Dalits Subjected to Humiliating
"Reconversion" Rituals

Much of India's heritage and culture is derived from its ancient faith practices. In this parade, people carry representations of the gods they worship.

The priests rejoiced as they sang traditional religious songs, tossed flower petals in the air and applied dots of vermillion-colored kumkum to the foreheads of their "converts." According to the priests, this ceremony in a religious temple in Tamil Nadu, India, officially welcomed back a group of Dalits ("Untouchables") whom they claim were converted to Christianity or Islam against their will.

These reconversion ceremonies, also called "return to parent religion festivals," are becoming common occurrences throughout India.

At face value, these events would seem to represent hundreds of Christians turning their backs on Jesus. But that's probably not the case.

Many of the Dalits participating in these "reconversion ceremonies" are not even Christians. According to Christian groups, they are people who were simply seen attending a Christian church service once or twice but have never made a commitment to Christ. There are some reports that those engaged in "reconverting" the Dalits have also taken advantage of the group's high illiteracy rate, forcing them to sign statements they cannot read.

According to reports published in the Indian media, the ceremonies are part of an orchestrated attempt to make it appear that literally thousands of India's Christians and Muslims are turning back to the country's traditional faith.

These reconversion ceremonies are being carried out by several zealous groups throughout India. Their tactics vary, but the goal is the same—to make a public display of people leaving Christianity and Islam and returning to their traditional faith.

According to the Indian Express newspaper, volunteers from a Gujarat group go out everyday and find Dalit and other low-caste people they believe to be Christians. A leader in the group then lectures the people on how Christianity is "anti-national" and tells them that they really belong to the religion into which they were born. "Reconversion" ceremonies follow.

This particular group accuses Christians of using deceptive practices when speaking to the Dalits and other low-caste people about Christ. Other groups claim that caste discrimination follows the Dalits into Christianity and Islam, so they are better off in their old religion.

In Chhattisgarh, India, Dalit Christians are threatened with the loss of their jobs unless they take part in a public reconversion ceremony, according to the "All India Christian Council." This is an especially difficult situation for Dalits, because caste-based discrimination already severely limits the type and amount of jobs available to them. And, the "upper caste" people telling them to turn away from Christ are often the very people controlling their access to the jobs.

A loophole in India's civil rights legislation also disqualifies Dalits from receiving their affirmative action benefits when they choose to follow Christ or become a Muslim.

Millions of people from all over India make pilgrimages to the Ganges River, which is considered sacred. Water from the river is sprinkled on Dalits during some reconversion ceremonies.

However, Gospel for Asia missionaries have found that the majority of Dalits who receive Christ as Savior are sincere and unshakeable in their faith. These missionaries often share reports of Dalit families who lose their ability to earn a living, are ostracized by their families and even kicked out of their homes because they chose to follow Jesus. Yet they remain steadfast in their devotion to Christ, refusing to turn back to their traditional religions even in the face of cruel punishment.

The missionaries who work with the Dalits ask for prayer as they come up against these groups seeking to turn their hearts away from Christ. They also ask for prayer for the Dalits who have chosen to follow Him, that they would not waver in their faith.

See how Gospel for Asia missionaries are reaching out to the millions of Dalits in India.

Read about a GFA missionary showing the love of Christ to the Dalit people.