On 27th January (Saturday), as many as 1000 people from 251 families returned to Sanatan fold in state’s capital, Raipur. The Ghar Wapsi took place on the last day of Hanumat Katha recitation by Bageshwar Dham’s Pandit Dhirendra Krishna Shastri. Prabal Pratap Singh Judev who hails from Jashpur royal family and is BJP’s state Secretary was also present there. He washed the feets of the converted tribals with Gangajal (holy water of Ganga) and brought them into Sanatan Dharma.
Notably, the Hanumat Katha recitation by Pt. Dhirendra Shastri was organised from 23rd to 27th January in Raipur’s Kota Gudhiyari area. On the last day of the recitation, 1000 converts from 251 families did Ghar Wapsi and it included two Muslim families and people who had converted to Christianity.
During the Ghar Wapsi ceremony, Mohammad Akbar who is a resident of Uttar Pradesh also returned to Hinduism. Dhirendra Shastri renamed Akbar as Satyam. Sheikh Sameem who lives in Changorabhatha, Raipur also adopted Sanatan Dharma.
रायपुर #छत्तीसगढ़ में पूज्य बागेश्वर धाम सरकार श्री धीरेंद्र कृष्ण शास्त्री जी की श्री हनुमंत कथा में 1000 लोगों ने “#घर_वापसी” कर आरती की…@bageshwardham #Bageshwardham #bageshwardhamsarkar #Bharat #Hindu #sanatani #GharWapsia #sanatandharma #PrabalPratap #Chhattisgarh… pic.twitter.com/isTEmFiwQO
— Prabal Pratap Singh Judev (@prabaljudevBJP) January 27, 2024
Apart from Gharwapsi, mass marriages of 21 couples from poor families were also organised and they were given essential household items.
"सनातन सेवा का संकल्प सरेआम साधूंगा, पांव पखारकर कुचक्र की हर गांठ काटूंगा"…🙏🏻🚩#घर_वापसी कार्यक्रम
— Prabal Pratap Singh Judev (@prabaljudevBJP) January 28, 2024
पूज्य पिता जी स्व० दिलीप सिंह जूदेव जी की प्रेरणा व आशीर्वाद से रायपुर छत्तीसगढ़ में श्रीहनुमंत कथा में बागेश्वर धाम सरकार पूज्य श्री धीरेंद्र शास्त्री जी की गरिमामयी उपस्थिति… pic.twitter.com/54KSOXX8oc
According to media reports, all the people who did Gharwapsi are residents of Surguja division. At the event, Judev said that he will bring all the people back to Sanatan Dharma and described Gharwapsi as a task of nation building.
Prabal Pratap Singh Judev said that religious conversion of these people was done in a very wrong way. They were converted by lying to them and saying derogatory things about Hindu gods. He said that he has been organising the Ghar Wapsi program for a long time. His late father Dilip Singh Judev had also been organising it.
Judev said, “I believe that where Hindus have converted or have become a minority, those areas have been cut off from India. There was a time when all from Afghanistan to Indonesia were Hindus. Hindus were converted and those areas were cut off from India. They got separated. Where Hindus are reduced, the country is divided there.” From the stage, he also took an oath to build 101 temples in Chhattisgarh.
Pandit Dhirendra Krishna Shastri said that he is not against any religion nor does he believe in conversion, but he believes in Gharwapsi of the people who were converted by coercion or deceit. He said that those who have done Gharwapsi have come as per the wish of Hanuman ji. He also appreciated the efforts of Prabal Pratap Singh Judev.
Prabal Pratap Singh Judev leading Ghar Wapsi
Prabal Pratap Judev has been leading Ghar Wapsi of converted tribals in the tribal heartland and across state and has brought converted people into Sanatan Dharma fold by thousands in number.
Earlier in December, when the state assembly elections concluded, Judev brought 8 families back to the Sanatan fold. A day earlier on 28th December 2023, he led a Gharwapsi event of 101 families who had converted to other faith.
Since the death of his father Dileep Singh Judev who was a tall BJP leader and carried out Gharwapsi at large scale, Prabal Pratap Judev has brought over 10,000 people back to Sanatan Dharma fold as of November 2021. The efforts have continued ever since and the Gharwapsi led by Prabal Judev has brought 1100 Christian converts in January 2023 and 1250 people in March 2022 among other similar ceremonies throughout the last several years.
