Hindu Nationalists to Launch Door-To-Door Campaign in India to Stop Religious Conversions
According to the Union of Catholic Asian News (UCAN), Hindu nationalist leaders associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) have vowed to launch a nationwide campaign to curb religious conversions. The leaders of these groups claim fraudulent religious conversions to Christianity and Islam are rampant in tribal areas.
VHP Spokesperson Vinod Bansal said that the VHP and RSS would conduct door-to-door visits in tribal areas to check for converts to Christianity and Islam. During these visits the RSS and VHP would “educate” people about Hinduism and push converts back into the Hindu fold.
Christian leaders in India were quick to rebuke the claims of mass fraudulent conversions to Christianity. A.C. Michael, National Coordinator of the United Christian Forum, told UCAN that the claims of the VHP and RSS are not reflected in government records.
“Census after census, the Christian population has remained 2.3 percent,” Michael said. “Are these organizations privy to data which we are not? These are just excuses to carry out their agenda of consolidating a vote block. The right to freedom of religion is a fundamental right under our constitution.”
Hindu nationalists frequently use the specter of fraudulent mass conversions to Christianity to justify anti-conversion laws. According to these nationalists, Christians are accused of converting poor Hindus to Christianity in mass by fraudulent means.
Due to growing religious intolerance and the normalization of religiously motivated violence, many radical Hindu nationalists view all religious conversions to non-Hindu faiths as fraudulent. In an increasing number of cases, radical Hindu nationalists equate all non-Hindu religious activity with forced or fraudulent conversions.
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