CT December 23, 2009 - Jagadguru Narendracharya Maharaj is in soup for conducting mass conversion of thousands in Surat on Monday.

The Hindu seer who spearheads a religious campaign against Christians was censured for holding a function in which 1,747 people were reconverted to Hinduism without the permission of the district magistrate.

According to sources, Swami Maharaj reconverted the people with about 10 priests chanting mantras and performing ritualistic rites in the presence of 5,000 people from Maharashtra and Gujarat. Several anti-Christian rhetoric were said to have taken place.

Most of those who reconverted were reportedly from the tribal community in south Gujarat. Each year the group allegedly organises 10 mass reconversion events in Gujarat.

Says Yashwant More, secretary of Jagadguru's Seva Samiti of Shree Sampraday (Surat), "We organised the event to promote Hinduism in urban areas.”

"We have a series of events planned in the near future to hold such reconversion camps in urban areas of Gujarat. In January, events are planned in Vadodara and Silvassa," he added.

As per law prior permission is required for religious conversion.

District collector A J Shah said no permission in accordance to Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act, 2003 (FRA) was sought from the authorities.

To this, More responded: "We don't know about any such law and hence we have not taken any permission from the district magistrate.”

This is the second time in two months that a mass conversion event is being held by this group. Earlier in October, Swami Maharaj's group is said to have reconverted about 6,000 persons in Thane, Mumbai.

Over a dozen pundits specially brought from Ayodhya had performed the ceremony.

Again in April month, over 1700 Christians were claimed to have converted in Borivili, Mumbai.

In total, says a spokesman of the group, the goal of reclaiming one lakh persons to Hinduism was completed.