600 Christians return to Hindu fold

About 335 Christians belonging to 55 families returned to their original roots at a function held at Soharpat village of Gumla district in Bihar. Before the home-coming ceremony, joint worship of Sarana Mata was performed by priests from 102 villages. Shri Sudarshan Bhagat, former minister, Shri Samir Oraon, MLA, Shri Mahirang Oraon, state organising secretary of Vanvasi Kalyan Kendra, welcomed them by washing their feet. They were also offered Gangajal before the ceremony. Speaking at the ceremony, Shri Sudarshan Bhagat demanded the state government to put a complete ban on conversion. He said the Christian missionaries had been trapping local gullible Vanvasis and converting them to Christianity. Shri Samir Oraon said the missionaries took unfair advantage of the famine of 1967 by launching at that time work for dharma campaign. He appealed to all people of the community who have somehow adopted Christianity to come back to their original roots. Meanwhile, in another function held at Bhojpur village of Etah district in Uttar Pradesh, over 300 Christians returned to Hindu fold. They also converted the local church into a temple. The father of the church himself installed the pictures of goddess Durga, Vaishno Devi and Hanuman in the new temple. After returning to Hindu fold, he also said the missionaries took unfair advantage of his poverty and used him for conversion in the area.