Looks like it's the turn of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) to embark on the path of aggressive Hindutva in Maharashtra. The organisation will soon begin a drive in the state asking Hindus to prevent their daughters from being "lured" into marriage with Muslim youths and being converted to Islam.

VHP will also embark on a re-conversion drive to bring back people, who have converted to Islam and Christianity, into the Hindu fold.

"We will undertake an awareness campaign against love jihad (in Maharashtra)," a senior VHP functionary, Prof Venkatesh Abdeo, told dna. Abdeo said he was the first to write a book in English and Hindi on the issue 12 years ago after "love jihad" cases had been reported in Kerala.

"We will ask families to keep an eye on whom their daughters are talking to on the phone, and also watch their movements. (We will request them) to ensure that Hindutva traditions are imbibed in the family, through satsang and bhajans at least once a week, and that the family dines together," said Abdeo, who blamed nuclear families for parents being unable to supervise their daughters who fall in love with Muslim youths.

"Even educated girls fall prey to love jihad and marry boys from slums. Most of the perpetrators are sadak chaaps (lumpens)," said Abdeo, adding that recently they had received two cases involving such girls. He also alleged that once these girls were "lured" by Muslim youngsters and converted to Islam, they were even forced to "become terrorists due to force of circumstances."

"Soon, we will start focusing on re-conversion... The efforts of the VHP have seen conversion of 50 lakh people being stopped. We have also brought about re-conversions and ensured that around 7 lakh Hindus, who were originally Muslims and Christians, were brought back into Hindu fold," said Abdeo. Of these, four lakh were Christians and the rest Muslims, he said, adding that around 80,000 of these re-conversions had taken place in Maharashtra.

The VHP leader said while people in backward areas were lured and converted to Islam, it was those in tribal areas who had been converted to Christianity "through a conspiracy of inducements."

"They admit in private that their forefathers belonged to Hindu culture, but the mullahs and maulavis make them hardliners and keep them away from Hindu samaj," said Abdeo. Those who were willing to re-convert to Hinduism underwent a "shuddikaran" (purification rite) and were given a certificate about them having become Hindus, he added.

Abdeo denied that caste discrimination was a factor behind conversion from Hinduism to other faiths, and claimed the shackles of caste had loosened over the years.