Some who converted in villages around Aligarh say neither side did anything for them.
A few decades ago, Mohan (name changed) made a conscious decision to change his religion. As a member of the Valmiki community, considered backward, even untouchables in his village, adopting the Christian faith was his way out of social stigma and ostracism.
"People would look at us and call us pejorative names. No one wanted to sit with us, eat with us. I thought about my children. They, I could never have been able to see this sort of respect if I had stayed on as a Valmiki," says Mohan.
"Now my children are treated with respect, they study in good schools and colleges. They have a future," he adds, with a sense of pride. His social exclusion determined his decision then and firms his stand even now.
Mohan was among those who were approached by a right-wing organisation in Aligarh for its massive
ghar wapasi or re-conversion program on Christmas Day, an event subsequently called off. "They came and said come back into the fold, but those doors have shut a long time ago," he says.
Like Mohan, a few other families in his village also converted to escape the caste system.
At another village in Aligarh, called Asroi, a few families were re-converted to the Hindu faith a few months ago. It got the village into the spotlight but little else.
Ramesh (named changed), who also belongs to the Scheduled Caste-designated Valmiki community and resides on the fringes of the village, told NDTV, "There was no pressure on us. We were told that we would get schools, hospital, but nothing happened. This was a home-coming for us. We never really stopped being Hindus, so where is the question of conversion or re-conversion?"
His neighbour Ranjeet though was more direct. "Neither was anything done for us earlier, nor has anything changed now," he says.
Whether it is the controversial conversion in Agra or the tribals converted in Valsad, the government is pushing for a Central anti-conversion law while the Opposition is attempting to corner the government in Parliament.
At least five states in India have anti-conversion laws in place, some brought in by BJP governments, some by the Congress. Yet, in reality, between the principles of forced and voluntary conversions and home-comings or re-conversions, the voices of those like Mohan and Ramesh are often lost in translation.