Ghar Wapsi (Hindi,lit. 'Returning Home') is the programme ofreligious conversion toHinduism (and, to a lesser extent,Sikhism) fromIslam,Christianity, and other religions inIndia conducted by IndianHindu
organisations such asVishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) andRashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), and also overseas such as inIndonesia.[1] The term owes to the Hindu nationalist ideology that all people of India are ancestrally Hindu and, hence, conversion to Hinduism is one of "returning home" to their ancestral roots.[2][3][4]
The programme became a subject of public discussion in 2014.[5][6][7] TheBharatiya Janata Party'sYogi Adityanath has claimed this campaign would continue unless conversions to other religions are banned altogether in the country.[8]
The Vishva Hindu Parishad and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh organised several Ghar Wapsi events inTelangana,[9]Andhra Pradesh,Kerala, andGoa.[10][11]The Indian Express reported thatScheduled Caste Manjhi families demanded better facilities along with education and healthcare before they converted.[12]
In aSupreme Court judgement, the judges ruled that reconversion to Hinduism will not prevent a person from accessingquota benefits and adopt thecaste of his forefathers. The bench further held that the "Scheduled Caste persons belonging to Hindu religion, who had embraced Christianity with some kind of hope or aspiration, have remained socially, educationally and economically backward."[13]
In Indonesia,Sudhi Wadani is a ceremony inBalinese Hinduism for individuals converting to the religion, aimed at "purifying" them from the influences of previous beliefs. The ceremony involves several stages, including cleansing with holy water (melukat), spiritual purification, chanting sacred mantras, and offering to Hindu gods. The process symbolises the individual's release from past spiritual ties and marks their official acceptance into the Balinese Hindu community. Led by a priest or spiritual guide, Sudhi Wadani is believed to ensure that the person is spiritually ready to begin their journey in Hinduism, following its teachings, ceremonies, and traditions.[1][14][15]
The wordghar is of Hindi origin which means "home".[16] The wordwapsi is of Persian origin which means "to return".[17][18][19]
This term indicates the belief held by the organisations facilitating such programmes that most of theMuslims andChristians in India have descended from Hindus, and hence are returning to their "home" through reconversion.[20]
There have been multiple cases of individuals and communities applying for reconversion into their old faith. Kulkarni has given instances of reconversion in Maharashtra region from early modern times. He claims that there was also reluctance on Hindu society of that period to accept people back into the fold but upon pressure from rulers such asShivaji, the reconversion was allowed. More serious objections were raised when a community desired to return to their Hindu caste after many generations. During Shivaji's rule a group of Panchkalshi converts wanted to return, however the caste council (Got Sabha) raised objections and Shivaji and later Sambhaji had to postpone decision on the matter.[21] The rules on reconversion became tighter under Peshwa rule in mid and late 1700s.[21]
More than 8,000 people inTelangana andAndhra Pradesh converted to Hinduism from July 2014 - December 2014 under the Ghar Wapsi programme.[9] According to a VHP official, 1,200 people converted to Hinduism in a Ghar Wapsi event in Hyderabad.[9] In October 2019, 500 Christian Dalits in Andhra Pradesh were convinced to become Hindu and promise to never go to church again.[22]
In April 2017, at least 53 tribal Christian families converted to Hinduism as part of the RSS's "Christianity-free" block campaign inArki, Jharkhand. And at least seven other Christian families underwent aShuddhikaran (purification ceremony) in Kochasindhri village.[23][24]
In March 2021, 181 Christians inGarhwa district were converted to the tribalSarna religion.[25]
Between 2011 and 2014, about 8,000 Christians in Punjab were converted to Sikhism. Most of the reconversion was done in theHoshiarpur district, followed byAmritsar andBatala.[26]
In September 2022, about 500 Christians reconverted to Sikhism in the Amritsar district. 56 families were reconverted to Sikhism from Christianity in the border area villages of Punjab.[27]
More than 100 tribal Christians were converted to Hinduism in the West Bengal'sBirbhum district.[28]
On 15 February 2018 an Organisation calledHindu Samhati led byTapan Ghosh organised “Ghar Wapsi” with 16 members of a Muslim family, who had “been re-converted to Hinduism”, being showcased on the dais of outfit Hindu Samhati.[29]
DuringAgra religious conversions 2014, it was claimed that 100 – 250 Muslims converted to Hinduism. In May 2017, RSS performed conversion of at least 22 Muslims, including women and children, into Hinduism in a secretive ceremony at anArya samaj Temple inAmbedkar Nagar district ofFaizabad,Uttar Pradesh.[30]
InBulandshahr, more than 100 Christians converted to Hinduism in 2022.[31]
In January 2019, 96 Tribal families that converted to Christianity 9 years prior, underwent Ghar Wapsi to reconvert back to Hinduism. The event took place inKailashahar inUnakoti district in Tripura. The event was done by the Hindu Jagaran Mancham, an affiliate of the RSS, and theVishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP).[32]
In 2015, about 35 people were reportedly converted to Hinduism at an event organised by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) inAlappuzha.[33] In 2015, 35 people converted to Hinduism inKottayam district. They were Dalit families who had converted to Christianity a few generations back.[34]
In 2021, 209 Christians converted to Hinduism, while 32 Muslims converted to Hinduism.[35]
In 2015, first Ghar Wapsi happened in Tamil Nadu where 18 Dalit Christians reconverted to Hinduism by a ceremony done by theHindu Makkal Katchi.[3]
In 2020, 144 tribal Hindus who converted to Christianity many years ago converted back to Hinduism inDang district, Gujarat by the Agniveer organisation.[36]
In 2021, 1,200 people were reconverted to Hinduism from Christianity inChhattisgarh'sJashpur.[37]
In January 2023, 1,100 people were converted to Hinduism from Christianity in the presence of BJP's Chhattisgarh state minister Prabal Pratap Singh Judev[38]
Secular groups[which?] and political parties are critical of Ghar Wapsi, when it is done with the state's support, as they say that it threatens freedom of religion in the country.[39]
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