Alappuzha (Kerala) : Notwithstanding a united Opposition cornering the NDA Government over the conversions issue for the past one week, right wing organisation Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has facilitated the reconversions of a batch of 30 persons belonging to eight families of Scheduled Caste (SC) Christians under the ritual ‘ghar wapsi’ (home coming) in this district.
The ritual was organised by district wing of VHP at a local temple at Kanichanallor on Sunday. VHP leader Prathap G Padikkal, who arranged the function, said the families “expressed their desire to come back to Hinduism” and VHP “only facilitated the return”.
He said their ancestors had converted to Christianity some decades ago. Another 150 families in the district have expressed their wish to embrace Hindusiam and VHP would arrange their ‘home coming’ also, he said.
According to reports, the RSS has deputed 58 pracharaks under Mukund Rao Panshikar for the task, centred around ‘dharm jagran’ (religious awareness) — this is the maximum number of pracharaks for any single RSS activity.
Its ‘ghar wapsi’ plans include a holy dip of the “reconverts” in the Godavari during the Kumbh at Nashik next August. Over 50,000 who “returned” in the last five years are expected to show up.
These plans, RSS sources said, were discussed in Nagpur last month during a conclave of more than 1,200 people involved in ‘dharm jagran’ activities.
The meeting, held from November 7 to 9, was attended by Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat, Sarkaryawah Bhaiyaji Joshi and sah-sarkaryawah Krishna Gopal.
The logjam in the Rajya Sabha over the conversion issue continued on Monday as the Opposition once again demanded a statement from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over this issue.
Last week, more than 100 Muslims were converted to Hinduism in a mass ceremony organised in Agra by an RSS offshoot triggering a massive debate over this issue across the country.
Soon after the reported Agra conversion, the BJP had said it was planning to hold a similar event on December 25 in Aligarh but the Uttar Pradesh Police have refused to give permission for it.
However, the Uttar Pradesh State Minority Commission on Sunday described the mass conversion of Muslims in Agra as “an act of fraud and a dubious exercise, which has no connection with the serious business of change of faith”.
Talking to reporters in Aligarh, the four-member Commission — which had visited Agra on Saturday — however, hailed the role played by Hindu residents of Agra and the district administration.
“We have no hesitation to state that had not the members of the Hindu community in Agra, particularly those residing in Vednagar locality where the so-called conversion ceremony took place, acted with foresight and humanitarian values, the situation could have taken an ugly turn,” it said.
The Commission members — Mufti Zulfiqar Ali, Shafi Azmi, Suhail Ayyub Jinjari and Nafeesul Hasan — also praised the role played by the Valmiki community and prominent religious leaders of the Hindu community in Agra.
“Our discussions with prominent members of the Hindu community in Agra have convinced us that they did not endorse such conversions. They feel that conversions carried out by such dubious means are not in the interests of the community,” the Commission said.
Meanwhile, BJP national president Amit Shah, during a meeting with the All India Muslim Munnetra Kazhagam (AIMMK) in Chennai on Sunday, has said the ruling party at Centre had no hand in the conversions reported in Agra.
Shah, who met the AIMMK president NKN Sadakhatullah and general secretary Ali, assured them that BJP was in favour of bringing a law to ban forced conversions. AIMMK has supported the NDA alliance in the state in the Lok Sabha elections.
Source : Jagran
