‘Don’t politicise Ghar Wapasi. It’s been on since 1964’

Margashirsha Krushnapaksha 13, Kaliyug Varsh 5116

Losing their religion

As the Sangh Parivar’s ‘Ghar Wapasi’ campaign puts the Modi regime in a fix, the BJP is pushing for an anti-conversion Bill. Anurag Tripathi reports

“Brothers and sisters, for one reason or the other, we have had communal tensions for ages. How long will these evils continue? Whom does it benefit? We have had enough of fights, many have been killed. Let’s resolve for once in our hearts, let’s put a moratorium on all such activities for 10 years. We shall march ahead to a society which will be free from all such tensions.” When Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort on Independence Day, the message he wanted to convey was that his government’s top priority would be development and nothing else.

Six months down the line, the Modi government is being cornered by the Opposition for what it terms as implementing the “RSS agenda” — of turning the country into a ‘Hindu State’. Right from hate speeches to hailing Nathuram Godse as a patriot, the saffron brigade is leaving no possible opportunity to derail the regime from its apparent agenda of good governance.

The ideological allies of the BJP have pushed the party into such a tight corner that at the parliamentary party meeting held on 16 December, an exasperated Modi had to caution the party MPs to practise restraint. According to a senior BJP leader who attended the meeting, Modi warned the MPs not to cross the “Lakshman rekha”.

Even as Modi battles to deal with the tirade of the saffron brigade, the BJP government is facing its biggest controversy after coming to power. The Opposition parties have been up in arms ever since at least 100 persons from 37 families were reportedly reconverted to Hinduism at a Ghar Wapasi (homecoming) ceremony organised by Dharam Jagran, an offshoot of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), in Agra.

At the time of going to press, the stalemate between the BJP and the Opposition parties on the conversion issue continues in both Houses of Parliament. The Opposition parties want nothing less than a statement from Modi himself on the ghar wapasi issue. Though the BJP machinery is working overtime to distance itself from the controversy, it does not seem to be working so far.

“The conversion issue has exposed Modi,” says CPM leader Brinda Karat. “It shows the real face of the prime minister. He keeps bragging about development as his top priority but in reality he is busy implementing the RSS agenda. The forcible conversions by the VHP and similar outfits is highly deplorable and objectionable.”

Echoing the sentiments of the Left parties, the Congress has accused the BJP of playing communal politics. “In the name of ghar wapasi, the BJP is trying to polarise politics,” says senior Congress leader Rashid Alvi. “Toeing the RSS agenda, it wants to create fear among the minorities. It is trying to deprive the people of this country of their basic fundamental right of choosing their religion by either forcing or bribing people to convert.”

Facing accusations of pursuing a communal agenda, the BJP has tried to clarify its position during parliamentary proceedings. Replying to a debate on the issue, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu rubbished the allegations levelled by the Opposition parties.

The minister claimed that the allegations were based on “misinformation” with the sole objective of tarnishing the BJP’s image and asserted that the government was committed to maintaining communal harmony.

The BJP government was at pains to deflect the responsibility of the conversion programme. Naidu said that the Centre had no role in dealing with the issue as it was a subject matter of the Uttar Pradesh government and the local administration should take action.

Taking a dig at the Congress, Naidu said that the party was even allergic to the word ‘Hindu’. “The Congress targets the government over any development that occurs in any state, no matter which party is in power,” he said.

With the Opposition in no mood to budge, the government has suggested the idea of tabling an anti-conversion Bill. Political analysts consider this move as a win-win situation for the BJP as the party has always been in favour of banning all forms of conversion. But none of the parties are biting the government’s bait.

Alvi calls the move a mere hogwash. “First, the BJP should come out with a draft of the proposed anti-conversion Bill. The Congress would be in a position to give its official stand only after examining that,” he says. “Conversion is basically allowed by the Constitution, but converting people after bribing them is a crime, which the RSS and its affiliated organisations are doing.”

The Left parties are in the same boat. “We are against the proposal to bring an anti-conversion Bill,” says Karat. “This would be denying the people their fundamental right to choose their religion. There are provisions in the Indian Constitution that allow people to choose the religion of their choice. By proposing this Bill, the BJP has shown that it has no respect for the Constitution.”

The Sangh Parivar’s clamour for an anti-conversion law is not a new one. Its affiliates had raised the issue from time to time in the past. In fact, the right-wing Swatantra Party played a key role as Odisha became the first state to implement an anti-conversion law in 1967.

A similar law was enacted in Madhya Pradesh in 1968. Later on, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh followed suit. Chhattisgarh inherited the law by default after being carved out of Madhya Pradesh. The Rajasthan Assembly has passed a similar Bill but is awaiting the President’s assent. Arunachal Pradesh also boasts of an anti-conversion law but it remains only on paper as its terms and conditions are yet to be formulated.

Though the Congress has opposed the BJP’s proposal to push for an anti-conversion Bill, the latter points fingers at the double-speak of the Congress.

After all, the anti-conversion law was enacted in Arunachal Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh when the Congress government was in power.

‘Don’t politicise Ghar Wapasi. It’s been on since 1964’

 

Even as the BJP is engaged in a virtual slugfest with its political opponents in Parliament on the religious conversion issue, its ideological ally, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), has warned all political parties, including the BJP, to “mind their own business”. In a conversation with Anurag Tripathi, the VHP’s Jugal Kishore, who is in charge of the ‘Ghar Wapasi Abhiyan’ (homecoming campaign), says that his organisation has been running similar campaigns since its inception in 1964 and does not want the political parties, including the BJP, to politicise the issue.

Why does the VHP choose only Muslims and Christians for conversion and not Sikhs and Buddhists? First of all, let me clarify that what we are doing is not conversion, but ghar wapasi (homecoming). Every Muslim and Christian living in India was originally a Hindu. They were either forced or bribed to change their religion. We are only bringing them back to the Hindu fold. We are a Hindu nation and with the ‘Ghar Wapasi Abhiyan’, the VHP is only restoring the pride of Hindus who were lured into converting. We are giving them back their identity. As far as Buddhism and Sikhism are concerned, they originated in India and the VHP doesn’t consider them to be foreign religions. Their religious practices and values are more or less the same as those of Hinduism.

Do you support the BJP’s proposal to enact a law to ban conversions? There are enough provisions in the Constitution that bar forcible conversion. Yet the Christian missionaries and Muslims have been converting Hindus. No one questions them about the foreign funding used for the purpose. We want a stringent law against converting people by luring them with money and other means. People should be free to choose their religion.

It has been alleged that the VHP used money and muscle power in the ‘Ghar Wapasi’ campaign, especially in Agra. What do you say to that? That is a baseless and politically motivated allegation made against our outfit by political parties that consider the minorities as their vote bank. We have only convinced people of their lineage, their cultural legacy. Since 1964, we have never used money to lure people for ‘Ghar Wapasi’.

But haven’t outfits such as the Bajrang Dal distributed pamphlets for collecting money to conduct the campaign in Aligarh? We don’t distribute money to people who reconvert to Hinduism. Many people donate money to rehabilitate their brothers and sisters who have come back to their religion. I don’t see anything wrong in this. Some people might have said that the VHP offers money to those who participate in ‘Ghar Wapasi’, but it is their political bosses who have asked them to make these statements.

Whenever the BJP comes to power, the VHP’s Hindutva rhetoric and conversions pick up pace. Why? The BJP is a political outfit. Let it do what it does. The VHP has been carrying out ‘Ghar Wapasi’ campaigns since 1964, but never before was the issue politicised to this extent. Political parties, including the BJP, should mind their own business and let us do what we have been doing for decades. We are doing nothing unconstitutional and we will keep on organising ‘Ghar Wapasi’ events. We are a non-political outfit and our main concern is to restore the pride of people who were forced to convert to Islam and Christianity. No political party can stop us in our endeavour.

Why is ‘Ghar Wapasi’ on top of the VHP’s agenda? If Pakistan and Bangladesh can be Islamic States, why should India, which is Hindustan, not be a Hindu State? Why don’t you raise questions when Hindus are converted to Islam and Christianity? Why do you single out the VHP when all we are doing is to help people return to their religion?

Source : Tehelka