a little known outfit till recently, announced a larger such gathering in Aligarh and that too on December 25, 2014. The conversion-reconversion debate in the country is really a hot potato and is often a two edged sword for political parties.

This further became crystal clear when certain ambiguity ruled the roost vis-a-vis reactions from the political class. The ruling BJP, committed to the Hindutva cause originally and now pledging developmental saga, agreed for a debate in Parliament but did not want to commit that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi will speak on it.

A renowned secular player, the Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav, whose son Akhilesh Yadav, as the chief minister of UP, is responsible for stopping events like those in Agra and Aligarh, merely said that he did not know why Lok Sabha was debating this issue as no body in Agra was talking about re-conversion issue.

“When there is no trouble in Agra...when people of Agra are not talking about it (reconversion)....why the debate here,” he said in Lok Sabha even wondering at one point of time “Will this House function based on media reports”.

Expectedly, his contention brought in much amusement among treasury bench members with BJP and Shiv Sena MPs including Ministers like Anant Geete visibly expressing their rejoice.

There was frequent thumping of desks by BJP and Sena members with some

of them even telling Mulayam, “you should tell other Opposition members, we are discussing this re-converision row as opposition was insisting on it”.

“This really weakened opposition campaign against BJP and the secular arsenal actually stood self defeating and blunted,” a Trinamool Congress leader told Eastern Panorama adding, “we all felt left down by Mulayam Singhji in Lok Sabha”.

The hardliner Hindutva organizations, Bajrang Dal and RSS leaders have termed the Agra event a “home coming” for the converts (Muslims) and defended their actions to win back the Muslims into Hinduism fold.

The Congress MP, Jyotiraditya Scinda insisted that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi should issue a clarification in Parliament on the issue and warned it as a ploy to “polarize” the nation.

Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said, “it is the responsibility of the Prime Minister to come to Parliament and assure the country that all sections of people are safe under him as it was in his name the BJP came to power in May 2014”.

Even as the opposition parties like Congress, CPI(M) and Trinamool Congress blessed with numbers in Rajya Sabha continued to create logjam in the Upper House, in Lok Sabha the government had its way.

“It’s the tyranny of numbers in Lok Sabha…,” lamented Marxist Sitaram Yechury while the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley charged the opposition parties like Congress and CPI(M) with indulging in “competitive disruptive strategy in the upper House”.

Crafty Move:

But the Modi government though cornered on its part has played a crafty game and tried to give the impression that the opposition and ‘secular’ parties were only being selective in their approach. “If you say re-conversion into Hinduism is bad, conversion from Hindus into Islam and Christianity whether now or in the past too should be judged by same yardstick,” says vocal BJP MP Yogi Adityanath, who was also reportedly pulled up by the Prime Minister for talking out of turn on controversial issues.

Replying to the marathon round of debate in Lok Sabha, the Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu sought to turn the table on secularists and said, “Let there be anti-conversion laws in all the states. Let there be anti-conversion law at the Centre also”.

The Christian community lashed out in response,  

saying such anti-conversion legislation would be a violation of human rights.

Father Z Devasa Gayaraj, secretary,  Scheduled Class/Backward Class and tribal affairs of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, said an anti-conversion law in the country would restrict the rights of those who want to escape oppression from their religion.

“Even Hindus who want freedom from caste oppression and untouchability will be restricted to follow the religion,” he said.

A brief Interview: “We have no negativity in Arunachal Pradesh” Neelam Taram is a former Arunachal Pradesh Home Minister. He was arrested in 1970s for working for the church. Here he talks briefly on conversion row: # How do you look at the conversion-reconversion issue and how things are moving in Arunachal Pradesh? Neelam Taram: I will not comment much on what’s happening nationwide. You all know better. All TV channels are talking about it. Parliament was rocked over it. But in Arunachal Pradesh, we have a very peaceful atmosphere. There is good number of local Arunachalis now embracing Christianity.

by Swati Deb

To read the full text online subscribe to the magazine

OR

Get the copy of the magazine for details contact at email:This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.