By Muslim Mirror Special Correspondent,
Delhi/ Beed: In a tit-for-tat to the Sangh Parivar’s ‘re-conversion or ‘ghar wapsi’ drive’, a backward outfit Satyashodhak OBC Parishad in Maharashtra has announced a plan of ‘ghar wapsi’ program to Buddhism. Asserting that Buddhism is the first structured religion of India, OBC Parishad said it has already registered some1600 Hindu families in the state who will be‘re-converted’ to Buddhism.
Satyashodhak OBC Parishad president Hanumant Upre said around 1600 families have registered with it for conversion including a large number of OBCs, apart from a few Brahmin and Maratha families. Talking to Muslim Mirror over phone from his home town Beed, Upre insisted that it is not a conversion program but coming to back to the fold of Buddhism. “Before we began the movement of ‘ghar wapsi’ among OBCs, we tried to find out their origin. We found that OBCs were actually Buddhist. So, this movement is an attempt to bring them back into their original religion. This is not conversion but ‘ghar wapsi’”.
He made it clear that Parishad’s ‘Ghar-wapsi’ program is nothing to do with the Sangh Parivar’s campaign of conversion as it had launched the ‘ghar wapsi’ program way back in 2011. He said Parishad has planned mass ‘ghar wapsi’ by October 14, 2016 in which at least five lakh people across the state will take part.
Upre, who is also a well-known political activist in Maharashtra, came down heavily on the ‘Upper Castes’ saying they are responsible for the struggles and poverty faced by the backward sections of the society.“The caste system in Hindu religion is responsible for the plight of the backward classes. They have always been opposed to development as they want the caste system to remain intact, so that the OBCs can be exploited”.
Alleging that the OBCs have been cheated by the upper caste, Upre said only the British government had conducted caste census in India in 1931, thereafter no such exercise was taken by the central government in Independent India. He pointed out that the UPA government has made a promise of carrying out a caste survey in 2010 but it was not realized that’s why the OBCs feel cheated.
Regarding Parishad’s program of conversion, he said its aim is to register five lakh people for conversion in Maharashtra till 2016 as there are five crore OBCs among the 12 crore population in the state.
He claimed that in 2007, around one lakh people were converted to Buddhism in Mumbai including tribals, nomadic tribes and other communities as well as the followers of dalit writer and Sahitya Akademi winner Laxman Mane. Mane himself embraced Buddhism in October 2006.
Noted Dalit author JV Pawar said that the social awareness among the OBC communities have been increased in the past few years. He also asserted that Hindu religion did not exist in history as India was actually a Buddhist country. He said that it can be evident from the cave art and ancient scriptures.
OBC Ghar Vapsi,
Yet another ploy.
It’s food for thought for the so called Muslim OBC proponents. The definitions emanating are self explanatory – Nagwanshi, Mool Niwasi etc has specific connotations.
However, it seems to be a war of nerves between those who want to Hinduwise the country on other side, a Buddhist assertion.
Watch it now
It is not worth losing our sleep. Our history is full of such zealots. When they (Hindu Mahasabha, Jan Sangh, RSS, and the official support of Army, Police, Officers) could not wipe us out in 67 years, the newer “broom holders” will also fail. To his utter dismay, the % of Muslims, after 10 years, will be > today.
I am not surprised at all. What goes around, comes around later to haunt. I am disappointed @ the rest, including Modi. Will these issues solve any of the present problems of abject poverty ($1.50/d/p), rampant rape (the capital city is less safe and worse than the “sin city”, aka, Mumba, literacy rate of Cuba, a communist country, is >2X of India, the so-called “largest democracy” of the world, Cuba supplies largest numbers of doctors to treat Ebola, India can’t even provide drinking water. Whether its population is 100% Hindu or less should draw Modi’s productive hours, who uses those hours and his 56 muscle power. Obama is the most inhumane president America ever had, Modi pampers him,and ignores the kindest hearted former, also a