PATNA: Upset over the ill will his relatives and friends harboured against him due to his equal love for all religions, a Muslim man in Bihar converted himself and his entire family to Hinduism.
“I converted to Sanatana Dharma as per my own will because I believe it is a religion with the largest heart. I also got my two sons and my wife converted,” said Mohammad Anwar, 42, on Wednesday. A lawyer by profession, Anwar practices at the Begusarai district court.
Police said there was no pressure on Anwar to convert. “There was absolutely no pressure on him or his family. He got converted to Hinduism willingly,” said Begusarai SP Ranjeet Mishra.
“I have a lot of Hindu and Muslim friends. I always give donations for religious and social programmes at temples and mosques. I attend both cremation and burial events. I and my family celebrate Eid and Shivaratri with equal enthusiasm. This was not tolerated by hardliners among my Muslim friends and relatives,” said Anwar, who sends his two sons to an English-medium school and visits the local mosque only twice a year to read namaaz.
A Shiva temple at Swami Sahajanand Nagar in Begusarai reverberated with the chanting of Vedic hymns as hundreds of locals people gathered there for Anwar’s conversion ceremony on Tuesday. A hawan (sacred fire) was organised and Anwar drank some water from the river Ganga as part of the conversion process. Bajrang Dal activists facilitated the conversion process.