Ghar Wapsi
Ghar Wapsi (Hindi, lit. 'Returning Home') is the programme of religious conversion to Hinduism (and, to a lesser extent, Sikhism) from Islam, Christianity, and other religions in India conducted by Indian Hindu nationalist organisations such as Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), and also overseas such as in Indonesia. The term owes to the Hindu nationalist ideology that all people of India are ancestrally Hindu and, hence, conversion to Hinduism is one of "returning home" to their ancestral roots.
The programme became a subject of public discussion in 2014. The Bharatiya Janata Party's Yogi Adityanath has claimed this campaign would continue unless conversions to other religions are banned altogether in the country.
The Vishva Hindu Parishad and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh organised several Ghar Wapsi events in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, and Goa. The Indian Express reported that Scheduled Caste Manjhi families demanded better facilities along with education and healthcare before they converted.
In a Supreme Court judgement, the judges ruled that reconversion to Hinduism will not prevent a person from accessing quota benefits and adopt the caste of his forefathers. The bench further held that the "Scheduled Caste persons belonging to Hindu religion, who had embraced Christianity with some kind of hope or aspiration, have remained socially, educationally and economically backward."
In Indonesia, Sudhi Wadani is a ceremony in Balinese Hinduism for individuals converting to the religion, aimed at "purifying" them from the influences of previous beliefs. The ceremony involves several stages, including cleansing with holy water (melukat), spiritual purification, chanting sacred mantras, and offering to Hindu gods. The process symbolises the individual's release from past spiritual ties and marks their official acceptance into the Balinese Hindu community. Led by a priest or spiritual guide, Sudhi Wadani is believed to ensure that the person is spiritually ready to begin their journey in Hinduism, following its teachings, ceremonies, and traditions.