In a letter to Union Home Minister the AMU Students Union on 13 December expressed its shock on the forced conversions by extremist Hindutva outfits in Agra.
The letter signed by President AMUSU, Abdullah Azzam runs thus:
“The entire nation is shocked by the forced conversions of Muslims into Hinduism in Uttar Pradesh’s Agra district and the continuous efforts by RSS and its affiliate organisations to set the communal tensions on fire in the name of “Ghar Wapsi”. These conversions are forced and an exploitation of the financial weakness of certain sections of the society and are highly condemnable. The plans of the said organisations to have similar events at Aligarh and Lucknow, are a serious concern and a threat to the peace and security of the nation.
“The shame in the case is that these events are in total violation of the Fundamental Rights enshrined in the Constitution as herein the freedom of conscience is being manipulated and conversions are being made by promising benefits and privileges. It hurts the freedom to choose the religion and thus damages the very purpose of being free in India. The reports of fund generation and its illegal utilisation for conversion have already made the news and hence needs to be acted against seriously.
“The issue has nothing to do with Hinduism as Hinduism never preaches religion through exploitation. It is the extremist Hindu (read Hindutva) outfits who have no interest in religion and its values, but are dividing the nation for their political and vested interests. The extremist organisations are exploiting the sentiments of common Hindus and giving it a communal colour, so as to reap electoral benefits and hence must be curbed in time. These extremist outfits have no right to forcibly convert Muslims and Christians; instead they should allow the freedom of religion to prevail.
“The state Govt. has failed to act, so it is the demand of the peace loving citizens of India and particularly the Aligarh Muslim University Students’ Union that all these events be banned and no person or organisation shall be allowed to create communal tension in the name of “Ghar Wapsi”. We would like to make this clear that we shall resist all divisive attempts directed at passing the Anti- Conversion Law. We believe that an issue of religious conversion is something that should be the sole discretion of an individual, using his/ her rationale, and in no way should be carried out through threat, intimidation or temptation.
“We request the concerned authorities to establish law and order and prevent any incidents that could pave ways for another Gujarat and Muzaffarnagar.
“Students at Aligarh Muslim University are seriously concerned about these conversions and hence request your authority to take urgent action in this case by banning these events in the public interest.”
Copies of the letter have been sent to Chief Minister, UP; District Magistrate, Lucknow; and District Magistrate, Aligarh, and later released to the press as well.