Ghar Wapsi
Ghar Wapsi (Hindi, meaning "Home Coming") is a series of religious conversion activities, facilitated by Indian Hindu organizations Vishva Hindu Parishad and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, to facilitate conversion of non-Hindus to Hinduism which became the subject of public discussion in 2014.[1][2][3] The Bharatiya Janata Party has claimed this is a means to get conversions banned altogether in the country.[4]
The Vishva Hindu Parishad and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh organized several Ghar Wapsi events in Kerala and Goa.[5][6]
About 1,200 people were converted to Hinduism in a Ghar Wapsi event organized by Vishva Hindu Parishad in Telangana.[7] The Indian Express reported that Scheduled Caste Manjhi families demanded better facilities along with education and healthcare before they converted.[8]
Etymology
The word 'ghar' is of Sanskrit origin which means "home"[9] and 'wapsi' is of Persian origin which means "coming back".[10]
Repercussions
According to some sources, fears have been raised about Ghar Wapsi and its associated violent tendencies. Earlier, Ghar Wapsi has led to anti-Christian violence in The Dangs in Gujarat,[11][unreliable source?] and Kandhamal district in Orissa.[12][unreliable source?]
See also
References
- ^ "Ghar Wapsi continues in Kerala; 58 more embrace Hinduism". Rediff News. No. December 25, 2014. 25 December 2014. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
- ^ "'Ghar wapsi' only way to end terror says BJP leader". Hindustan Times. 25 December 2014. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
- ^ VHP to hold 'ghar wapsi' for 4,000 Muslims in Ayodhya in January, Times of India, 24 December 2014
- ^ "Ghar wapsi to continue till conversions are banned: Adityanath". The Hindu. 24 February 2015. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
- ^ "VHP plans 'ghar wapsi' in 5 Kerala districts today". The Times of India. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
- ^ "RSS to Facilitate 'Ghar Wapsi' of Goan Catholics". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
- ^ "Faith matters: 'Ghar Wapsi' boom in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
- ^ "'Education, healthcare before ghar wapsi'". The Indian Express. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
- ^ http://dsalsrv02.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.7:1:1949.platts
- ^ http://dsalsrv02.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.2:1:746.platts
- ^ http://www.caravanmagazine.in/reportage/believer?page=0,3
- ^ http://www.countercurrents.org/kandhamal.htm
Further reading
- Jaffrelot, Christophe (2011). "Militant Hindus and the Conversion Issue (1885–1990): From Suddhi to Dharm Parivartan. The Politicization and Diffusion of an "Invention of Tradition"". Religion, Caste and Politics in India. C Hurst & Co. pp. 144–169. ISBN 978-1849041386.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Katju, Manjari (3 January 2015). "The Politics of Ghar Wapsi". Economic and Political Weekly. 50 (1): 21–24. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
- Sikand, Yoginder; Katju, Manjari (20 August 1994). "Mass Conversions to Hinduism among Indian Muslims". Economic and Political Weekly. 29 (34): 2214–2219. JSTOR 4401654.
- Vandevelde, Iris. "Reconversion to Hinduism: A Hindu Nationalist Reaction against Conversion to Christianity and Islam". South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies. 34 (1): 31–50. doi:10.1080/00856401.2011.549083.
- Ghar Vapsi: Civil society needs to challenge RSS's conversion agenda, Firstpost, 14 December 2014
- 'Reconversion' Paradoxes, Christopher Jaffrelot, Indian Express, 7 January 2015
- The politics of othering, Charu Gupta, Indian Express, 20 December 2014.