Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh: 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.
"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.
Like Mohan, a few other families in his village also converted to escape the caste system.
Advertisement
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?"
Advertisement
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.
Advertisement
COMMENTS
Advertisement
Man Sets Mother On Fire Inside UP Police Station, Films Her Woman Set On Fire By Son In UP, Suffers 40% Burn Injuries: Cops If You Say "Thingamajig" Often, You Have Lethologica. Read Details Over 300 Indian Students Return As Quota Row Sparks Violence In Bangladesh The Situation At Delhi, Mumbai Airports Day After Global IT Outage "Jindal Group Executive Showed Porn, Groped Me On Flight": Woman To NDTV Watch: Sudha Murty Shares How She Embarked On Her Philanthropic Journey BJP Vs BJP In Bengal Over Differences In 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas' Outlook Delhi Gets First Pilot Hybrid Court Room With 'Speech To Text' Facility Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.