Around 35 people belonging to six Muslim families have converted to Hinduism in Haryana’s Jind district this past week. The families claimed they were contemplating about converting for the past several months since their names, customs and rituals were akin to Hindus, but their resolve was strengthened by the recent Nizamuddin congregation of the Tablighi Jamaat which led to targeting of their community.
One of those who converted, Ramesh Kumar, a resident of Danoda Kalan village and belonging to the Doom caste, told The Hindu over phone that they had been staying in the village surrounded by Hindus for more than four generations and their names and rituals were akin to them. “My father is Ved Prakash. My brothers are Vikas and Sunil. We always had Hindu names. We have same customs as Hindus and celebrate Holi, Diwali and other Hindu festivals. I bought a home in January this year and held havan . Even three of the six houses of our families have temples. I had also offered myself as volunteer for the vigil during the lockdown,” said Mr. Kumar, who works as block resource co-ordinator with the Public Health Engineering Department in Sonipat.
He said that they regretted the attacks on doctors and healthcare officials reported in the media recently and felt that the misdeeds of a few members of a community had brought a bad name to all. “We thought it was against humanity. The environment had also changed. We, therefore, met the sarpanch and conveyed to him our decision to convert,” said the 35-year-old.
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When their uncle, Nek Chand, 70, died due to heart attack on April 18, the families decided to cremate him instead of burying. “We also decided to wear the
Village sarpanch Purshottam Sharma said the families approached him in the first week of April expressing their desire to convert and told him that they were not acting under any pressure.