''Ghar Wapsi'' (
Hindi
Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...
, ) is the programme of
religious conversion
Religious conversion is the adoption of a set of beliefs identified with one particular religious denomination to the exclusion of others. Thus "religious conversion" would describe the abandoning of adherence to one denomination and affiliatin ...
to
Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...
(and, to a lesser extent,
Sikhism
Sikhism is an Indian religion and Indian philosophy, philosophy that originated in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent around the end of the 15th century CE. It is one of the most recently founded major religious groups, major religio ...
) from
Islam
Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
,
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
, and other religions in
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
conducted by Indian
Hindu nationalist organisations such as
Vishva Hindu Parishad
Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) () is an Indian Right-wing politics, right-wing Hindu organisation based on Hindutva, Hindu nationalism. The VHP was founded in 1964 by M. S. Golwalkar and S. S. Apte in collaboration with Chinmayananda Saraswati, ...
(VHP) and
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS,, ) is an Indian right-wing politics, right-wing, Hindutva, Hindu nationalist volunteer paramilitary organisation. It is the progenitor and leader of a large body of organisations called the Sangh Parivar ( ...
(RSS), and also overseas such as in
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
.
The term owes to the Hindu nationalist ideology that all people of India are ancestrally Hindu and, hence, conversion to Hinduism is one of "returning home" to their ancestral roots.
The programme became a subject of public discussion in 2014. The
Bharatiya Janata Party
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; , ) is a political party in India and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. BJP emerged out from Syama Prasad Mukherjee's ...
's
Yogi Adityanath
Yogi Adityanath (born Ajay Mohan Singh Bisht; 5 June 1972) is an Indian Hindu monk and politician. He is currently serving as the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh since 19 March 2017, became the first to hold the office for two consecutive ter ...
has claimed this campaign would continue unless conversions to other religions are banned altogether in the country.
The Vishva Hindu Parishad and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh organised several Ghar Wapsi events in
Telangana
Telangana is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated in the Southern India, south-central part of the Indian subcontinent on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ele ...
,
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...
,
Kerala
Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...
, and
Goa
Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...
. The ''
Indian Express
''The Indian Express'' is an English-language India, Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932 by P. Varadarajulu Naidu. It is headquartered in Noida, owned by the Indian Express Limited, ''Indian Express Group''. It was later taken over by Ramnat ...
'' reported that
Scheduled Caste Manjhi families demanded better facilities along with education and healthcare before they converted.
In a
Supreme Court
In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
judgement, the judges ruled that reconversion to Hinduism will not prevent a person from accessing
quota benefits and adopt the
caste
A caste is a Essentialism, fixed social group into which an individual is born within a particular system of social stratification: a caste system. Within such a system, individuals are expected to marry exclusively within the same caste (en ...
of his forefathers. The bench further held that the "Scheduled Caste persons belonging to Hindu religion, who had embraced Christianity with some kind of hope or aspiration, have remained socially, educationally and economically backward."
In Indonesia, ''Sudhi Wadani'' is a ceremony in
Balinese Hinduism
Balinese Hinduism (; , ''Hindusmé Bali''), also known in Indonesia as ''Agama Hindu Dharma'', ''Agama Tirtha'', ''Agama Air Suci'' or ''Agama Hindu Bali'', is the form of Hinduism practised by the majority of the population of Bali.McDaniel, J ...
for individuals converting to the religion, aimed at "purifying" them from the influences of previous beliefs. The ceremony involves several stages, including cleansing with holy water (
melukat), spiritual purification, chanting sacred mantras, and offering to Hindu gods. The process symbolises the individual's release from past spiritual ties and marks their official acceptance into the Balinese Hindu community. Led by a priest or spiritual guide, Sudhi Wadani is believed to ensure that the person is spiritually ready to begin their journey in Hinduism, following its teachings, ceremonies, and traditions.
Etymology
The word ''ghar'' is of Hindi origin which means "home". The word ''wapsi'' is of Persian origin which means "to return".
This term indicates the belief held by the organisations facilitating such programmes that most of the
Muslims
Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
and
Christians
A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...
in India have descended from Hindus, and hence are returning to their "home" through reconversion.
Historical precedence
There have been multiple cases of individuals and communities applying for reconversion into their old faith. Kulkarni has given instances of reconversion in Maharashtra region from early modern times. He claims that there was also reluctance on Hindu society of that period to accept people back into the fold but upon pressure from rulers such as
Shivaji
Shivaji I (Shivaji Shahaji Bhonsale, ; 19 February 1630 – 3 April 1680) was an Indian ruler and a member of the Bhonsle dynasty. Shivaji carved out his own independent kingdom from the Sultanate of Bijapur that formed the genesis of the ...
, the reconversion was allowed. More serious objections were raised when a community desired to return to their Hindu caste after many generations. During Shivaji's rule a group of Panchkalshi converts wanted to return, however the caste council (Got Sabha) raised objections and Shivaji and later Sambhaji had to postpone decision on the matter.
The rules on reconversion became tighter under Peshwa rule in mid and late 1700s.
Major instances
Telangana and Andhra Pradesh
More than 8,000 people in
Telangana
Telangana is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated in the Southern India, south-central part of the Indian subcontinent on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ele ...
and
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...
converted to Hinduism from July 2014 - December 2014 under the Ghar Wapsi programme.
According to a VHP official, 1,200 people converted to Hinduism in a Ghar Wapsi event in Hyderabad.
In October 2019, 500 Christian Dalits in Andhra Pradesh were convinced to become Hindu and promise to never go to church again.
Jharkhand
In April 2017, at least 53 tribal Christian families converted to Hinduism as part of the RSS's "Christianity-free" block campaign in
Arki, Jharkhand. And at least seven other Christian families underwent a
Shuddhikaran (purification ceremony) in Kochasindhri village.
In March 2021, 181 Christians in
Garhwa district
Garhwa District is one of the twenty-four districts in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Jharkhand. The Garhwa District is part of the Palamu division, Palamu division and has its administrative headquarters in Garhwa City.
Hist ...
were converted to the tribal
Sarna religion.
Punjab
Between 2011 and 2014, about 8,000 Christians in Punjab were converted to Sikhism. Most of the reconversion was done in the
Hoshiarpur district
Hoshiarpur district is a district of Punjab, India, Punjab state in northern India. Hoshiarpur, one of the oldest districts of Punjab, is located in the North-east part of the Punjab state and shares common boundaries with Gurdaspur district in ...
, followed by
Amritsar
Amritsar, also known as Ambarsar, is the second-List of cities in Punjab, India by population, largest city in the India, Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab, after Ludhiana. Located in the Majha region, it is a major cultural, transportatio ...
and
Batala
Batala is the eighth largest city in the state of Punjab, India in terms of population after Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Patiala, Bathinda, Mohali and Hoshiarpur. Batala ranks as the second-oldest city after Bathinda. It is a municipal cor ...
.
In September 2022, about 500 Christians reconverted to Sikhism in the Amritsar district. 56 families were reconverted to Sikhism from Christianity in the border area villages of Punjab.
West Bengal
More than 100 tribal Christians were converted to Hinduism in the West Bengal's
Birbhum district
Birbhum district () is an administrative unit in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the northernmost district of Burdwan division—one of the five administrative divisions of West Bengal. The district headquarters is in Suri. Other impo ...
.
On 15 February 2018 an Organisation called
Hindu Samhati led by
Tapan Ghosh organised “Ghar Wapsi” with 16 members of a Muslim family, who had “been re-converted to Hinduism”, being showcased on the dais of rightwing outfit Hindu Samhati.
Uttar Pradesh
During
Agra religious conversions 2014, it was claimed that 100 – 250 Muslims converted to Hinduism. In May 2017, RSS performed conversion of at least 22 Muslims, including women and children, into Hinduism in a secretive ceremony at an
Arya samaj
Arya Samaj () is a monotheistic Indian Hindu reform movement that promotes values and practices based on the belief in the infallible authority of the Vedas. Dayananda Saraswati founded the samaj in the 1870s.
Arya Samaj was the first Hindu ...
Temple in
Ambedkar Nagar district
Ambedkar Nagar is one of the 75 districts of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. This district is a part of Ayodhya division in the Awadh region of the state. This district was established on 29 September 1995 by carving out parts of the erst ...
of
Faizabad
Faizabad (Hindustani pronunciation: ɛːzaːbaːd is a city located in Ayodhya district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is situated on the southern bank of the River Saryu about 6.5 km from Ayodhya City, the district headquarter, ...
,
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...
.
In
Bulandshahr
Bulandshahr, formerly Baran, is a city and a municipal board in Bulandshahr district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India.
It is the administrative headquarters of Bulandshahr district and part of Delhi NCR region. According to the Governme ...
, more than 100 Christians converted to Hinduism in 2022.
Tripura
In January 2019, 96 Tribal families that converted to Christianity 9 years prior, underwent Ghar Wapsi to reconvert back to Hinduism. The event took place in
Kailashahar
Kailashahar (or Kôilāśohôr) is the fourth largest urban area in the north eastern state of India, Tripura, located near northwest Bangladesh border. It is a Municipal council and the administrative center of the Unakoti district, this city ...
in
Unakoti district in Tripura. The event was done by the Hindu Jagaran Mancham, an affiliate of the RSS, and the
Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP).
Kerala
In 2015, about 35 people were reportedly converted to Hinduism at an event organised by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) in
Alappuzha
Alappuzha (, आलप्पुळ) or Alleppey is a municipality and town on the Laccadive Sea in the southern Indian state of Kerala. It is the district headquarters of the district, and is located about north of the state capital Thiruvana ...
. In 2015, 35 people converted to Hinduism in
Kottayam district
Kottayam () is one of List of districts of Kerala, 14 districts in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala. Kottayam district comprises six municipal towns: Kottayam, Changanassery, Pala, Kerala, Pala, Erattupetta, Ettu ...
. They were Dalit families who had converted to Christianity a few generations back.
In 2021, 209 Christians converted to Hinduism, while 32 Muslims converted to Hinduism.
Tamil Nadu
In 2015, first Ghar Wapsi happened in Tamil Nadu where 18 Dalit Christians reconverted to Hinduism by a ceremony done by the
Hindu Makkal Katchi.
Gujarat
In 2020, 144 tribal Hindus who converted to Christianity many years ago converted back to Hinduism in
Dang district, Gujarat by the Agniveer organisation.
Chhattisgarh
In 2021, 1,200 people were reconverted to Hinduism from Christianity in
Chhattisgarh
Chhattisgarh (; ) is a landlocked States and union territories of India, state in Central India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the List ...
's
Jashpur.
In January 2023, 1100 people were converted to Hinduism from Christianity in the presence of BJP's Chhattisgarh state minister Prabal Pratap Singh Judev
Reception
Secular groups and political parties are critical of Ghar Wapsi, when it is done with the state's support, as they say that it threatens freedom of religion in the country.
See also
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Shuddhi
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Dayanand Saraswati
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Swami Shraddhanand
Munshi Ram, better known as Swami Shraddhanand (22 February 1856 – 23 December 1926) was an Indian independence activist and Arya Samaj sannyasi who propagated the teachings of Dayananda Saraswati. This included the establishment of educatio ...
*
2014 Agra religious conversions
*
Love Jihad
Love jihad (or Romeo jihad) is an Islamophobic conspiracy theory promoted by right-wing Hindutva activists. The conspiracy theory purports that Muslim men target Hindu women for conversion to Islam by means such as seduction, feigning love ...
*
Netaji Palkar
*
Bukka Raya I
Bukka Raya I (reigned 1356–24 February 1377) was an emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire from the Sangama Dynasty.Phrof A V Narasimha MurthyRare Royal Brothers: Hakka and Bukka He was a son of Bhavana Sangama, claimed by Harihara II to be of ...
References
Further reading
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External links
The politics of othering Charu Gupta, Indian Express, 20 December 2014.
Firstpost, 14 December 2014
'Reconversion' Paradoxes Christopher Jaffrelot, Indian Express, 7 January 2015
r/GharWapsi Ghar Wapsi Subreddit
{{Hindudharma
Religious conversion in India
Vishva Hindu Parishad
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
Hindutva
Hinduism-related controversies