'It's a Hindu-Muslim conundrum over conversions in Maharashtra'

A majority of Muslims in Maharashtra who chose to change their religion have adopted Hinduism, while a majority of Hindus preferred to convert to Islam in the state, an RTI reply has revealed.

As per data of the last 43 months acquired by RTI activist Anil Galgali, 1,687 people voluntarily converted to different faiths across the state, said the figures of all religious conversions provided by the Directorate of Government Printing & Stationery (DGPS).

Of these people who opted to change their religion voluntarily owing to various social-religious reasons, the faith-wise breakdown was: 1,166 Hindus, 263 Muslims, 165 Christians, 53 Buddhists, 16 Sikhs, nine Jains, four Neo-Buddhists and 11 others.

Out of these Hindus, 664 converted to Islam, followed by 258 adopting Buddhism, 138 embracing Christianity, 88 becoming Jains and 11 taking to Sikhism, one Neo-Buddhist and six to other religions, says the DGPS data.

"Islam remains a high favourite among the religion change seekers, with 749 out of the total 1,687, between June 10, 2014 and January 16, 2018," Galgali said citing the data.

In contrast, from among the Muslims who decided to convert, 87 percent - or 228 embraced Hinduism, 21 embraced Christianity, 12 became Buddhists and two became Jains.

Out of the Buddhists changing their religion, 21 embraced Islam, 17 became Hindus, 14 took to Christianity and one to Jainism.

Of the Christians who changed their faith, 100 embraced Hinduism, 47 took to Islam, 11 became Buddhists, five adopted Jainism and two became followers of Sikhism.

From the 16 Sikhs who changed their religion, 12 embraced Islam, and two each adopted Christianity and Jainism.

Among the nine Jains, four converted to Islam, two each became Hindus and Christians and one embraced Sikhism.

"These are only the numbers available with the DGPS which records the changes reported to it. In actual terms, the number of people who change their religions is much higher and needs to be studied," Galgali said.

--IANS

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