Before the controversy surrounding the reconversion to Hinduism in Agra hit the headlines last week, an RSS pracharak Rajeshwar Singh had been working on this project for last 18 years since 1996 in western Uttar Pradesh.

He is virtually late Dilip Singh Judeo of Uttar Pradesh. The way Judeo organised ghar wapsi in tribal Chhattisgarh.

Rajeshwar Singh had been organising similar annual fares in various districts across the western Uttar pradesh till the Congress and other parties trained their guns against it after Modi's ascendance to power at Delhi.

Rajeshwar Singh virtually went underground after the SP administration started cracking down the organisers of the event.

India Today traced Rajeswar Singh when RSS, too, tried to distance itself from him after the BJP leadership sought the RSS leadership to help avoid this controversy when Modi government is trying to focus its agenda towards governance. India Today caught up with Singh at the residence of one of his workers in Aligarh and found him dejected as barely hours earlier the RSS leadership had relieved him of his duties in Dharm Jagran to rein him from forcing a stand-off with the government.

"Main mukt kar diya gaya hun. Jo poochhna ho poochiye," Singh started while taking rest at the residence of his confidante in Aligarh.

Q: How long you have been associated with paravartan?

A: In 1996, the work started under the name of paravartan. It was rechristened as ghar vapsi in 1997. I am the first Sangh Pracharak working in this field. This work was started by me only. I am the founder. No one else claim to have started paravartan work first. When Sangh started work under the name of paravartan, I was the pracharak for it. It has been 18 and half years in this work.

Q: What milestones you identify in your over 18 years of Pracharak work in this field?

A: We started this work very easily. There was a tradition here regarding akbariya - the Rajputs who had converted to Islam - who used to undergo shuddhi (purification) by our society. By chance, or by design, or even without design Sangh assigned this task to me, but my family was trained for this work. Hum jis musalman ke yahan kha le, woh hindu ho jayega, who rajput ho jayega. Merely by sharing a meal and drinking water with them will make them Rajput. This was the claim to fame of my family. This was even before I was assigned by Sangh. My grandfather had purified 4-5 villages. I was born in the main family of Solanki clan of Rajputs. No Solanki can become Hindu without me sharing meal with them. Unless there is someone from my family, Solanki drive will not work. I was born in Solanki royal lineage. We started this work casually. For example, I gathered representatives from all nearby solanki villages to bring Solanki (Muslims) from one Jalalpur village into the fold. It was in 1997. Their ancestors had come to our grand parents who had refused. (5Mins) We start by breaking bread with them and start sharing daughters (weddings) few years later to bring them back into fold. I have been a pracharak since 1979. I was a pracharak when I undertook these baby steps. I became Dharm Jagran prant pramukh in 1996. Before that I had served as zila pracharak of Mainpuri and Shahjahanpur.

Q: Since then you have been active on this front. What do you have to say about the recent controversy?

A: There is no controversy. SP government has been formed on the strength of Muslims. I have been converting Muslims into Hindus every year on December 23, and bring Christians into Hinduism on December 25 every year. December 23 and December 25 have been our regular functions. This year we had an all india meeting and also had a sant sabha in vrindavan. This year we decided to hold a single function instead of two. And chose Aligarh. In fact, have a team of 20-25 workers working for this function. Had deployed a whole-timer in every block. Some were working among Muslims, some were working among Rajputs and some were working among Valmiki communities. All my workers are in the field even now. So we have continuously been reaching out among Christians, Muslims and Rajputs. Aligarh has high proportion of Muslim and Christians. About 10 per cent is Christian, over 20 per cent is Muslim. So we thought, lets lay our hands on the Christians and Muslims of this district. I have had 4-5 events of converting christians into Hindu here in the past. When this district keep fighting with Muslims, we thought, lets try our hands on Muslims as well. Before that, our workers laid their hands on Muslims in Agra for ghar vapsi of 350 Muslims. Last year we had arranged gahr vapsi of 1500 Muslims. In total, we have arranged ghar vapsi of 20,000 Muslims so far across several districts. The government (SP) of the day thought that If Muslims become Hindus, their vote banks will erode. Just understand, the day Muslims start becoming Hindus, the parties based on Muslim supportbase will vanish. That is why they do not like this work. The reason is only me. 60 per cent of Muslims here are Rajput Muslims. AMU is controlled by Rajput Muslims, not backward class Muslims. SO, these leaders feared that if these Rajput Muslims, all influential Rajputs in the district are my friends and they had agreed for getting them converted. When I decided to convert them, it upset them and they have reacted. Administration has long arms. The situation has come to a situation whether we should organise the function or not. So, the majority of people from my system and sangathan felt that we should not hold this function. So, they asked me to not hold this function.

Q: What were the reasons?

A: They might have felt something. But, I do not feel the same way. I will do this function again and will do it with all my own might. I have my community with me. Today we may hev been restrained.

Q: Who restrained you?

A: My senior officials have restrained me that I should not do this.

Q: When you are the head here, then what stops you?

A: No, I am not the ultimate power. I am not the sarve-sarva in Sangh. We are a very small cell in the Sangh.

Q: Who told you on the phone to stop it?

A: This is not a matter to disclose. It was kshetra pracharak who told me directly. My immediate senior is my boss. He told me that there is a pressure, please do not do it. I agreed to his direction and decided to wind up. By tomorrow evening, we will wind up our arrangements for this.

Q: So you will wind up your arrangements by Wednesday (December 17) evening?

A: There is such a large Christianity in this district. The administration has issued prohibitory measures against us, but, how did our Valmiki community become Christians and Rajputs become Muslims.

Q: Didn't the November meeting at Nagpur (RSS headquarters) given a go ahead to this plan?

A: It was absolutely planned. Ekdum tay tha. (RSS chief) Mohanji had said that you continue your work of paravartan and Sangh will assist you. But, Sangh is not all that strong everywhere as Mohanji is. At some places Sangh is weak. People of every caste is in Sangh. The heart of those castes work in their own styles. I am a person with a very strong and tough heart. But, a section of our leadership does not have as strong a will.

Q: But, leader is Mohanji.

A: Mohanji had told me that Rajeshwrji you should continue your work. But, someone else has stopped me.

Q: Whom are you indicating at?

A: As I told you, I got a direct instruction from my kshetra pracharak. He told me that he was under pressure and asked me to call off the programme. I am an obedient pracharak. But, I will have to find out who exactly got this called off. I am telling you, my target is that December 31, 2021 will be the last day for Christianity and Islam in this country. I will finish off Christianity and Islam in this country. Whether you call it my loudmouthness or my pledge. I will return into a new avatar. I will begin a new beginning afresh. This time no one will be able to stop me. I will come with my own preparations and will not be stopped by anyone. When 20th century begun from 1901, then Swami Shraddhanandji started shuddhi sabha and got a license from British administration. He had started the rejuvenation of Indian nation through Shuddhi Sabha. Several hundreds and thousands of villages were purified. Lakhs of people were embraced into Hindu religion. They are now internalised in Hindu society.

Q: What changed between the Nagpur meeting (November 7-9) and today? Why this backtrack?

A: It is not linked to Nagpur, but it is a local issue. This is an outcome of weakening of will power at local level. I know that every worker can not do this work. Muslims killed the aryasamaji worker who started this. The worker who laid his hands on Muslims (for paravartan) was killed by Muslims. Swami Lakshmananand - the man who laid his hands on Christians was killed. Swami Shraddhanand was killed by a Muslim. Lekhraj, Ganesh Shankar Vidhyartee was killed. Hindu society was terrorised that if one laid hands on Muslims will be killed. But, Rajeshwar Singh is not afraid. Today my sangathan has directed, but if need be I will work separated from my sangathan. Country is not a fief of anyone's father and patriotism is not a lookout for only one. Kanvanto Vishwam Aryam is the slogan of our community. If Muslims intend to convert the country into a Darul Islam, had there not be conversion, Islam would not have been here. They did conversiom by the force of their swords. But, we are from the race would did not fear their swords nor could be allured. Today we have started to bring them back those who went astray. They are also ready to get reunited. That is why the administration is afraid. They can not kill me, but they are saying they will not allow it. VHP, Bajrang Dal, ABVP like organisations did their work, the Dharm Jagran has now attained 18 years of age. No one can face the youth of 18 years.

Q: Dharm Jagran has not been closed?

A: The Dharm Jagran has not been closed. Even I have not withdrawn from this work. We have only called off the function. We are not going to stop our work. We will never stop our work. The designs that have been made, the Dharm Raksha Samiti that has been formed the days we have instituted - Dharm Raksha Diwas - the leaders whom we idolise include Swami Lakshmananand against Christianity, and Swami Shraddhanand is our icons against Islam. One Jain seth had declared to waive-off all debts of those who brought Shraddhanand's certificates. He had Muslims lands mortgaged with him. He waived off after they got Shraddanand's shuddhi certificates.

Q: Do you suspect political pressure within the larger saffron parivar behind this backtracking? Like the pressure from BJP?

A: Neither BJP nor Sangh, I feel some weak hearted leader behind it who fears killed by Muslims. Our leaders fear getting killed. ISI is that Takshak. Only the fear of death has deterred. A Hindu leader fearing death does not want to continue this.

Q: But, Sangh is a fearless organisation. And Dharm Jagran is a wing of it. Isn't it?

A: Why should Sangh fear. Sangh is an Organisation. But, people are afraid. Sangh is not afraid. A person is afraid. I am a singular person doing it. Is anyone doing this kind of work in Delhi or Haryana or Rajasthan or Gujarat or Madhya pradesh or Karnataka? I am the first person doing it.

Q: But, a national meeting was held at Nagpur.

A: A beginning has been made for national level.

Q: What is going to be your next step?

A: We will launch new programmes in new year and implement new projects with Dharm Jagran, Shuddhi Samaj and Arya Samaj.

Q: Has the November initiative of Dharm Jagran suffered a setback?

A: This is a setback. Stopping it after starting is a setback. Our workers will get demoralised. But, we are ready to even suffer this humiliation. Missionaries have got active for December 25, but we are calling off our work. This is sad. But, when we will be back, we will take revenge. Our aim is karnvanto vishwam aryam - we will make the entire world Arya - for this our motto is: "khatam karo ya hazam karo" (we will finish Islam and Christianity and we will absorb Muslims and Christians). If need be we will wage dharm yuddh for this. This was our motto and will continue always.