No forced conversion in Kerala: Chandy

Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Wednesday said there were no forced religious conversions in the state while the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) coordinated another ‘re-conversion’ programme in Kayamkulam in Alappuzha district.

The chief minister’s statement comes three days after the VHP’s ‘re-conversion’ programmes in Alappuzha and Kollam districts where about 35 people belonging to nine Dalit Christian families ‘re-converted’ to Hinduism.

“Forced conversions or reconversions are not happening in Kerala. We can’t intervene if people are voluntarily converting to other religions,” Chandy told reporters here.

Eleven people from three families in Kayamkulam ‘re-converted’ to Hinduism on Wednesday at a temple, in the presence of local VHP leaders. The VHP claimed that it was coordinating ‘re-conversions’  based on requests made through a Hindu helpline. The organisation said about 200 more people would ‘re-convert’ to Hinduism on Christmas day.

The ‘re-conversions’ in Kerala hit headlines in the backdrop of the “ghar waapsi” (homecoming) programme launched by the VHP in other parts of the country.

Representatives of Hindu outfits claimed that ‘re-conversions’ in Kerala were not part of an organised campaign and they were only acting as facilitators for people who choose to return to their “original faith”.

VHP to convert Christians in R’sthan

Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) functionaries said the “ghar waapsi” programme will continue and announced that they will convert Christians to Hindus in the Hindu Sammelan to be held in Jhunjhunu district of Rajasthan on January 2, DHNS reports from Jaipur.

VHP district president Mahesh Sharma told a gathering at Keshav Adarsh Mandir that Hindus are offered various sops and benefits for adopting Christianity.  He made it clear that none is forced for re-conversion. 

The VHP has also launched a mobile number for anyone wants to re-convert into Hinduism. He can give a missed call to that number and VHP office-bearers will contact him/her.