The city of Nagpur is the heart of the Buddhist movement in India, being the place that Dr. Ambedkar chose to adopt Buddhism in 1956, along with five hundred thousand fellow citizens who exercised the same constitutional right to freedom of religion.
In 1991, the centenary year of Dr. Ambedkar’s birth, there was a surge of interest in Dr. Ambedkar all over India among the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Many young people wanted to know why Dr. Ambedkar had converted to Buddhism and how it could help them transform their individual and social lives. Today there are over 230 million Scheduled Castes and over 175 million Scheduled and other Tribes. The Triratna movement was not in a position to go to all who were interested, and so the Nagarjuna Training Institute was developed to provide residential training in social engagement, cultural studies, and community development skills, which trained alumni could apply in their home communities..
The land was purchased in 1994, and first building, the Buddha Surya Vihara, completed in 1997, and other facilities were constructed gradually since then. Local community education and awareness activities commenced in 1997, and in 2002 the residential training programme was formally inaugurated. Since then over 1896 students from all over India (26 different states) have attended the course. They now form an all-India network, many of whom are very active in Dhamma teaching and social action.