A unique case of Gharwapsi has come to the fore in Karnataka’s Yadgir district. A man whose family converted to Christianity close to 50 years ago is returning to the fold of Hinduism along with his wife and three children.
The incident pertains to one Timothy Hosmani, a 55-year-old labourer who lives in the Kanikal village of Gurmitkal taluk in the district, is all set to return to the Hindu religion along with his wife and children nearly 5 decades after his parents had converted to Christianity.
In his interview with Times of India, Timothy said he is unaware of the circumstances that led his parents to eschew Hinduism and embrace Christianity 50 years back. But now, he is preparing to return to his original religion.
According to Timothy, their family belonged to Scheduled Caste and added that his family—wife Sharadamma, sons Abhishek, Jnanamithra and Neil Armstrong—have been observing Hindu rituals and traditions for the last several years.
Timothy says his elder son is a labourer in Bengaluru while the other two are still completing their studies. As per sources quoted by TOI, Timothy’s parents were against reconversion to Hinduism. His father departed 10 years ago and his mother passed away 6 years ago. The family is now planning to organise a simple ceremony to return to their former religion.
As the family plans to retrace their roots, it is worth noting that there have been several isolated incidents from across Karnataka where those converted from Hinduism are reverting back to their original faith. However, this would be the first such instance in Yadgir in recent years.
Earlier last month, nine members of a Christian household re-converted to Hinduism. At an event at the Rama Bhajan Mandir in Jannapur, VHP and Bajrang Dal members took the initiative to convert them to Hinduism as part of ‘Gharwapsi.’ The development came days after the Karnataka Government passed the Anti-Conversion Bill in the Legislative Assembly that provided for jail terms for those engaging in mass religious conversion.