Dewas: In the first "reconversion ceremony" in Madhya Pradesh, as many as 160 Christians will be "returned to the Hindu fold" tomorrow by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Shree Sampraday Seva Samiti. The Sampraday is identified with Swami Narendracharyaji Maharaj whose followers protested at airports after he was denied permission to board a plane with his mace. Confirming this, VHP Dewas district secretary Nandkishore Dwivedi told The Indian Express that 160 Christians will be "purified" amid "rituals" and "chanting of hymns" at the Chimnabai Girls Higher Secondary School in Dewas town’s Meera Bawdi locality.
Converts from Gujarat and Maharashtra along with those from two tribal-dominated talukas of Dewas district "will return to the Hindu fold" at a day-long ceremony that will begin with "a three-hour purification process", the first such ceremony in the state. Even in Jhabua district, where Hindu organisations accused Christians of converting tribals in large numbers, no "reconversion" ceremony ever took place.
"We haven’t forced anyone. They have all agreed to return to their original faith willingly and have given us affidavits," Dwivedi said.
He said locals were "scared to convert", so the organisers "decided to bring converts from Gujarat and Maharashtra" as well.
Followers of Narendracharya said that in the last 18 months he had brought back to the Hindu fold some 26,000 families who had "strayed to other religions".
Posters announcing the "reconversion" have come up all over Dewas, forcing police to take precautionary measures. There’s already tension in town with the function organisers alleging that several posters were torn last night. They have even lodged complaints with the police.
Sampraday’s MP unit chief Rajendra Garud warned that if more posters were torn, followers would be forced to act like they did when the Swami was not allowed to board a plane with his mace.
Source: Indianexpress.com
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