Sunday, December 21, 2025
ADVT 
India

Poor Muslims In Agra Who Converted Will Be Given Ration Cards: Bajrang Dal

IANS, 09 Dec, 2014 12:40 PM
    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. 
     
    Agra's Muslim leaders mostly declined to comment on the episode.
     
    But one Muslim scholar who did not want to be quoted by name alleged that those who converted were not Muslims.
     
    "It is true that they are all from outside Agra, perhaps from Bangladesh, and had been living here illegally as they have no voter, Adhaar or ration cards," he said.
     
    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.
     
    Agra's Senior Superintendent of Police Shalabh Mathur said no complaint had been registered regarding the event. "We will take action if there is a complaint."
     
    A Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader, Premendra Jain, wondered if Bangladeshis could be allowed to live in India if they give up Islam.
     
    "We have been demanding the expulsion of all Bangladeshis living illegally in India," Jain told IANS. 
     
    "Now these people have been converted to Hinduism. Does it mean all those staying in India illegally will be allowed to stay here if they convert?"

    MORE India ARTICLES

    South Asian bodies troubled by spying of Muslim Americans

    South Asian bodies troubled by spying of Muslim Americans
    A group of South Asian Organizations says it's deeply troubled by reports that US government agencies have engaged in surveillance of Muslim American civic and civil rights leaders, including Indian and Pakistani Americans.

    South Asian bodies troubled by spying of Muslim Americans

    Smartphone app to save kids with heart conditions

    Smartphone app to save kids with heart conditions
    A new smartphone app being tested at St Louis Children's Hospital in the US is turning out to be a life-saving experience for children with heart conditions.

    Smartphone app to save kids with heart conditions

    Amit Shah as BJP chief: Modi sidestepping RSS?

    Amit Shah as BJP chief: Modi sidestepping RSS?
    When L.K. Advani was dragged kicking and screaming from the post of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president in 2005 under orders from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a diplomatic cable from the US embassy in Delhi to Washington stated that the event "demonstrated the power of the RSS ... and will likely increase the party's (the BJP's) political decline".

    Amit Shah as BJP chief: Modi sidestepping RSS?

    After Mahabharat and Panipat, it's now HSGPC vs SGPC

    After Mahabharat and Panipat, it's now HSGPC vs SGPC
    The land that is now called Haryana has been famous for epic battles like the Mahabharat and the three historic battles of Panipat. Now a leading Sikh body is fighting a politico-religious battle in the state to retain control over its gurdwaras.

    After Mahabharat and Panipat, it's now HSGPC vs SGPC

    Block rail, roads - go to jail in Punjab

    Block rail, roads - go to jail in Punjab
    Putting people to inconvenience and even causing suffering by blocking rail tracks and roads in Punjab could now have a legal complication for protesters. The state government has approved a bill under which blockade of rail and road traffic would attract punishment of up to one year in jail and even a penalty of Rs.100,000.

    Block rail, roads - go to jail in Punjab

    Britain faces mass strike by public sector workers

    Britain faces mass strike by public sector workers
    Britain is witnessing one of the biggest strikes by public sector employees in three years with up to one million people expected to take to the streets to protest pay freeze and pension changes as part of austerity measures, media reports said Thursday.

    Britain faces mass strike by public sector workers