Rohit Chandavarkar, ET Bureau Dec 30, 2014, 04.00AM IST

(BJPsMaharashtra)

MUMBAI: Maharashtra-based social organisation Satyashodhak OBC Parishad has said it plans to convert over a thousand families belonging to OBCs to Buddhism early next year, an initiative that it calls ghar wapsi much like VHP's programme to bring Muslims into the fold of Hinduism. The organisation claims hundreds of Maratha families and some Brahmin families have also agreed to participate in the conversion, taking the total count to about 6,500 individuals.

"We have been working on this campaign since October 14, 2011. Today we have a list of 1,677 families, which are part of the Hindu religion and belong to various castes right from OBCs, Marathas to Brahmins, who have agreed to convert to Buddhism," Hanumant Upre, president of Satyashodhak OBC Parishad told ET on Monday.

BJP's Maharashtra spokesperson Madhav Bhandari said the party does not oppose such a conversion since it considers Buddhism an Indian religion. He added, "We will oppose it if conversion is happening through threats or things like 'love jihad'."

Shiv Sena, BJP's partner in the ruling alliance, said it will oppose any attempts of conversion through force or allurement. "We have heard about this activity but have not really got the details of who are actually running this. If there is any sign that this is being done by tempting the people or scaring them, then we will not let it happen," said Shiv Sena leader and Maharashtra's environment minister Ramdas Kadam.

The parishad claims over 50 Christian families in Ahmednagar district and three Muslim families have also agreed to convert to Buddhism, as have three Brahmin families. Upre said the parishad had originally termed the programme "homecoming" of OBCs as it believes all people belonging to backward classes are decedents of Emperor Ashoka. "We have been demanding that OBCs must be given their rights. They have been following all the practices of Hindu religion, yet the religious leaders have never accepted them wholeheartedly," he said.

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Satyashodhak OBC Parishad plans to convert a thousand families to Buddhism in Maharashtra