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Now, reconversions in Orissa

Bibhuti Mishra in Bhubaneswar

After the all-consuming controversy over conversions, currently it's the season of re-conversions in Orissa.

And quite ironically, it's Manoharpur, the village where Christian missionary Graham Staines was burnt alive with his children, which has hit the headlines, with six tribals converting back to Hinduism.

The six tribals went to the court of a sessions judge and through filing an affidavit became Hindus again. "We had embraced Christianity as we were told that it would cure us of diseases...we were also given medicines," one of them told reporters.

However, the people behind these re-conversions -- mostly members of Hindu organisations supported by the Bharatiya Janata Party -- are facing the same charges that were earlier levelled against Christian missionaries by them. This reporter was told that threats and material inducements are being used to bring people back into the Hindu fold.

In Sundargarh, a western Orissa district with sizeable tribal population, over 125 tribals re-converted to Hinduism in Sian Bahal village under Mahulapali block. They, however, did not go to any court. Their re-entry into Hinduism was formalised by Swami Amaranandaji Saraswati in an elaborate ceremony that was attended by Dilip Singh, a Rajya Sabha MP of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Addressing the hundreds of tribals gathered there, Singh threw a warning to the missionaries: "Seva ke naam par sauda mat karo," he said.

Local BJP leaders were present in large numbers and they repeated their resolve to intensify the re-conversion movement not only in Sundargarh but in all tribal pockets of the state.

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