Mumbai: About 251 Christian families from Palghar's Boisar and nearby villages will reconvert to Hinduism on April 2 at a mass ceremony organised by Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal, as a part of Hanuman Jayanti celebration. The mega conversion event, titled ‘Ghar Wapsi’, aims to reconvert the Adivasi families, who had embraced Christianity decades ago.
‘Ghar Wapsi’ Aimed at Adivasi Families
The Hanuman Jayanti celebrations in Boisar, like every year, will witness huge gatherings of Hindus from across Palghar district as well as the Mumbai Metropolitan Region to participate in the annual rally. However, this year's celebration will also include a mass reconversion ceremony of around 251 Christian families, who will embrace Hinduism, an act referred to as ‘Ghar Wapsi’ (Returning Home).
The VHP and the Bajrang Dal had compiled a list of around 1,000 erstwhile tribal families from Palghar district, which had converted to Christianity. Under the Ghar Wapsi movement, VHP team carried out the efforts of convincing the families for the last four months.
Over 500 Individuals to Embrace Hinduism
As a result, at least 251 families, including over 500 individuals, are set to embrace Hinduism on Thursday at the mega event. According to sources, a few more families from another community are also expected to convert to Hinduism at the event. The reconversion event will include a shuddhikaran (purification) ritual, where brahmins will perform a yajna and sprinkle panchgavya (a traditional mixture of cow's milk, curd, ghee, urine and dung). The reconverted Hindus will be provided new clothes and essential items to perform Hindu religious rituals. The VHP claimed that they will also help the people change their names through notarised gazettes.
Chandan Singh, VHP's divisional secretary said, "Thousands of Adivasi families from Boisar and around were converted to Christianity in the past decades. This led to a situation where in some cases, villages had temples but no more Hindus to worship. After all these years, these families are returning to their original culture of their own free will.”
Notably, Palghar has historically seen tensions between various missionary groups and right-wing organisations due to its significant population of the scheduled tribes.
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