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On 8 December 2014, Hindu nationalist groups affiliated to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) were reported to have converted 250 Muslims to Hinduism in Agra. The incident was condemned by all the opposition parties. The functioning of the Indian Parliament was log-jammed in December. News reports indicated that Muslim right wing groups in India have received a `lease of life' in trying to protest the conversions. After a full investigation, the Uttar Pradesh Minorities Commission concluded that the Muslims had not converted as they continued to "remain Muslims."〔(Minorities commission says Agra Muslims had ‘not converted’ ), Times of India, 2 February 2015〕 == The event == The Muslim residents of the Vednagar slum in Agra were told by a local Hindu activist that, under a development programme of the Narendra Modi government, if they attended a ''havan'' (a Hindu sacrificial ceremony), they would get ration cards and other basic amenities. Some 250 people attended the ceremony. When the ritual was over, the participants were told that they had all become Hindus.〔 (Indian Agra Muslim fear conversions to Hinduism, BBC News, 11 December 2014 )〕〔(Forced into `homecoming', The Hindu, 21 December 2014 )〕 ''Dharam Jagaran Samiti'' ("Religious awakening committee"), a Hindu activist group affiliated to the Hindu nationalist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and part of its family of organisations Sangh Parivar, runs a programme called ghar wapasi ("homecoming"), whose objective is to "reconvert" Muslims and Christians in India. All the Muslims and Christians in India are envisioned to be originally Hindus whose ancestors had converted to other religions. Therefore, their conversion to Hinduism is regarded as a "reconversion" or "homecoming." The 8 December conversion programme was organised jointly by ''Dharam Jagaran Samiti'' and the Bajrang Dal, the militant wing of the largest Hindu organisation Vishva Hindu Parishad.〔 Rajeswar Singh, the Aligarh area President of the Samiti, wrote an open letter asking for monetary help. He stated that the group had converted 40,000 Muslims and Christians in western Uttar Pradesh last year and started a target of 100,000 conversions for next year. He also stated that each activist who works to convert Muslims incurs an annual expenditure of INR 500,000 and one that works to convert Christians requires INR 200,000. He sought monetary help from interested parties to run the programme of conversions.〔(Agra conversions were a costly affair, Mail Today, 12 December 2014 )〕〔(BJP left red-faced over forced conversions after 'leaked letter' from RSS-linked group asks for money to fund ceremonies, Mail Online India, 12 December 2014 )〕 The Agra Police registered a First Information Report (FIR) against ''Dharam Jagaran Samiti'' and its convener in the State Nand Kishore Valmiki, and launched an investigation. Cases were registered under Section 153(A) (promoting enmity between different groups) and Section 415 (using fraudulent means) of the Indian Penal Code, based on a complaint made by one of the participants that was converted. The FIR states that ration cards and housing plots were promised for those who converted to Hinduism.〔(Muslim conversions in Agra: Opposition targets govt, FIR registered against RSS, The Financial Express, 11 December 2014 )〕 Valmiki was subsequently arrested on 16 December.〔(Conversions row: Accused Valmiki arrested in Agra, Hindustan Times, 16 December 2014 )〕 Another Hindu nationalist group, ''Hindu Jagaran Samiti'', announced that it would hold the "biggest ever" conversion programme in the country in Aligarh on the day of Christmas. 5,000 Muslims and 1,000 Christians were said to be ready to get converted. Members of Parliament from Gorakhpur, Yogi Adityanath, and from Aligarh, Satish Gautam, have welcomed the announcement.〔(‘Biggest’ conversion on the anvil, The Hindu, 12 December 2014 )〕〔(RSS body seeks donations to fund Christmas ‘conversions’ in Aligarh, Times of India, 12 December 2014 )〕 Gautam declared in the Parliament, “We have been doing this (conversion) for several years and will do it again on December 25. This is not a conversion but ‘ghar wapasi’ (home coming)."〔(Ghar Vapsi: Civil society needs to challenge RSS's conversion agenda, Firstpost, 14 December 2014 )〕 Vishva Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council), one of the largest members of the Sangh Parivar, announced that it will hold a conversion programme in Rae Bareli, the constituency of the Congress party leader Sonia Gandhi, where it has acquired 60 families that are ready to convert to Hinduism.〔(Religious Conversions: Police Arrest Agra Accused, VHP Declares 'Ghar Wapsi' in Rae Bareli, International Business Times, 16 December 2014 )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Agra religious conversions 2014」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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