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New Delhi: Syed Wasim Rizwick, former chairman of UP Shia Central Waqf Board converted In Hinduism last week, claiming he had been “expelled” from Islam. Rizvi’s conversion came a few weeks after he was threatened with allegedly portraying him in a bad light in a new book written by the prophet.
Within days of Rizvi’s conversion, Kerala-based filmmaker Ali Akbar and his wife Lusimma too, Claimed That they were renouncing Islam and converting to Hinduism, due to alleged incidents where Muslims responded with smiling emoticons on social media posts related to the death of CDS Bipin Rawat in a helicopter crash.
But unlike religions such as Islam and Christianity, Hinduism Not there a conversion process. This makes the conversion process difficult.
Whereas the Arya Samaj, as well as other Hindutva organizations such as the Hindu Sena and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), have devised their own system of conversion – a free service that includes “purificationThe question of caste, an integral part of Hindu social behavior, complicates the process, “or the purification ceremony – to help those interested in adopting the religion.
Another challenge is that many states have anti-conversion laws because the topic of religious conversion is controversial, with all religions accusing each other of forced or forced conversions at times.
ThePrint takes a look at some of the prevalent Hindu conversion rituals and the challenges associated with the process.
Read also: How Christianity Is Growing Among Religious Sikhs and Valmiki Hindus in Punjab Villages
How does Arya Samaj do it?
A Hindu reformist organization founded by Swami Dayanand Saraswati in 1875, the Arya Samaj required anyone interested in converting to Hinduism to visit the Arya Samaj temple, along with an affidavit stating that He is ready to convert by himself. Or his free will. They will also have to produce proof of age and residence signed by the applicant along with two witnesses.
According to the official Arya Samaj WebsiteAfter this, a priest will perform a “purification” ceremony, which lasts about two hours. The applicant would then chant certain hymns from the Vedas, as directed by the priest, in front of a fire and would then be given a “certificate of conversion to Hinduism”.
The website claims that this conversion practice was originally started by Saraswati as early as 1877 to “bring back Hindus who by choice or coercion converted to another religion, who later converted to Hinduism”. were ready to return”.
Read also: ‘Forces conversion, infringes on freedom’: Why Allahabad HC rebukes Special Marriage Act
Hindu Sena Conversion Process
Hindu Sena national president Vishnu Gupta told ThePrint that they “follow the wisdom of Deval Smriti and conduct conversion ceremonies, which lists Future converts should take a vow during the conversion process”.
According to him, every Indian was born a Hindu and changed their religions later in life for various reasons. “But now they want to come back to Sanatan Dharma, that’s why we call it ‘homecoming (Return home),,” They said.
He said: “For our making” homecoming A successful campaign, we ensure that people do not have to go through a tedious process to convert themselves to Hinduism. All they have to do is visit the nearest Hindu Sena Kendra where we perform purification, after which they successfully become Hindu and we give them a new name of their choice.”
According to Gupta, the determination of caste is also dependent on choice. “Any person who wants to convert their religion to Hinduism is given the option to choose which caste they want to be a part of,” he said.
He said that the ritual of conversion depends on their choice, as the rituals and fasts are different for different castes.
Citing Rizvi’s example – Rizvi’s conversion took place at Dasna Devi temple in Ghaziabad and was conducted by yeti Narasimhananda Saraswati – Gupta said, “No one is forcing him to convert to Hinduism. Rizvi adopted Hinduism because he realized that his predecessors were Hindus. Most of these people are also aware of the castes of their ancestors.”
Rizvi, who was earlier Syed – described as a Muslim equivalent of Brahmins – assigned the caste of Tyagi, a caste to which Saraswati herself belonged before becoming a priest (some have raised questions Regarding caste allotment for Rizvi).
while solitaire Consider Being themselves equal to Brahmins, the latter do not accept them as such.
Read also: 5 lakh ‘forcible’ in Islam, money from Gulf, UK: What UP ATS found in ‘conversion racket’ probe
law and charges
A Pew Research Center Survey released In September this year, citing census data of 1951 and 2011, the number of Hindus in the country was 966 million (from 304 million), Muslims 172 million (from 35 million), Christians 28 million (from 8 million). ) has occurred. , 20.8 million (from 6.8 million) of Sikhs, 8.4 million (from 2.7 million) to Buddhists and 4.5 million (from 1.7 million) to Jains.
The issue of religious conversion in India has always been controversial.
There were more than six alleged incidents of conversion Reported Between November and December this year in Madhya Pradesh, the state police claimed that Christian missionaries were trying to “woo tribal women to convert to Christianity”.
there was another such allegation Make Vadodara District Social Security Officer Mayank Trivedi on Wednesday against Missionaries of Charity, an organization founded by Mother Teresa in Gujarat. The organization has denied any attempt to forcibly convert.
Decades ago, in 1981 in Meenakshipuram, more than 1,100 low-caste Hindus or Harijans converted to Islam.
While India currently does not have central law On conversion, different states have made their own rules on the subject.
The Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversions of Religion Act, 2021 was Passed earlier this year. brought to Uttarakhand common law — Uttarakhand Freedom of Religion Act — in 2018 and Himachal Pradesh Amendment Its 2007 law on conversion of religion in 2019. states like Arunachal Pradesh, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Gujarat, And Jharkhand There are laws regarding conversion as well.
“When a person converts his religion, he has to submit a declaration in the form of an affidavit to the district magistrate concerned, stating that ‘I have given up my religion, and I am adopting this religion’ But in states like Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, there are additional procedures established by ordinances under the anti-conversion law that have to be followed,” said Anas Tanveer, a Supreme Court lawyer and founder of the Indian Civil Liberties Union, to address Works Human rights abuses in the country.
He said: “In both the states, persons desirous of converting are required to give 60 days advance notice to the DM. However, in UP, converts (those attending the conversion ceremony) are required to inform one month in advance. In MP, priests or organizers are also required to inform 60 days in advance. In Uttar Pradesh too, upon receipt of announcements, the DM is required to conduct a police inquiry into the intent, purpose and reason for the proposed conversion. ,
(Edited by Polomi Banerjee)
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