Daijiworld Media Network – Puttur (MS)
Puttur, Jun 29: In a significant development, seven families from Panja and Pallodi in Kadaba taluk, who had converted to Christianity over two decades ago, have returned to Hinduism. This reconversion was facilitated by Hindu organizations who expressed concern about the alleged inducement and coercion leading to the initial conversions.
These families, who belong to the Scheduled Caste and were living in extreme poverty, were converted to Christianity years ago under promises of better living conditions. The Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) have been working with these families for the past two years to raise religious awareness and encourage them to return to their ancestral faith.
In total, 25 individuals (15 men and 10 women) were ceremoniously welcomed back into Hinduism. The conversion ceremony took place at the Sri Panchalingeshwara Temple in Panja, where a Dharma Raksha Yajna (religious ceremony) was organized by the VHP's Panja section under the leadership of Surya Narayana, the VHP Pramukh.
Naveen Neriya, the district secretary of VHP Puttur, and Toli Pramod Rai, from the Puttur Dharma Prachara department of VHP, played key roles in convincing the families. The reconversion ceremony involved traditional rituals, and the families were given clothes, groceries, photos of various deities, and other household items to help them settle back into their previous religious practices.
According to Pramod Rai Nanduguri, “The lives of these 25 Scheduled Caste individuals, who had converted to Christianity, were in a dire state. VHP and Bajrang Dal worked hard to convince them to return to their original faith. By the next Deepavali, we plan to build five houses for these seven families.”
One of the reconverts, Ramesh, shared his experience: “We converted to Christianity because the church promised us facilities and built a house for us. However, over time, they stopped providing support, and we continued to live in poverty. This led us to return to Hinduism.”