Bhubaneswar: Two vanvasi families, comprising 12 members, have dome Ghar Wapsi in the Keonjhar district after converting to Christianity several years ago.
The Ghar Wapsi ceremony was organised by the local unit of Dharma Jagran Samanvaya, with participation from local villagers and social workers. The families, originally from the Nanikabahali tribal hamlet in Purunabandhgoda Panchayat within the Ghasipura block, were influenced by Christian missionaries who visited their area years ago.
Returning members Setak Singh, Gurubari Singh, and Narendra Gagarai shared that they had converted under the belief that worshiping Hindu deities was responsible for their family’s poor health. The missionaries convinced them that embracing Christianity and abandoning their traditional faith would lead to improved health and liberation from the caste system.
They stated, “Many years ago, Christian missionaries came to our village. At that time, some members of our family were unwell. The missionaries told us that our poor health was due to worshiping Hindu deities. They claimed that if we abandoned our deities and started worshiping Jesus Christ, our health would improve. They also asserted that there is no caste system in Christianity, and therefore, we should convert.”
“Misled by these statements, we abandoned our original faith. However, we later realized that the Christian missionaries had deceived us into converting. When karyakartas from the Dharma Jagran Samanvaya approached us and encouraged us to return to our original faith, we agreed,” they added.
During the ceremony, the families expressed feeling misled and recognized that their conversion had occurred under false pretenses. Their reconnection with the roots was supported by the ongoing outreach efforts of Dharma Jagran karyakartas, who had engaged with the families in recent months.
The Ghar Wapsi event featured traditional rituals, along with the presentation of religious literature and photographs of Bhagwan Jagannath, the presiding deity of Odisha. The families expressed profound joy and spiritual fulfillment upon returning to their original faith. They also pledged to raise awareness among other converted families in the tribal community and encourage them to reconnect with their roots.
Key attendees included Shivendra Chakra, the local representative of Keonjhar MP; Sharat Chandra Swain, a senior karyakarta of Dharma Jagran Samanvaya; and social worker Prashant Biswal, Anjan Behera, and Padmalochan Jena, who all extended their support and congratulated the families on reclaiming their ancestral identity.
This Ghar Wapsi is part of a broader initiative by Hindu organizations in the region aimed at preserving traditional tribal values and countering the influence of religious conversions driven by misinformation or socio-economic vulnerabilities.
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