Whose Conversion?
By Sunil Kumar
07 January, 2015
Countercurrents.org
The Parliament as well as the streets are filled with talks on reconversions in Agra. The opposition in Rajya Sabha is adamant on a statement from the Prime Minister. The ruling party is favouring an anti-conversion bill. This had led to a deadlock in the Parliament, the major issues of this nation are not being discussed and people are not being able to know what the government is doing. Indian Constitution gives everyone freedom to practice, propagate their religion and also to convert as per their choice. However, when conversions are forced or are induced it becomes illegal.
For a long time, the Bengali Muslims were living in Agra, and earning their livelihood by means of rag-picking. Out of these, 57 families were reconverted to Hinduism by VHP, Bajrang Dal, Hindu Jagran Samiti, by performing hawan. Hindu outfits are calling this as 'Ghar Wapsi', whereas others are calling this forced conversion. VHP says that the ancestors of these people were Hindu, so now they have come back to their native religion, that is why this is not a matter of conversion. Other people are saying that this is an illegal conversion done by inducement of ration card, adhaar card, and identity card.
The statement of Ramzan and Munira establish the statement about forced and induced conversion, who tell that they were asked to get their aadhaar card, ration card, identity card made and they did whatever they were asked to do for it. Before this, there have been allegations on christian missionaries to induce conversion by offering benefits. Conversions are always targetted on people living at the margins of the society.
The larger question is whether by mere offering ghee in havan and chandan tilak, one can convert to a caste-based hindu system. They were ragpickers then and even after conversion they are doing the same job. If someone is asked who he is, he will respond, that he is a rag picker, he lives in a dingy, dirty place, he is poor etc. Therefore, there is no real change (conversion) in situation of the Muslims in Agra. He was a ragpicker before and even after conversion he is one. When he is ill, he buys a medicine worth Rs. 2 or 4 from the nearest medical store, and tells himself that he is fine. The people who got him converted do not care whether he had two meals a day. They do not care whether the swacchta mission has led to any change in his life or not, has his life changed for better or worse, whether by privatisation of waste management his livelihood has suffered or not? The women who do not have money to buy burqa, how can anyone make them a Hindu or a Muslim?
The total number of such ragpickers in Delhi is 3 lakh. From the beginning of morning till the end of the night, they are busy searching for rags, from one lane to another, from one basti to another, drains, industrial areas etc. Children keeping bags on their shoulders, women holding magnets, men pulling rickshaws from one place to another, one house to another, search for rags. 95% of these people are illiterate from Assam and Bengal. They want to study but they do not have the opportunity.
I met Muhammad Ali (22 years). He is from Barpeta district of Assam. He came to Delhi when he was 14 years old with his father. He lives near Delhi's Tikri Border in a slum, occupying a room with dimensions 8 by 10. He pays Rs. 1300 as rent. For him the nearest source of drinking water is the nearby the hand-pump. Though the Government publishes advertisements worth crores that such water is not fit for drinking, but it does not arrange alternate sources of drinking water. Muhammad came to Delhi, eight years ago and has not been to his village since then. His father has since returned being old and infirm. He has three sisters and a mother, but has not seen them in eight years. They remember each other often. Whenever someone goes to his village he sends his photographs and similarly, when someone comes from there, they send their photograph. Muhammad wants to study, he wants to go to his village and meet his sisters but he cannot. Muhammad is the only earning member of his family, he is worried that in winters he will get less rags, and running his house will be a problem.
In K Block of Jahangirpuri, lives one Babloo who has come from Lalgarh in Bengal. Babloo is a Muslim, but his name seems Hindu. Sangh Parivar can ask him to convert as well. Babloo came to Bhalsawa area of Delhi, when he was7-8 years old with his parents. His parents worked in a godown where they were abused everyday on small issues. One day they left their work and came to Narela, where they had to sleep for nights without food. They started rag-picking to feed themselves. Since then, Babloo is rag-picking. He lives in a small jhopdi with his wife and children. He has to pay Rs. 2000 as rent. There are almost 300 families living in this basti. They are all Muslims and all are from Lalgarh in Bengal. The people of this basti go to Rajpura Road, Malkaganj, Timarpur and Mal Road to pick rags and waste. On asking why he does not go to Rohini, which is nearer, he says that one cannot find waste in Rohini, because over there waste management is in private hands. In the same basti, Rahman, Sonu and Suleman also met us who were 12-14 years of age. They want to study but they cannot, they leave early to pick waste and rags, and come back around 3-4 PM. Then they eat and sleep. They leave again in evening to pick up waste for evenings.
In South Delhi thousands of families live in Tehkhand and Tughlaqabad who pick waste and rags for their livelihood. In Tehkhand they reside in jhuggi-jhopdis on Government land near railway line. While some are from Assam and most of them are from Bengal. They are living there for the last 15-25 years. The villagers charge money from them for residing on land that belongs to the Government. In Tughlaqabad fort, there are jhuggis inhabited by about 300-500 families in the jungles of the fort. These people pay rent to the villagers of Tughlaqabad. They search for scraps and metal from the waste dumps. To get the metal scraps they go to industrial areas and landfill sites as early as 4-5 AM in the morning. Sometimes they go near the dumpers to get the scraps and metal, which is dangerous, as sometimes they may hurt themselves, lose their limbs, sometimes they may also die. The children mostly stay at home. Sometimes an NGO comes to teach children, when they gather up. Sometimes someone gives them dalia or khicdi, which the children eat relishingly. They want to study but there is no school.
The question that emerges is whether Mr. Modi, VHP, Hindu Jagran Samiti, Bajrang Dal will take up the matter of education of Muhammad, Rahman, Sonu, Salman; will they provide for a dignified livelihood to the parents of Babloo; whether there will be ruckus in the Parliament over rights of these people? On one hand, the Parliament is in a deadlock over the issue of conversion, and on the other hand, in the same Parliament anti-worker, anti-farmer, anti-people bills are being passed. The budget allocations for education, health, and rural development are being reduced and the Parliament remains silent. Adani like corporates are being given loans to the extent of 6200 Rs. crores, and no one raise voice over it, neither in Parliament, nor on streets.
Does the Modi government, which came to power on the agenda of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikaas want to divert attention from anti-people laws to conversion and ghar wapsi? Is the work of opposition to only highlight false issues and create ruckus over such issues in Parliament like that of conversion or do they also have the responsibility of disclosing to the people anti-labour, land acquisition dilution laws, and reduction in health-education allocations/expenditures?
BJP MP Yogi Adityanath is giving statements like "Mala ke saath Bhala" or "Spear along with the beads", is this not hate speech? Should he not be prosecuted? The leader of Government is not being able to control his MPs. He asks RSS to stop their ministers and MPs and put them in control. This clearly shows that the country is run by the RSS. Has the Indian government left the principles of Democracy and Secularism and has adopted Fascism and Communalism?
Sunil kumar is a Political & Socal Activist in Delhi
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