New Delhi: The Hindutva group who had lured Dalit Muslims of providing Scheduled Caste certificate if they got converted to Hinduism, what they also refer to as ghar wapsi (the conversion of Muslims to Hinduism) over the past two years are now avoiding them.
Dalit Muslims are not kept under the category of Scheduled Caste, like Hindus, So they are listed in other backward class. At the time of their conversion, the Muslim Nats were made to believe by an RSS activist Surendra Kumar, that changing their religion would make them eligible for all government benefits meant for Scheduled Castes. But so far none of them has received a Scheduled Caste certificate, which is usually issued by officials of the local administration, reports Scroll.in.
“I thought once ghar wapsi is completed the senior office bearers of the RSS would ensure SC [Scheduled Caste] status is granted to them. That was the impression I got when I set out to explain to Muslim members of the Nat community about the risk of continuing to follow Islam and the benefits they might get by becoming Hindus. These people now keep asking me about the SC certificate and I do not know what to do. So I keep avoiding them,” said the helpless Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh activist Surendra Kumar.
This has created an outrage among the converted Hindus, and they feel as they have been cheated.“It is our right to get the Scheduled Caste certificate,” said Singhari Devi who was formerly Saira Bano of Sohgupur village in Ambedkar Nagar district. “As Muslims, we were not entitled to it, but now we have become Hindus and expect to be treated as other Hindu Nats.”
Singhari Devi was among 24 Muslims from a Dalit caste called Nat who were persuaded by Surendra Kumar to convert to Hinduism. The conversion took place at an Arya Samaj temple at Faizabad on May 20.
Himanshu Tripathi, a prominent name in the local RSS unit of Faizabad and the manager of the Arya Samaj temple also helplessly said: “We encourage ghar wapsi but do not know what to do after it is done, we tried talking to several people to resolve the issue, but nothing happened.”
This has become a trend of the RSS activists for not fulfilling the promises they make in Uttar Pradesh for getting people converted to Hinduism, recently.
In January 2015, the Hindu Yuva Vahini, the private militia of Adityanath got converted a good number of Muslim residents of Ghazipur village in Kushinagar district. These converts too belonged to the Nat community. They also did not get Schedule Caste Certificate after two and a half year.
“The Vahini people send a priest regularly to help us perform Hindu rituals,” said Shivnath, who was known as Shahabuddin previously. “But that was not the promise they made in the beginning. Where is the SC certificate?”
Another person Chhote Lal, who was known as Aslam previously, said: “We do not bother about ourselves. But our kids are growing and they desperately require the SC status. Please ask Vahini people to give us SC certificate.”
“When I see them coming, I just run away,” said Rakesh Kumar Gupta, a local Hindu Yuva Vahini leader, who is also the head of Ghazipur village. “The whole operation has become pointless. I hope that Yogi-ji [Adityanath] will do something.”