Over 1,700 return to Hindufold in Mumbai

In it’s strive to re–convert converted Hindus, a Hindu religious leader converted over 1700 Christians back to Hinduism in Borivili, last week.

Under the personal guidance of Narendra Maharaj, chief of the Ramanandcharya Peeth of Nanij in the Konkan, hundreds of men and women, most of them tribals, converted to Hinduism.

The massive re–conversion movement by the peeth's, is the first such event in the city. Women were clad in green and men wore white dhotis, while the volunteers donned saffron. Those who converted included recently married couples and families from the tribal interiors of Thane and Nashik districts.

Many men had their heads shaved for the ceremony. Items for the mass ceremony were placed on banana leaves. A four–hour long sacred ritual was carried out to “purify” them, after which they were accepted as Hindus.

Narendra Maharaj alleged that a large number of evangelists ventured into rural areas luring people with money and benefits to convert them.

The Sadguru Narendra Maharaj Sansthan claims to have brought 42,220 people back into the Hindu fold till date, including 1,793 people on 27 April 2008.

According to Narendra Maharaj, Hindus are declining in number and sooner or later will be rendered a minority. “There is no other nation that embraces Hinduism; we have no place to go, unlike Christians and Muslims,” he said. “Nepal was the only country that supported Hinduism, but now the Maoists have taken over and declared it a non–religious country.”

Asked how the Sansthan ensured a better life for poor tribals, he said: “We are not a rich institution but we do our best by providing them with domestic flour mills, LPG burners and cylinders, some utensils and even employment. We assist them in realising that Hinduism is the greatest religion and induce pride and self respect within them.”

Abraham Mathai, the vice–president of the state Minority Commission called the charges of conversion erroneous and that there was no single evident to prove the missionaries converted anybody by force or allurement.

“If the Hindu fundamentalists are true in their claims how the official Christian population of the country remains stagnant at 2.5 per cent – the figure registered in the 1947 census and thereafter,” Mathai said.