A Hindu temple priest from SC (Scheduled Caste) community in Andhra Pradesh released a videotape of him narrating his alleged harassment at the hand of Christian villagers, who form the overwhelming majority in his village. Villagers pressurize him to convert to Christianity and leave the temple. The priest claims that the accused have also imposed false cases on him.
After HinduPost’s request for help in translating the priest’s appeal from Telugu to English went viral, Twitter user @srisivanicharan obliged and provided the following translation –
“Jai Sri ram! My name is Addepalli Raghavulu and I come from Bapatla district, Nagaram Mandal, Sajjalavaripalem village, SC colony, Andhra Pradesh. With the help of Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanam (TTD), we set up the Rama temple in our Madigapalle.
In our village, people who converted to Christianity from our community are pressuring us to get rid of the Rama temple and not to follow Hindu Dharma in Madigapalle and pressuring me to convert to Christianity. Since I said no to conversion, they filed false cases claiming that I had badmouthed women from the Christian community, and threatened to open a rowdy sheet against me through Nagaram Mandal SI.
I am saddened by the police threatening me to convert and become one of them by saying since most of them are on one side, I cannot do anything by staying on the other. So, I request all Hindus to save the Sri Kodanda Rama temple in Sajjavaripalem from demolition and pujaris like me who are constantly working for Hindu Dharma need blessings and help from the leaders of our Hindu organizations.
Dear Hindus, I am saddened and troubled a lot by the 2-3 FIRs that were filed against me, and they are trying to file one more FIR. Since I am the only Hindu, if they file these cases, there will not be any Hindu and pujari for this temple and it can be taken over and converted into a Church by the Christians. I hereby request you to save this temple, Hindu Dharma, me, and my family. I hope I can get the support of Hindus. Jai Sri Ram! Jai Hind!”
In April 2022, Baptla district was created incorporating parts of the erstwhile Guntur and Prakasam districts. It is part of coastal Andhra, which has seen heavy missionary activity since YSR came into power in 2004. Now, YSR’s son, CM Jagan Reddy is accused of covertly aiding the aggressive.
The Supreme Court has recently called forced religious conversion a very serious issue. Supreme Court said that the right to freedom of religion certainly does not include the right to convert an individual through fraud, deception, coercion, allurement or other such means.
The apex court made these comments while hearing a plea filed by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay seeking direction to the Centre and states to take strict steps to prevent fraudulent religious conversion by intimidation, threatening, and deceivingly luring through gifts and monetary benefits.
“Incidents are reported every week throughout the country where conversion is done by intimidating, threatening, deceivingly luring through gifts and monetary benefits and also by using black magic, superstition, miracles but Centre and States have not taken stringent steps to stop this menace,” said the plea filed through advocate Ashwani Kumar Upadhyay.
