RAIPUR: A number of people have reverted to their original faith in separate developments reported from Kanker district of Chhattisgarh. According to details, as many as six people have reverted to Sanatan fold in a small Ghar Wapsi ceremony organised in Sarandi village of Antagarh block of the district.
The returnees were given a warm welcome by village heads, who washed their feet’s and welcomed them in faith of their ancestors. The returnees had earlier embraced Christianity but decided to return to their bona-fide religion lately.
Notably, members of as many as 14 families also returned to their traditional faith in Kanker recently. As per details, members of 7 families of Dhantulsi village, 4 families from Peedhapal and 3 families from Mandari village reverted to their ancestral faith in a special program.
The returnees performed rituals and worshipped traditional deities of the Janjatiya community, announcing their re-integration with the faith of their ancestors. Those who returned to the original faith had reportedly embraced Christianity due to some personal reasons and decided to return to traditional faith after the Aamabeda incident.
It is worth noting here, that a number of such Ghar Wapsi programs have been organised at separate villages in Kanker district following the Aamabeda incident which witnessed heightened tension between the Janjatiya community and members of Christian community.
Earlier, members of 7 families had also reverted to Sanatan fold at a small gathering organised near the Shitala Mata temple in Kanker’s Bade Tewda area in the first week of January. As per separate reports, over 75 people have been so far reverted to Sanatan following the incident at Bade Tewda of Aamabeda.
The dispute which broke out over the burial of a converted man initially, in Bade Tewda village, later turned into a violent scuffle between the two communities, triggering wide scale protest from the members of Janjatiya community.
The members in days after the incident staged a strong protest against conversion activities and burial of converted tribals within the village boundaries in Kanker region, which according to the community members violates the age-old customary practices of the Janjatis.
