Lucknow: The Vishwa Hindu Parishad has decided to leverage the year-long celebrations marking the 650th birth anniversary of 15th-century Bhakti movement saint Sant Ravidas to intensify its campaign against religious conversions across the country.Placing the issue at the centre of its nationwide outreach programme in the coming months, VHP will organise events in thousands of its `Vibhag’ (four to five districts make one Vibhag). The 650th birth anniversary of Sant Ravidas falls in Feb next year.VHP joint general secretary Surendra Jain recalled how medieval Delhi ruler Sikandar Lodhi had attempted to pressurise Ravidas to embrace Islam.“But he stood his ground and advocated for `swabhiman’ of one’s own religion,” Jain told TOI, adding that the birth anniversary of Ravidas will be the apt time to stress the need to resist religious conversions by taking the message across urban and rural parts of the country.Sant Ravidas, a Bhakti saint, emphasised equality, social justice, devotion beyond caste barriers and spiritual liberation through bhakti. VHP, sources said, will also highlights narratives that portray Ravidas as someone who resisted religious conversion, an interpretation that aligns with Parishad’s emphasis on preserving Hindu identity.The fact that Sant Ravidas was a Dalit adds significance to the VHP campaign. By choosing him as the focal point of its campaign, VHP aims to target communities that have been traditionally targeted for conversion by Christian missionaries and, in some regions, even Islamic groups. Experts said the organisation’s underlying message will be that social discrimination should not become a reason for abandoning the Hindu faith, but rather for reforming society from within.The issue, sources said, also figured in the recent two-day central managing committee meeting of VHP in Delhi, where the organisation adopted many resolutions on social and ideological issues, including family values, social harmony and religious conversions.Jain said social harmony will be another key issue to be highlighted during Ravidas’s birth anniversary celebrations. VHP will also organise seminars, public meetings, social harmony programmes, processions, youth interactions and community outreach campaigns across states, presenting Ravidas’ teachings as a message of equality, dignity and cultural unity while raising awareness.Sources said VHP believes Ravidas’ emphasis on social equality and spiritual awakening provides an opportunity to strengthen outreach among scheduled castes and other marginalised communities.
