Christians convert to Sikhism at RSS event

A mega event organised for religious conversion of Christians in Amritsar on Tuesday afternoon has offered a new twist to the controversy surrounding Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s  ‘Ghar Wapsi’ agenda.

Instead of Hinduism, the RSS event ensured that as many as 128 Christians returned to the tenets of Sikhism. That’s because all these people were Sikhs before they converted to Christianity decades ago.

The event was organised by the Dharam Jagran Manch, a wing of the RSS headed by one of its Pracharak, at Gurudwara Shiromani Shaheed Jeevan Singh in Chheharta village in Amritsar district.

In fact, under the aegis of RSS wing, in the year 2014 over 700 poor families have marked their ghar wapsi in Amritsar district alone. The organisation has defended the reconversions saying that returning to ones root was the right of every individual.

Dharam Jagran Manch Punjab’s chief Ram Gopal said all the 128 people got in touch with the leaders of the organisation expressing their desire to come back to the folds of Sikhism.

“They had been repenting the mistake they conducted years ago,” Ram Gopal said.
These 128 people who reconverted to Sikhism were from 23 Majhbi Sikh families belonging to lower caste.

The ceremony was marked by holy chants and religious prayers as per tenets of Sikh religious. All were given amulets bearing pictures of Guru Gobind Singh and Baba Jeevan Singh. 

Welcoming the statement of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Avtar Singh Makkar on bringing converted Sikhs back to their religion, Ram Gopal said the Manch has held such event in the past and will continue to help the SGPC to ensure ghar wapsi of its people.

The wing claims that these Christians had shun their religion due to allurement and were now realising their mistakes and returning to their religion. “We appeal to the Punjab government to enact a law that would ban religious conversions in Punjab,” Ram Gopal said.

Dharam Jagran Manch’s state planning chief Dinesh Sharma said the organisation will make more efforts to ensure ghar wapsi of such people.

“The Christian missionaries under the Azad Mission were converting Sikhs and Valmikis of Majha and Doaba into Christianity by alluring them with false promises,” Sharma said.

Converted to Christianity four years ago and having served as a priest, Raj Kumar claimed that the missionaries allure poor and make false promises and ask them to convert into Christianity.