[See item about how the 'reconversion' came a cropper, below this news item.]
Indian Express, October 10, 2007
In first reconversion in MP, VHP to ‘purify’ 160 Christians today
Milind Ghatwai
DEWAS (MP), OCTOBER 10: 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.
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Indian Express, October 12, 2007
VHP ‘reconversion’ ignored by MP town, so Gujarat fills gap
Milind Ghatwai
Nine of ten ‘reconverted’ from Christianity to Hinduism in Dewas were brought in from Gujarat
DEWAS, OCTOBER 11: The Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s maiden attempt at reconversion in Madhya Pradesh came a cropper today as only three locals turned up, despite the publicity campaign prior to the event. However, Gujarat saved the day for the VHP, sending in two truckloads of Christian converts.
In fact, 90 per cent of the 140 who were reconverted to Hinduism today were from Navsari and Valsad districts in south Gujarat. The rest, barring the three locals, were from Maharashtra.
The organisers — VHP and the Shree Sampraday Seva Samiti — were clearly disappointed. Admitting the low turnout, Rajendra Garud, Sampraday’s MP unit chief, said the organisation would reflect on what went wrong.
The VHP had spared no efforts in ensuring the event’s success. Over 30,000 leaflets were distributed and hundreds of posters and hoardings were put up all over the town. A huge pandal was erected to accommodate a crowd of 10,000, but only a few places were occupied.
Swami Narendracharya of the Shree Sampraday Seva Samiti presided over the “purification” ceremony — a three-hour function after which the converts were warned not to return to Christianity. Wearing dhotis and sporting the sacred thread, the converts’ heads were tonsured to signify their “rebirth”. However, many had a difficult time following the instructions which were in Marathi.
Narendracharya claimed to have reconverted 27,394 people in the last one-and-a-half years. He told Hindu families to give birth to five boys and at least two-three girls, or else they would soon be a minority. He urged the gathering to emulate the Muslims when it comes to taking pride in one’s religion.
Meanwhile, officials of the Chimnabai Girls High School in Meera Bawdi area, where the reconversion was carried out, complained that the function was held while classes were on. “We don’t know how the authorities gave them permission to hold the programme on a working day,” said a school official.
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