After several months, Uttar Pradesh had the first instance of “ghar vapsi” when saffron outfits in Gorakhpur re-converted nearly 100 Dalits from Christianity to Hinduism.
Reports said members of Hindu Yuva Vahini, the outfit belonging to Gorakhpur BJP MP Mahant Adityanath, held a special ceremony at the Dalit hamlet of Mohaddipur in the town on Wednesday evening in which around 100 Christian Dalits were welcomed to Hinduism.
Vahini activists had earlier rounded up four Christian priests and nuns, who they alleged “lured” poor Dalits into their faith. “Every family (embracing Christianity) were promised cash and a house,” Vahini’s state general secretary Ram Bhual Kushwaha alleged.
Saffron activists handed the priests and nuns to the local police demanding stern action against them, but the police released them later since they did not find materials encouraging conversion in their possession.
The outfit vowed to bring back everyone “lured” into conversion from Hinduism. “Our workers are keeping a close watch on conversion activities,” Kushwaha said. Hindu Yuva Vahini is active in Gorakhpur, Deoria, Kushinagar, Sant Kabir Nagar and other districts.
Police in Gorakhpur said security personnel have been kept in full strength in the locality as a precautionary measure. Saffron outfits launched a state-wide “ghar vapsi” programme to welcome converts from Hinduism back to their ‘home faith’.
Re-conversion programmes across the state triggered a strong reaction from Christian and Muslim communities.
