Jaipur, Nov 27: Conversions to Buddhism and Christianity are growing steadily in numbers in Rajasthan, both in the tribal belt as well as in non-tribal areas among the Dalits, which has given rise to the demand for a law to put a lid on them.
Recently, 11 couples in Bharatpur were administered oath pledging to keep themselves away from worshipping Hindu Gods and Goddesses.
In this event, which was a mass marriage conference organised by Sant Ravidas Seva Samiti in Kumher town of Bharatpur recently, marriages of 11 couples were conducted in the conference. Before the marriage, everyone was converted to Buddhism and 22 oaths were administered to all the married couples to renounce Hinduism and adopt Buddhism.
During this, all couples present there were administered an oath not to believe and worship Hindu Gods and Goddesses. Everyone took an oath: “I do not believe in Hindu God and Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh.”
Before marriage, the bride and groom were administered the oath of Buddhism by asking them to renounce Hinduism. No administration or police officer even had a whiff about the incident
Earlier to this, around 250 Dalits were allegedly converted to Buddhism in the Baran district of Rajasthan. These people immersed the idols and pictures of Hindu deities in the Bethli River and the video of the incident went viral on social media.
In October, a couple in Alwar lodged an FIR alleging that their parents, converted to another religion earlier, were pressuring them to convert and were stopping them from worshipping their Gods, said a police officer.
“A complaint was registered by a couple against their own parents, alleging that they were being forced into religious conversion, and were not allowed to worship their gods,” Superintendent of Police Tejaswini Gautam said. An FIR was registered. Complainant Sonu said that his parents had converted to Christianity nearly two years ago and they forced them (the couple) to convert as well.
“Some members of my family who adopted Christianity protest against us when we pray to god. They even tamper pictures of our gods and force us to convert. We want to live with Hindu customs but they create problems while telling us not to follow Hinduism,” he said. (PTI)
