territory mirrors the absorption of Untouchables into the Hindu fold that Ambedkar opposed.
• QUESTION: Worth chasing: how did this legal assimilation interact with Ambedkar’s own conversion to Buddhism in 1956, and did the statute classification predate or postdate his conversion?