About 55 persons were reconverted to Hinduism in a Ghar Wapsi organised by the Hindu Munnani near Pollachi town in Coimbatore district on Sunday.
The organisation’s District Secretary for South Coimbatore, R. Srinivasan, told The Hindu that those who reconverted included 21 women and 10 children. The “return to mother religion” event was organised at a marriage hall amid heavy police security. Organisers said that it was the largest Ghar Wapsi organised in Tamil Nadu, so far. Mr. Srinivasan claimed that no participant was forced to reconvert.
He added that the organisation distributed pamphlets at villages around Pollachi and asked interested persons to reconvert by contacting their representatives. “We also identified persons interested in reconverting to Hinduism through fellow villagers,” he said.
The reconversion ceremony began around 8 a.m. and concluded in the afternoon and included ‘homams.’
Hindu Munnani State general secretary C. Subramaniam, State secretary S. Sudalai Mani, State treasurer C.M. Annadurai and State president of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) R.V.S. Marimuthu addressed the gathering.
Later, Mr. Subramaniam told reporters that their organisation would extend legal assistance to those who reconverted to get their names changed in the gazette. “Efforts will also be taken to get the religion, caste and names changed in their certificates,” he said, adding that their organisation has fixed a target of reconverting about one lakh persons to Hinduism in Tamil Nadu.
Nobody was forced to reconvert, says district secretary Srinivasan