Harassed By Hardliners, Muslim Family Converts To Hinduism  

PATNA: Amid chants of Jai Sri Ram, a Muslim family in Bihar's Begusarai district converted to Hinduism on Tuesday. Mohammed Anbar, head of the family, claimed that the Bajarang Dal convinced them to embrace Hinduism after they were forced to follow Sharia law by Muslim hardliners.

Anbar, along with his two sons - Amir Subhani and Sameer Subhani - went to a temple, where the priests performed the rituals. Anbar is a lawyer by profession and practices in the district court.

"I am a liberal. I used to visit temples and mosques both, but hardliners in my community objected to it. I was threatened for participating in events organized by Hindus. Then, Bajrang Dal contacted me. They told me about Hinduism in details, and I was convinced that Hinduism was not a religion but a way of life. So, I decided to follow their advice," Anbar said.

While the 46-year-old Anbar changed his name to Anand Bharati, his 11-year-old son Amir renamed as Aman Bharati and 9-year-old Sameer rechristined as Suman Bharati. The lawyer's wife Shabnam will formally convert to Hinduism soon.

"It all happened with the consent of the family, and there was no report of any pressure from anyone," Begusarai Superintendent of Police Ranjeet Mishra told media.

District coordinator of Bajrang Dal Shubham Bhardwaj accepted that his organisation was behind the conversion, claiming it was Anbar who contacted them.

"He was continuously harassed by the local Imam and their supporters. They were forcing them to offer Namaz five times in a day, and he was threatened for visiting temples. Recently, his house was attacked by hardliners, forcing him to seek our help. Our volunteers saved him and his family. Then we asked him to adopt Hinduism and he agreed," he said.