No pressure on them to convert, says sarpanch

JIND: Thirty-five members of six Muslim families , belonging to Danoda Kalan village in Haryana's Jind district, have embraced Hinduism.The families converted to Hinduism three days ago, but there are no details of how exactly they did this. An elderly Muslim, Neki Ram (70) died of some illness on April 18 and his family performed his last rites according to Hindu customs. The move comes as violence against Muslims has increased in the state in the last few weeks during the lockdown. Four Muslims were attacked in Jind's Dhadrath village on April 5 when they didn't switch off their lights on the PM’s appeal. A welding shop, owned by a Muslim, was set on fire on April 9 in CM ML Khattar's adopted village and the owners were threatened that their skull caps would be removed and their beards shaved off.Danoda Kalan sarpanch Purshotam Sharma told TOI, “Muslim community members came to meet me a few days ago and said they wished to adopt Hinduism. We didn’t oppose them. These families told me some Muslims, such as Tablighi Jamaat men had created bad image of their religion. They also said their ancestors were Hindus at the time of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb but had embraced Islam. Now they wanted to return their original religion.”There was no pressure on these villagers to convert, the sarpanch maintained.The families belong to mirasi or Doom community, who are considered genealogists and traditionally are singers and dancers. There are around 60 Muslim families identified with different castes such as lohar (blacksmiths), teli (oil-millers) and mirasis in this village, which is situated 43 km from Jind town on the Hisar-Narwana road.The members of the Doom community have a fluid religious identity, with names and customs taken from both the religions in the region. Guru Nanak Dev ’s accompanying musician Bhai Mardaana, too, belonged to the Doom community.Naresh Kumar (38), whose father died on April 18, said, “We were not completely Muslims as we were following rituals which were similar to Hinduism except performing the last rites after death. Now, we have decided to convert to Hinduism and have no pressure on us.”A Muslim resident of the village, on condition of anonymity, said, “The village’s environment has changed these days. People have forgotten the pandemic and are only targeting Muslims for spreading the deadly virus, which has caused panic among the community. Even in this village, we are getting information that the situation is becoming scary with the passage of time. Our community, which is dependent on seeking alms, is facing a hard time as Hindus doubt us due to the Tablighi Jamaat incident. The Muslim community is as patriotic as others in India but panic is being created deliberately in the country which should be opposed by every responsible citizen.”Another villager, who also did not want to disclose his identity, said the situation has become worse in villages. “Muslims are getting threats and face a social boycott.”When asked for his reaction, Jind deputy commissioner Aaditya Dahiya told TOI: “No one has approached us on the issue of somebody facing religious persecution. If any citizen of the district faces trouble, they can contact us and we will take action promptly.”