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Agra Muslims who were lured to convert to Hinduism, revert to Islam

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Conversion_Agra

Meerut: A group of Muslims in Agra, who converted to Hinduism on Christmas last year became Muslim again on Friday.

About 17 members of ‘Nat’ community, an extremely backward community in Mahuar Lathiya village in Achnera block, who became Muslim, alleged that a Hindutva group leader had pressured them to become Hindu and had promised them a piece of land.

All those who reconverted belong to the same family and used to live in a settlement of fellow ‘Nat’ community on a public land.

Fifty-year-old Rahmat, the eldest of the group, told the media that Ali Mohammad had pressured the rest of the family members after the Hindutva leader had allegedly promised them a piece of land. After they had become Hindu last year, they faced boycott by their fellow community members.

They didn’t get invitation for marriages and other community functions of the closely knit Nat community in the village.

(Agencies)

Plea to declare Taj Mahal a Shiva temple dismissed

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taj-mahal

Agra: Six lawyers in Agra had moved the Civil Court with the prayer to declare the 7th century Mughal monument, a Hindu temple.

A civil court has dismissed a lawsuit claiming that Taj Mahal was a Hindu temple and its ownership should be transferred to the community.

The petition was filed in the civil court on Wednesday by Hari Shankar Jain and five others over ownership of the 17th century Mughal monument.

Lawyer for the plaintiffs Rajesh Kulshreshtra said that the court refused to entertain the petition and dismissed it on Thursday.

“We will now approach the Allahabad High Court and we are confident our PIL will be admitted on merit there,” Kulshreshtra said.

He claimed that there was substantial evidence to prove that the Taj Mahal was a Shiva temple, dedicated to Lord Agreshwar Mahadev. The suit demanded that the monument’s ownership be transferred to Hindus and Muslims be restrained from offering prayers there.

(PTI)

Asaduddin Owaisi denied permission to hold meeting in Agra

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asaduddin-owaisi

Agra: All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) Chief Asaduddin Owaisi has been denied permission to hold a meeting here on March 29.

The district administration of Agra took this decision on the basis of intelligence reports which suggested this could lead to trouble after Hindutva organisations had openly declared they would not allow Owaisi to hold his meeting at the scheduled Kothi Meena Bazar ground.

A memorandum by the Bajrang Dal, Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the Hindu Jagran Manch workers forced the administration to take the step.

However, district administration official Rajesh Srivastav said permission cannot be granted in view of the ongoing final examinations.

AIMIM’s district chief Idrish Ahmad said the district administration had accepted his affidavit a few days ago to consider permission for the meeting, but changed its mind under pressure from some organisations.

(Agencies)

Ghalib's Agra forgets him on birthday

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Despite repeated demands to name a road or an auditorium after the famed poet, the municipal corporation has not responded and Agra University has turned down a demand to set up a Ghalib chair to promote research and work in Urdu literature

Mirza Ghalib

Agra: Mirza Ghalib, whose contribution to Urdu literature was perhaps as significant as that of Shakespeare to English, was born here on this day over 200 years ago. The Taj city Saturday not only forgot to celebrate his birthday but also does not have a decent memorial to the poet, activists said.

Despite repeated demands to name a road or an auditorium after the famed poet, the municipal corporation has not responded and Agra University has turned down a demand to set up a Ghalib chair to promote research and work in Urdu literature.

Syed Jaffrey, director of the Mirza Ghalib Academy, wants better facilities and support from the government to promote research in Urdu literature.

“Agra, which has given so much to the Urdu culture, should have a decent memorial for the poet. The municipal corporation has proposals pending to name a street after the poet but there has been no follow-up,” he said Saturday.

The haveli in Kala Mahal area where Mirza Asad Ullah Khan ‘Ghalib’ was born in 1796 is now a girls’ inter-college. The mansion has no memorial to the poet.

The Uttar Pradesh tourism department had at one time planned to take over the haveli and convert it into a memorial, but the plan was shelved for some reason.

Ghalib moved to Delhi where his poetic talent blossomed and found new expression at a time when Bahadur Shah Zafar was the Mughal emperor.

Sandeep Arora, a member of the city’s hotel and restaurant association, said when foreign tourists ask to be taken to Ghalib’s birthplace, Agra citizens feel “very embarrassed”.

“The central and state governments should jointly build a fitting memorial and a library in Agra for Urdu poetry lovers,” he said.

Surendra Sharma of the Braj Mandal Heritage Conservation Society said Ghalib’s house “should be converted into a national memorial” for the poet “whose contribution to Urdu literature has been as significant as that of Shakespeare to English literature”.

(IANS)

Christmas Day conversion: Hindu outfit calls off ceremony

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conversion-Aligarh

Aligarh: Satya Prakash Nauman, district president of the outfit, on Tuesday said over phone,”The proposed ‘ghar wapsi'(conversion ceremony) planned for December 25 has been called off”.

However, he did not elaborate the reason behind the outfit’s u-turn.

A controversy had erupted after the outfits announcement that it will conduct a mass conversion ceremony at a local college here on December 25– Christmas.

Prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC were clamped in the city two days ago.

BJP MP Yogi Adityanath had also announced his plans to attend the proposed ceremony, saying there was nothing wrong if people re-convert to Hinduism if they are doing it willingly.

However, BJP had adopted a cautious approach on the potential face-off between the district authorities and the other saffron organisations.

“We are not organising this ceremony but if the organisers including the Bajrang Dal seek our help on this score, we will certainly do whatever we can to help them,” BJP’s district president Devraj Singh had told reporters.

Spend about Rs. 2 lakhs on a Christian and Rs. 5 lakhs on a Muslim conversion, says a letter of Dharma Jagaran Samiti

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Conversion_Agra

Lucknow: In a letter issued by a RSS regional pracharak of western UP, Rajeshwar Singh, on the letterhead of Dharma Jagaran Samiti, an RSS offshoot it was directed to the workers to spend about Rs. 2 lakhs on Christians and Rs. 5 lakhs on Muslim issues,” and that money needs to be collected from people to be able to hold such programmes.

In a letter to probable donors, it is claimed claimed that nearly 40,000 people were converted to Hinduism during last year alone, and out of them, nearly 2,000 were Muslims.

A copy of the letter sent by Rajeshwar Singh, regional chief of Dharma Jagaran Samiti, Western UP, based in Madhav Bhavan, Jaipur House, Agra makes this claim.

The letter further said “Last year there were paravartan (homecoming) programmes in 20 districts, in which 40,000 people returned to the fold of Hinduism, and out of them, there were 2,000 Muslims. In 2014, our target is higher. We have to hold more than 50 such events and bring nearly one lakh Christians and Muslims to our fold”, writes Rajeshwar Singh.

“As you know, much money is spent on such programmes, and we have to collect money from (Hindu) samaj, and the samaj willingly donates. Now, since more people will do the homecoming at more places, more money will be needed for such programmes…I would therefore request you to contribute to these programmes.

“We expect you to foot the bill for at least one such event and contribute towards the upkeep of one full-time workers.

“It costs Rs 2 lakhs annually to support one worker who works on Christians, and Rs 5 lakhs annually to support one worker who works on Muslims. We need such donations in the least”, writes Singh.

The Dharma Jagaram Samiti, Western UP, names Dr Manveer Singh as district convenor for Aligarh, Abhiram Goel and Ajay Jalesaria as co-convenors, Brajesh Kantak as metropolitan convenor, and Kashinath Bansal as Treasurer.

'Conversion' fuels parliament heat, Bajrang Dal upbeat

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agra

New Delhi: The alleged forcible conversion of about 300 Muslims in Agra generated political heat Wednesday but the Bajrang Dal insisted it had done no wrong.

Opposition leaders in and outside parliament demanded to know the central government’s response to what they said was a breach of the constitutional provision of secularism.

Speaking at a Congress meeting in Kerala, party vice president Rahul Gandhi accused the central government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of triggering communal tensions.

“Their sole interest is come to power in the country. They are ready to use anything to come to power,” Gandhi said in Thiruvananthapuram.

“It doesn’t matter if people of different religion fight. It does matter to them if there is bloodshed,” he added.

In the Rajya Sabha, Bahujan Samaj Party leader Mayawati called the Agra conversions an attack on the country’s secular fabric.

Mayawati was backed by opposition parties who sought a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

On Wednesday, organisers of the Monday event again defended their action.

Ajju Chauhan, a Bajrang Dal leaders, said: “It is being wrongly propagated that the converts had been promised ration cards. They already have voting and ration cards. “They have on their own opted to convert to Hinduism,” he added.

Meanwhile, Muslim groups in Agra’s Mantola area staged a protest against the conversion. A police complaint has been filed against Nand Kishore, the state convener of Dharam Jagran Manch.

Unfazed by criticism, Hindutva groups Wednesday held several meetings in the Taj city. According to official sources, the situation in neighbouring Aligarh district was tense as a similar conversion programme has been announced for Thursday.

The nearly 300 members of some 60 Muslim families living in a slum on Agra’s outskirts reportedly embraced Hinduism Monday. The Bajrang Dal said it had organised the event.

Later, at least one Muslim claimed that he and the others were tricked into attending a fire ceremony by Bajrang Dal leaders, and that they were promised a better life if they gave up Islam and became Hindus.

Azam Khan, a senior leader from Uttar Pradesh’s ruling Samjawadi Party, accused the BJP of vitiating the atmosphere in the state.

“The BJP and the RSS have no issue. The Modi government has failed on various fronts. Neither could it create jobs not bring black money stashed abroad,” he said. “They just want to create tension.”

CPI leader D. Raja said: “Forcible conversions are a violation of our constitution. The government should take this into serious consideration.”

In the upper house, Mayawati said: “Our nation is run by a constitution which has secularism as a pillar.

“Whichever party is in the government is responsible to take care of the safety of the life and religious beliefs of people,” said the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister.

“They (Muslims) were lured. They (Bajrang Dal) took advantage of their poverty to convert them.”

Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said the government was committed to secular ideals.

“We are as dedicated to harmony and secularism as anyone else. Secularism is not anyone’s monopoly,” he said.

“As far as this incident is concerned, an FIR has been registered. Naming a particular organisation for political reasons is not right.”

CPI-M’s Sitaram Yechury said: “The RSS has said that after 90 years they have their government in (Delhi). They say they will covert the nation into a Hindu nation.”

In the Lok Sabha, as soon as the house met for question hour, Trinamool Congress’ Sultan Ahmed waved a newspaper and asked: “What is happening in Agra?”

Speaker Sumitra Mahajan refused to allow a discussion.

(IANS)

Muslim families in Agra deny embracing Hinduism, say they were lured

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Conversion_Agra

Agra: A Bajrang Dal leader said Tuesday that all the 300 poor Muslims who he said had embraced Hinduism here will be given ration cards they badly lacked.

Amid claims by one of the 300 that they were forced to give up Islam, Bajrang Dal’s Ajju Chauhan said everyone in the group would be now taught Hindu rituals.

The Bajrang Dal organised the conversion ceremony Monday.

Chauhan, the group’s co-convener, said Tuesday that all those who converted to Hinduism would be “Sanskritised”. They would be registered as voters and would get ration cards.

He said the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), to which the Bajrang Dal is allied, had been working “hard for three months to persuade them to convert to Hinduism”.

The 300 members of some 60 Muslim families who reportedly embraced Hinduism Monday evening live in a slum on the outskirts of the Taj city — and are miserably poor.

Most of them had lived near Madhu Nagar on Gwalior Road for 17 long years after migrating either from West Bengal or Bangladesh.

Munira, one of the 300, alleged they were lured to the event on the promise of giving them a plot of land and ration cards.

“We were taken to a place where a fire ceremony was on,” Munira told ABP news channel. “We were made to sit there. We became panicky. We were told to pray to Hindu gods. We did whatever they told us…

“But now we are again reading the Holy Quran and our family members offered namaz today,” he added.

Some of the converts, picked from a colony of rag-pickers, claimed that they had been lured with incentives like a ration card and other cards that would entitle them to subsidized welfare schemes.

“We were told we will get ration card, Aadhar card, the police will not bother us. We are poor so what do we do?” said one of the converts.

Others like Sufia Begum got emotional and said, “Please forgive me and let us remain Muslims.”

However, the groups, which undertook the conversion ceremony, remain undaunted.

“Come to Aligarh on 25th, both Christians and Muslims will be converted under Adityanath’s blessings,” said Rajeshwar Singh, area chief of the Dharam Jagran Samanvay Vibhagh.

The episode, which has come after days of protests revolving around the ‘hate speech’ of Union Minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, has provided the opposition with fresh ammunition. Parliament is scheduled to debate on the rising cases of communal tension on December 17.

BSP chief Mayawati has said that these events were being organised by communal forces and that her party was against it. Rajiv Shukla of the Congress said that this was being done keeping in mind the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls in 2017.

Cases of cheating and promoting enmity have now been filed by policemen who visited the families late last night.

(With input from IANS)

RSS 're-converts' 200 Agra Muslims, says more in line

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Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh

by Ishita Mishra, TNN

Agra: Members of at least 57 Muslim families were converted to Hinduism at a ceremony called ‘Purkhon ki ghar vapsi’, a mass conversion jointly organized by Dharma Jagran Samanvay Vibhag, an offshoot of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), and Bajrang Dal in Agra on Monday.

RSS regional head Rajeshwar Singh said more than 200 Muslims were “brought back to Hinduism” in the mass event held in Madhunagar area of the city.

According to organizers, the converts will soon be given new names.

Talking to TOI, Singh claimed that around 5,000 more Muslims and Christians will be “brought back into Hindu fold” in Aligarh on this Christmas. “The grand event will be held at Maheshwari College in Aligarh,” he said, daring anyone to stop it.

With saffron flags hoisted on rooftops of makeshift houses in this slum cluster, and matras being recited by priests, members of as many as 57 Muslim families washed feet of Hindu idols to mark their return to the religion. Long vermillion marks were put on their foreheads and they were given Prasad to eat.

Later, RSS and Bajrang Dal activists gave them a ‘mantra’ to chant the whole day and prepared a list of all the ‘converts’, to get their voter IDs and Aadhaar cards made, with their new names.

Sharifa, 40, was seen debating the right way of performing an aarti with her daughter-in-law, Afsha, in a small temple that has been erected by RSS men in the slum in Madhunagar. An idol of goddess Kali has also been placed in the temple, as majority of people living in the area hail from West Bengal.

Sufia Begum,76, who is the oldest woman among the converts, told TOI: “I read Quran and offered namaz five times a day. Now at this age, I will read Ganesh aarti. I don’t find any major difference in the teachings of the two religions.”

“The RSS people assured us that they will provide us better place to live, better food and schooling for my grandsons. I don’t mind change of religion, as religion doesn’t give us food to eat.”

Rajeshwar Singh told TOI that RSS spends Rs 50 lakh every month on conversion of an average 1,000 families. “It spends Rs 8-10 lakh per month on fuel costs alone in west UP,” he added.

“We have re-converted 2.73 lakh Muslims and Christians in Braj region that includes Agra, Fatehpur Sikri, Mathura, Firozabad, Etah, Meerut, Mainpuri and Uttarakhand since 2003. The upcoming mass re-conversion event in which some 5,000 Muslims and Christians will be brought back into Hindu fold will be headed by Yogi Adityanath on December 25 in Aligarh,” Singh said.

Singh also claimed that RSS has taken possession of as many as 60 churches across the state, where no Christians worship now, “as they have all been re-converted to Hinduism”.

“Ek din in girijagharo ki deewarein bhi gir jayengi aur hamara desh sirf hinduon ka hoga (one day these churches will crumble and our country will belong to the Hindus alone),” he added.

Ajju Chauhan, the Bajrang Dal leader who zeroed in on the slum in Madhunagar and organized the mass re-conversion event, was overwhelmed after the puja. More than three dozen RSS and Bajrang Dal members were guarding the pandal to avoid any untoward incident.

Talking to TOI, Aslam Qureishi, prominent Sunni leader of the city, said, “This is just a tactic of the RSS to misguide Muslims.”

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