|
Over a
thousand Christians were converted to Hinduism at a
ceremonial function in Maharashtra's Mumbai.
According to a trusted source, about 1130 Christians
adopted Hinduism during a function at Kalyan in the
district of Thane.
The conversion was solemnised by Jagadguru Narendra
Maharaj, a Hindu saint spearheading a religious campaign
vying to reconvert Hindus as well as Dalits and tribal
people into Hinduism.
The ceremony was held in the presence of thousand
devotees who chanted hymns and indulged in ritualistic
practices.
Jagadguru after the event told reporters that Christian
missionaries are involving in massive conversions and
most of the time “fraud, force and inducement” is
applied to attract the gullible.
He argued that if this trend continues, Hindus would
soon become minorities in their own land.
To counter this, he urged Hindu saints and organisations
to conduct mass awakening programmes to balk Hindus from
converting to other religion. This, he said, would be
possible by inculcating the teachings and principles of
Hinduism.
With elections round the corner, Jagadguru also appealed
to Hindus to vote for a party that is concerned and will
work for the welfare of the Hindu community.
He also opined that the government should give
reservations to people with poor socio-economic status
and not on the basis of religion.
Last year, the same April month over 1700 Christians
were alleged to have converted to Hinduism in Borivili,
Mumbai.
The event was held under the guidance of Sadguru
Narendra Maharaj Sansthan who claims to have brought
42,220 people back into the Hindu fold till date,
including 1,793 people on 27 April 2008.
The issue of 'conversion' has been the most
controversial religious topic in India as thousands of
innocent Hindus are urged to wage war on Christians on
erroneous allegations.
Christians however continue to deny their involvement in
forceful conversions, which they say is against the
teachings of Christianity. They also point that the
official Christian population in the country still
remains stagnant at 2.5 per cent the figure registered
in the 1947 census. (CT)
|
