Mumbai: Hindu right-wing groups stopped a prayer meeting at a school in Santacruz on Sunday after allegations that the meetings were used to convert people to Christianity.
This comes after prayer meetings were stopped at Khar Gymkhana and Millennium Club, Juhu, after similar allegations last week. The organisers of the Khar and Juhu meetings have denied that the gatherings were for religious conversions.
Hindu Vahini and Bajrang Dal members said the meetings have been conducted over the last three years. A group member said the pastor leading the prayers told him they were from Telangana. “We checked the identity cards of the participants and most of them were Hindus. Some of the women said they were coming there for prayers,” said a Hindu Vahini member.
Hindu Vahini said they would meet the school management to find out whether they knew about the nature of the prayer meetings held there on Sundays. The prayer group has been renting school rooms for the prayers. “We will ransack the school if they allow such prayer meetings again,” said a group member.
There have been no police complaints in the case. Gautam Ravaria of Bajrang Dal said that police prosecution cannot be done because there is no central law banning religious preaching and conversions. “Many states have such a law but Maharashtra does not have one. Residents can stop such meetings in their neighborhoods by complaining that the gatherings are causing a law and order problem. Individuals can file a complaint if they are coerced to change their religion,” said Ravaria.
The prayer groups have said they are unaffiliated with mainstream churches and have no space to hold prayers. They denied that they carried out religious conversions. Mark Tribhuvan, a pastor with a group called the Central Mumbai Christian Fellowship, said they welcomed people of all faiths to their meetings. “People of all religions go to Haji Ali Dargah and Mount Mary Church. Why are we being targeted? People come to pray because they believe God can give. This is not an allurement,” Tribhuvan told this newspaper last week.
Ravaria said the meetings were not just for prayers but to convert people to Christianity. “These groups get money from evangelist groups in Europe, and America. They spend part of the money to organise the meeting and spend the rest on themselves. Their sponsors have given them a periodical target to convert a particular number of people,” said Ravaria.
Yogesh Bhobhate, the Maharashtra president of Hindu Vahini, said that the pastor whose name was Samuel Swami did not give the name of the congregation. “He said they were Protestants,” said Bhobhate.
