Conversion of 800 Valmiks to Islam for Stopping Demolition in Azam Khan’s ( Muzzafar Nagar Fame) Rampur – Times of India Report
Why deafening silence of TV Anchors ?
Dear Friends, Subject: What Do We Do?
We have been having debates on conversion, reconversion and “ghar wapasi.” Let us now read the news item below from “The Times Of India” of April 15, 2015.
800 Valmikis ‘convert’ to Islam to save homes from demolition
Apr 15 2015 : The Times of India (Delhi)
Mrigank Tiwari & Nazar Abbas
http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx…
Rampur: More than 800 Valmikis, fighting to save their houses from demolition in Rampur, “converted” to Islam on Tuesday. Coming good on a threat issued a week ago when they said they would have no option but to change their faith, they chose Ambedkar’s 124th birth anniversary to embrace Islam.
Civic authorities had allegedly marked their houses with red paint a few days ago. The residents said their houses were to be demolished for a shopping mall said to have the backing of UP minister Azam Khan.
Rampur district magistrate Chandra Prakash Tripathi refused to comment on the “conversion” of 800 Valmikis to Islam on Tuesday . Azam Khan’s media in-charge Fasahat Ali Khan told TOI, “Those converting to Islam should understand that this is not going to help them in any manner. Encroachment of public land in any form by any community is totally unacceptable. In Rampur, the majority of those evicted from government lands are Muslims.“ High drama engulfed most of the day as the Valmiki families went ahead with their self-announced conversion amid heavy police deployment in the area.
Though a cleric from Amroha, who was set to assist in their conversion, didn’t turn up, the Valmikis sported skull caps and declared that they were henceforth to be considered Muslim.
Bhim Anarya, a resident of Valmiki Basti, who also embraced Islam, said, “A municipal employee had come to our locality a few days ago and asked us to vacate our houses. When we expressed our inability to do so, he advised us to convert to Islam in order to save our houses from being brought down. For us, t made sense because a few settlements belonging to the minority community in our vicinity have been spared the demolition.”
Another resident, Avinash Tapan, said, “Though he additional district magistrate (city) visited our locality earlier and assured that nothing would happen to our houses, we can’t believe them. We need a written assurance. We have decided to become Muslims, come what may.”
Unquote (.)
Friends, this is harsh reality. This also happens for normal conversion cases many times. If they do so, then they get the benefits of “doles” given to the minorities. No statistics are there for that. But that is also harsh reality.
The reason here was the need for keeping one’s home and hearth. Here it is compulsion. In the other case, it is to get the benefits, which they deserve more than who are getting those now.
We have been pursuing about the latter with the government, though without any success so far. But, we just do not know how to go about the situation, as described in the news-item, or whom to convey this tragic development for remedial measure. There is obviously some politicking involved. The State government has not apparently proved helpful.
Though we have only one case here, we are given to understand this kind of “circumstantial” compulsion for conversion, has been happening at many other places in the country.
Will the institutions like the Arya Samaj or the RSS bother to take note of such cases?
Friends, any suggestions are welcome.
(President, Patriots’ Forum)
