Jaipur: In a remarkable religious conversion, people in a village in Rajasthan’s Banswara district, falling under the Gangadtalai Panchayat Samiti, have turned back to Hinduism after converting to Christianity years ago. Now the folks are turning a 125-year-old church into a Hindu temple, and Sunday, March 9, is the first event scheduled. The spiritual environment of the recently conducted Mahakumbh in Prayagraj, they said, led them to rediscover Sanatan Dharma.
Former church pastor Gautam Garasia also became Hindu. Years ago, he continued, all the residents adopted Christianity in response to missionary activity. But they returned to their old beliefs once Sanatan culture suddenly came alive, and the religious impact of Mahakumbh inspired them. The church is being turned into a temple dedicated especially to Bhairav Ji as part of this metamorphosis; its walls are painted anew to represent the change in identity.
Officially converted to Hinduism, over 200 families in the community are actively helping to build the temple. Inspired by the Bharat Mata Temple, this is the first widespread religious reconversion program in the tribal area. The action has sparked rumours that other towns, where Christian conversions had previously taken place, would possibly follow in the coming few days.