Delhi’s secret Shuddhi Sabha claims 2.5 lakh ‘ghar wapsi’ yearly:400 people becoming Hindu every week

Date- 28 April 2026, Place- Arya Samaj Temple in Kamla Nagar, Delhi. Smoke was rising from the temple’s kund. There was the earthy fragrance of havan. We asked a temple sevadaar standing there whether a havan had just taken place. He replied- Yes, a shuddhi has just been performed. A Muslim girl has accepted Hindu dharma. She has been brought back to Vedic dharma through the methods prescribed in Arya Samaj. 50 meters away from the temple is a dilapidated room. Outside is a white nameplate on which is written- Shuddhi Sabha. Inside the room are some racks with piles of documents. These contain the accounts of those who have undergone shuddhi, that is, returned to Vedic dharma. After puja-havan, the priest said- Now the girl has become Hindu How does purification happen? In response to this, the temple attendant says, ‘If you had come 15 minutes earlier, you would have seen the purification taking place.’ He showed us a recording of 18-20 minutes. In it, a girl was with two women. After offering oblations in the havan kund with Vedic mantras, the priest applied a tilak of vermillion on the girl’s forehead. He tied a sacred thread on her hand. After the puja, he said- ‘Now the girl has become Hindu.’ The girl was named Rita (changed name). She touched the feet of the priest, mother-in-law and sister-in-law. An attendant said from behind- ‘Congratulations on homecoming.’ The girl was calm, whether there was gratitude or dilemma on her face is not known, but there was definitely a slight smile. Shuddhi Sabha next to Arya Samaj temple, about 400 purifications every week Birla Mill used to operate in Kamla Nagar. It is now closed. The lane was named Birla Lane after it. It is a crowded area, but when asked about Shuddhi Sabha, people start looking away. If you ask about the Arya Samaj temple, they will tell you immediately. The Indian Hindu Shuddhi Sabha building has a 10 by 10 office. Inside, there is a table, two chairs, and a rack. This is where we met the caretaker, who does not want to reveal his identity. He says, ‘Why should we tell anyone the address of the office from which such a big movement is running? There is always a threat of attack. We believe in less publicity, more work.’ He took out a file from the rack in the office and started writing something. We asked what this register is for, what is written in it? The answer came, ‘I have made an entry of the purification that was done today. A girl has converted from Muslim to Hindu. Her future mother-in-law and sister-in-law had brought her. She wants to marry a Hindu boy, so she willingly agreed to become Hindu.’ Didn’t his family members come? On this, he says, ‘No. Mother was willing, but didn’t come along due to fear. If the family members find out, then the girl, boy and their families will be in danger of their lives.’ Is every purification recorded? The answer came – ‘Yes, data has to be maintained.’ How many people do you get purified in a week? He says, ‘Can’t reveal the data, it’s confidential.’ Then he said, ‘We purify around 400 to 500 people. Someone or the other comes every day. Some come alone, some with family, many families also come together.’ They were ready to show the registers, but refused to take photos or videos. The registers kept on the rack contain records from the past year. Shuddhi Sabha started in 1923, homecoming of 30 thousand Rajputs After this, we met Subhash Chandra Dua, General Secretary of Bharatiya Hindu Shuddhi Sabha (BHSS). Speaking about the history of homecoming, he says, ‘Mohammad Umar, a resident of Dehradun, came in contact with Dayanand Saraswati, the founder of Arya Samaj. He expressed his desire to return to Vedic religion. Dayanand ji performed his purification and gave him the name Alkhdhari.’ ‘Alakhdhari later became a propagator of Sanatan. At that time, the foundation of the Shuddhi movement was being laid. Dayanand Saraswati purified many such people. He had been doing this work since 1875.’ ‘On February 25, Swami Shraddhanand ji first performed Shuddhi in Raybha village of Agra. Together, about 5 thousand people returned to Sanatan. By the end of 1923, this figure had crossed 30 thousand. In this, Malkana Rajputs returned home on a large scale.’ When asked about the number of people returning home, Subhash says that we cannot give exact figures. We have everything documented. Roughly, about 2.5 lakh people return home every year. This includes both Muslims and Christians. Muslims are more in number. Even today there is a Shuddhi Mohalla in the village of Malkana Rajputs To verify Subhash’s statements, we reached Raybha village in Agra. A large population here consists of Malkana Rajputs. The villagers were not ready to speak on camera. Some people told us, ‘We were not there at that time. Our ancestors had certainly told us that during the Mughal invasion, we converted from Hindu to Muslim to save our lives, but later we became Hindu again through purification.’ They say, ‘Marriages of sons-daughters, grandchildren now happen among Hindus. Relatives don’t know all this. There’s no point in telling such old things. If this news spreads, people will doubt our being Hindu. If proof is needed, then even today there is a locality here named Shuddhi, where our ancestors became Hindus through Vedic rituals.’ Brought back home descendants of royal families settled in America Subhash Chandra Dua, General Secretary of the Bharatiya Shuddhi Sabha, further explains, ‘You must have heard about Maharaja Man Singh of Jaipur. He fought alongside the Mughal army against Maharana Pratap. The Mughals gave him a kingdom and he became a Muslim. His descendants currently live in America. Anwar Raza and his wife Zara Khan. Both returned to the Vedic tradition 4 years ago.’ Did you perform their purification? Subhash says, ‘Yes, in America itself. After purification, Anwar Raza became Naresh Singh Rajput and his wife Zara Khan is now Zara Singh. We have a large network not only in India but also abroad, especially in South Africa.’ Gave up Namaz, learned meditation, purification took place in Texas 4 years ago We spoke with Naresh Singh Rajput, who converted from Muslim Anwar Raza to Hindu. He has been living in America since 1980. Naresh explains, ‘I was born in Lahore, Pakistan. My father was a staunch Muslim. He used to send me to learn Islamic ideology from Maulana Maududi, the head of Jamaat-e-Islami party.’ My grandfather did not consider himself a true Muslim. He had a great influence on me. He was the one who told me about Ramchandra and Rani Lakshmibai. I learned about those literatures that are part of Hindu culture. Did you learn about your family’s history from your grandfather? On this, he says, ‘No, not directly. He had given Papa a family tree, when I translated it from Urdu to English, I learned about Mirza Raja Man Singh. He was the 29th Kachhwaha king of Amer in Rajasthan and was close to Mughal ruler Akbar. Our ancestors were in his army.’ ‘What could have forced them and our family to become Muslim, we won’t get an answer to that. However, this is where I got the first indication to return to my roots. I stopped eating non-veg. I stopped offering namaz. For peace of mind, I did Vipassana and learned to meditate.’ ‘I wanted to return to Sanatan in my heart, but couldn’t understand the way. During this time, after reading my social media post, a worker from Bharatiya Hindu Shuddhi Sabha contacted me. I told him everything about myself and asked if I could become Hindu again. After this, a worker from Arya Samaj performed my purification here in Texas itself according to Vedic rituals.’ Did your wife also accept? The answer came – ‘Yes, we did ghar wapsi (homecoming) together. She is currently a worker with the Brahma Kumaris organization. At the time of marriage, I was Muslim, so I married a Muslim, but my wife expressed her desire to do all this after seeing me doing meditation and Vipassana.’ Didn’t the family oppose? Naresh says, ‘I didn’t do all this suddenly. I was gradually leaving Islam anyway. My eating habits, worship methods had all already changed. Only changing the name remained. About 4 years ago, this also happened through purification.’ What religion do the children follow? They say, ‘Zara and I don’t have children. My wife has three children from her first marriage. Of these, two follow Islam and one is an atheist.’ Religious conversion happens through legal means According to the caretaker of Shuddhi Sabha, Arya Samaj is a registered non-governmental organization. Those willing to return home or their relatives apply. To verify whether the applicant is an adult or not, a matriculation certificate or affidavit is required. They are given a new name and asked to sign or put their thumbprint. This is a complete legal process, there is no fear or pressure in it. The caretaker explains, ‘Keeping in mind the privacy and security of the individual, we do not share the documents of those who convert religion with anyone. Two years ago, a girl converted her religion here. Somehow her family members found out and the girl was murdered, that’s why we keep everything confidential.’