The Chhattisgarh state secretary is known to conduct such ‘homecoming’ ceremonies across the state
Sanchita Kadam 25 Jan 2023
Chhattisgarh BJP’s state Secretary, Prabal Pratap Singh Judev conducted “ghar wapsi” of over 1,100 persons in Basna and tweeted about it on Tuesday. He washed, with Gangajal, the feet of 1,100 Christians (believed to be converted from Hinduism) who returned to Hinduism.
Local news reports quoted the converts as saying that they had strayed away from Hinduism and had accepted Christianity but they have returned now that they have realised their mistake. Kathavachak Pandit Himanshu Krishna Maharaj administered the oath.
“It is a bigger and more important task to save Hindus and stop them from converting to other faiths. Whenever Hindus have been divided, the Hindu population has declined. Let us respect our ancestors. Hindutva is a symbol of nationalism, so let us join hands to create a Hindu Rashtra”, Prabal Pratap further said, as reported by Hindupost.
Judev has been carrying out such ‘ghar wapsi’ campaigns throughout the state. In March last year, he converted 1,250 people in Mahasamund district to Hinduism. Judev aims to continue the “ghar wapsi” campaign indefinitely until every person who has been a “victim of conversion” returns to “Sanatan Dharma”.
Honored to perform #Gherwapsi of 1100 folks back to Sanatan dharma in Basna ( Chhattisgarh).
Their is pure beauty in our Roots. Our religion is the traditions of our ancestors. Embrace it ! Welcome home🙏🏻🚩@ARanganathan72 @ShefVaidya @KapilMishra_IND @AskAnshul @AshwiniUpadhyay pic.twitter.com/M6ZDuaBfq6
— Prabal Pratap Singh Judev (@prabaljudevBJP) January 24, 2023
As per a Zee News report, in 10 years he has converted 15,000 people to Hinduism.
Here is a tabular representation of conversion to Hinduism touted as “ghar wapsi”, that has been reported in the media over the years:
|
S. No. |
States |
Year |
Incidents |
|
1. |
West Bengal |
2015 2018 |
“Ghar Wapsi”: At least 50 people from both Christian and Muslim communities were “re-converted” to Hinduism during the Virat Hindu Sammelan, justifies action saying conversion is service to Hindu samaj[1] An Organisation called Hindu sanhati, led by Tapan Ghosh, organized “ghar wapsi” with 16 members of a Muslim family, who had “been re-converted to Hinduism”, being showcased on the dais of rightwing outfit Hindu Samhati.[2] |
|
2. |
Gujarat |
2020 2021
|
144 tribal Hindus who converted to Christianity many years ago converted back to Hinduism in Dang district, Gujarat by the Agniveer organisation.[3] 21 families of Dharampur and Kaprada talukas reverted to Hinduism from Christianity in a program organized by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad in Vapi.[4] |
|
3. |
Andhra Pradesh |
2019 |
The local cell of the Hindu nationalist party converts about 500 Christians back to Christianity in Andhra Pradesh, and convinced them to take an oath to the Hindu religion and to promise not to go to church anymore[5] |
|
4. |
Tripura |
2019 |
98 Christian tribals ‘forced’ to reconvert to Hinduism by the VHP in Tripura[6] |
|
5. |
Kerala |
2015 2015 |
About 30 Christian tribals were reportedly converted to Hinduism at an event organised by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) in Alappuzha.[7] 35 people converted to Hinduism in Kottayam district. They were Dalit families who had converted to Christianity a few generations back.[8] |
|
6. |
Uttar Pradesh |
2014 |
In 2014, 57 Muslim families with more than 200 members converted to Hinduism in Agra.[9] |
So much is the desperation to force converts back to Hinduism, that in Remawand village of Narayanpur district in Chhattisgarh a dead woman was converted to Hinduism before her last rites could be performed.
The “ghar wapsi” discourse does not find its place in the spectrum and scope of the anti-conversion laws. With several states enacting or modifying the already existing anti-conversion laws to make them more stringent, all of them have made conversion by marriage an offence, if not intimated to the administration. While the debate on violation of multiple rights is a separate one, the point to focus on in this case, is that even if conversion to other religions is punishable offence, conversion to Hinduism is not. Since “ghar wapsi” is such an ego boosting mega event for “Sanatani” Hindus, these BJP ruled states have specifically mentioned in their laws that no restrictions of religious conversion applied to those who are returning to Hinduism.
This is one of the points of contention raised by Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) in the two petitions filed before the Supreme Court which is due for hearing on January 30. CJP, in its two petitions has challenged the following laws:
- Chhattisgarh Dharma Swantantraya Adhiniyam [Freedom of Religion] Act, 1968 (as amended by the Chhattisgarh Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Act, 2006)
- Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act, 2003 (as amended by the Gujarat Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Act, 2021)
- The Haryana Prevention of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2022
- Jharkhand Freedom of Religion Act, 2017, along with the Jharkhand Freedom of Religion Rules, 2017
- Karnataka Protection of Freedom of Religion Act, 2022
- Uttarakhand Freedom of Religion Act, 2018
- Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021
- Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, 2021
- Himachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, 2019
[1] religious conversion (indianexpress.com)
[2] 16 of a family put on display at Bengal ‘ghar wapsi’ event | Kolkata News – Times of India (indiatimes.com)
[3] Gujarat: 144 tribals ‘reconverted’ to Hinduism in Dang | India News,The Indian Express
[4] Gujarat: 21 families revert to Hinduism in Ghar Wapsi programme arranged by the VHP (opindia.com)
[5] INDIA Andhra Pradesh, nationalists push Christians to mass conversion to Hinduism (asianews.it)
[6] INDIA Sajan K George: 98 Christian tribals ‘forced’ to reconvert to Hinduism (asianews.it)
[7] VHP holds ‘ghar wapsi’ for 35 tribal Christians in Kerala | The News Minute
[8] 35 ‘reconverted’ in Kottayam district – The Hindu
[9] https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/videos/toi-original/up-anti-love-jihad-law-gets-1st-conviction-man-sentenced-to-5-years-in-jail/videoshow/94398554.cms
Related:
Chhattisgarh: A dead woman’s ‘ghar wapsi’ before final rites were allowed
Over 300 attacks on Christians reported this year, over 2000 women, Adivasis and Dalits injured