HIMANSHU GURU
Providing basic amenities to all should be our prime concern. Deliberations on religion are secondary
Proselytism has hit the headlines recently. Some staunch Hindu outfits have made efforts to re-proselytise a few non-Hindus back to their original faith. Newspapers, invariably, called them gharwapasi (reconversion).
Political parties of diverse convictions locked horns over this issue in Parliament. Responding to the allegations, the Centre denied supporting the development directly or covertly.
Parliamentary affairs minister M Venkaiah Naidu clarified in Lok Sabha the government does not support conversions or re-conversions. He put the onus on the state governments which should take action in case someone is forcing others to convert or reconvert. In this context, Orissa post sought to elicit independent opinions from a few youngsters. Here is the report:
Abhishek Joshi, president of Orissa Sena said, “There is nothing wrong in the gharwapasi mission. It is only one per cent of proselytes who have been brought back to Hinduism. Remaining 99 per cent of persons have to be reconverted. It is purely a political game by the Opposition to create vote banks for them among minorities. When the issue was raised in Parliament, the Centre wanted to make laws to check proselytisation. But the legislation move was not endorsed by the Opposition. Why? Because once a law comes into existence, Hindus cannot be converted to other religions. In this way, their vote bank would also be affected. That’s why they do not want this.’’
“Recently, everybody including Hindus took part in Christmas celebrations. Even I went to a hotel to attend an X’mas party. During Id too, many non-Muslims greet each other with ‘Id-Mubarak’ and try to be part of the festival. But do these people greet us during Ram Navami? I am not sure. Fact is, Hindus are very liberal in their faith and believe in the concept of Basudhaiba Kutumbakam. We celebrate their festivals. But some people take advantage of our liberal attitude. I believe, it is better we stick to our religion which is only a way of life,” said Alpha Ray from Bhubaneswar.
Saswat Mishra is from Patnagarh in Bolangir. When asked to opine on the issue, he said, “There should not be any forceful conversions from any religion or vice versa. Everyone should be allowed to peacefully choose his or her religion. Religious propagators also should not lure others to embrace a religion promising material benefits.”
When asked whether the gharwapasi mission is justified, he said, “So far, no court has intervened on the issue. Only media reports have raked up the issue. If a Hindu has embraced any other religion under coercion or due to inducements, there is nothing wrong in coming back to their basic faith.”
Chandan Mishra, a youngster from Bolangir, is of the opinion that the fundamental issue needs to be discussed. “When a section of our people is struggling for basic amenities, discussion on religion is a waste of time as it is secondary. Religion does not feed people. Neither will it create wonders in minutes. Hence, my opinion is everybody including the politicos should work for development of the people. They should not waste time on any other frivolous issue. The prime concern should be to ensure food, shelter, clothes and jobs to people.”