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Why I converted to Islam and buried my Hindu identity

In the 21st century, the age of enlightenment, and reckoning, Hindu caste system is good enough a reason for people of lower caste/out of caste to leave Hinduism and bury the Hindu identity.

The great anomaly and enemy of India are not Indian Muslims, nor it is Pakistan, it is the caste based Hindu religion...

And the irony is that they are trying to end one problem(anomaly) by creating the other problem that is caste based quotas. Deserving people going nowhere...
 

The day you start reading things beyond PDF you might understand why you are so ignorant.

Don't show me what Hinduism influenced Muslims do in India.

Show me from Quran and Hadees which are the actual source for everything related to Islam that there is something called as "Dalit muslims" in Islam
 
Hindu culture influences pakistani muslims as well ,what has stopped to eradicate that crime the Mughals or the Britishers ?
Your dalit brothers ?
Ummm you've lost me here. Pakistan exists so that subcontinental Muslims can live free from the negative influences of Brahminists and their caste hierarchy, not Hindus or hinduism per se. We've already explained that caste culture even pervades some misguided Muslim communities in Bharat, never mind the Hindu ones. Hindu caste philosophy doesn't pervade Pakistani Muslim communities at all. We consider it a disgusting cultural fall out from ancient times that necessarily enslaves others, hence we reject it.

Do Indian Hindus reject this slave culture yet, or are you still running around making excuses for it decades after the civilised world evolved out of slavery related practices?
 
Lol, aren't Muslims in India treated worse that Dalits? (at least according to pdf). Out of the frying pan and into the fire.
To feel more entitled and liberated, he should give a try to marry a saudi girl in saudi arabia.
 
Dalit Muslims are treated worse then their counterparts they are not allowed in certain mosques
This such a BS comment. You don't know anything about Islam.
Forget your local mosques, ex Dalits (now Muslims) can now kiss the Black Stone inside Masjid ul Haraam, without any questions asked.
 
Naah....he'll marry another Hindu girl and convert her to Islam, while all the Sanghis keep screaming Love Jihad
Ok, for position 2, 3 n 4 he must give a try in Saudi arabia Pakistan. I know for muslim brotherhood you won't mind giving your daughter to him👍
 
To feel more entitled and liberated, he should give a try to marry a saudi girl in saudi arabia.
That's more of a cultural thing.

Even some Saudis aren't able to marry Saudi girls.

The requirement of Dowry is huge.. in many cases easily exceeding 500,000 saudi riyals paid upfront to the Saudi girl, plus a separate place to live and a car.

Because of that, even Saudi men aren't marrying their own nationals, and going for Labanese, Jordanian, Syrian etc.

To get ladies married to Saudi men, there have been many laws introduced that have nothing to do with Islam.

Still, after a certain age, they are free to marry foreigners. But here, the topic of discussion is not related to a particular culture or laws that is not in line with Islamic teachings.
 
That's more of a cultural thing.

Even some Saudis aren't able to marry Saudi girls.

The requirement of Dowry is huge.. in many cases easily exceeding 500,000 saudi riyals paid upfront to the Saudi girl, plus a separate place to live and a car.

Because of that, even Saudi men aren't marrying their own nationals, and going for Labanese, Jordanian, Syrian etc.

To get ladies married to Saudi men, there have been many laws introduced that have nothing to do with Islam.

Still, after a certain age, they are free to marry foreigners. But here, the topic of discussion is not related to a particular culture or laws that is not in line with Islamic teachings.
Hmm, seems saudi consider themselves more royal among muslims. Still, will a Kashmiri Muslim be happy to marry there daughters to such converted Dalits??
 
Ok, for position 2, 3 n 4 he must give a try in Saudi arabia Pakistan. I know for muslim brotherhood you won't mind giving your daughter to him👍

Our focus is on desperate Hindu girls who are looking for real men. Do you know any?
 
Hmm, seems saudi consider themselves more royal among muslims. Still, will a Kashmiri Muslim be happy to marry there daughters to such converted Dalits??
Nopes, it's not like that. They have a social problem at hand, where Saudi men are marrying non Saudis due to dowry requirements..

According to the justice ministry, around 700,000 Saudi women are married to foreigners, representing 10 per cent of all married Saudi women.

The high rate of dowry, marriage expenses, limited incomes and a lesser sense of family stability among young people are among the major reasons for Saudis to take foreign wives.

Regarding a Kashmiri Muslim, I don't think it should be a problem.. unless one of the families sees huge cultural difference.
 
Our focus is on desperate Hindu girls who are looking for real men. Do you know any?
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She is Dalit and Hindu too.
 
Periyar had suggested Ambedkar convert to Islam. After years of research, I too found Islam to be the only religion in India that could annihilate the caste system.
Raees Mohammed




A Dalit Camera event

Raees Mohammed at a Dalit Camera event | Photo: Baidurya

I learned one thing in my eight years’ experience with the Dalit movement through Dalit Camera assignments, and my research on caste for the last 14 years. Babasaheb Ambedkar was right when he said that leaving Hinduism is the only way to fight caste.

Dalit Camera is a digital platform that documents voices of Dalits, Adivasis, Bahujans, and minorities through a website and a YouTube channel by the same name.


Following his footsteps, I chose to leave Hinduism and embrace Islam on 30 January 2020 in Kodungallur, a historical town in Kerala’s Thrissur district. Kodungallur is where the first Indian mosque was built. I am now Raees Mohammed.


The date is significant. It is the day when the first Hindutva terrorist Nathuram Godse assassinated Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. It is also the day when our beloved brother Rohith Vemula, who fought against caste discrimination in Hinduism, was born.

A religion for emancipation

In my childhood, as a devotee of Lord Ayyappa, I had been to Kodungallur six times. It is also where CPI-ML (undivided) Kerala state secretary Najmal Babu embraced Islam in 2015. Rationalist Thanthai Periyar (father) had said that if one wanted to annihilate caste in 15 minutes and live with self-respect, then Islam is the only solution. Periyar had also suggested to Babasaheb Ambedkar to choose Islam as a religion for emancipation.


In my years of research, I too found Islam to be the only religion in India with the strength to annihilate the caste system.



The anti-caste movement has been the longest ongoing socio-cultural movement in India. The main demand is to consider ‘untouchables’ as equal citizens in Hindu society, and to be located under the ambit of the Constitution rather than Hindu religion. But I was curious why this easy solution to annihilate caste via Islam has never been even a reference point in Dalit movement and Dalit literature.


Fight for equality

In January, I was invited to Kodungallur to address a gathering on the dangers of fascism, and against the proposed National Register of Citizens, the National Population Register, and the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019.


Muslims are battling for their citizenship rights in Narendra Modi’s India today. But theirs is a battle different from the struggle of Dalits. The former is for justice and citizenship. The latter is for something as basic as self-respect, to be treated as an equal human being. In that sense, Dalits have it much worse.


This is when I embraced Islam and buried my Hindu identity as Ravichandran Bathran. I do not want to refer to my Hindu name because if you dive deep, all Hindu names only indirectly refer to caste, and I don’t want this Raees Mohammed to carry the old baggage. The name is not the real problem. After all, my parents named me with so much love. But the problem comes when the Hindu society attaches that name to a caste and instils a stereotype of the hereditary occupation of scavenging. My father was treated badly because the Hindu society said he did a job that was considered filthy. This is hypocrisy of the highest order. First, you enforce a traditional occupation on some groups, treat their members badly, and then blame the people rather than the caste system.


My parents chose a Sanskrit name, an unusual practice among my relatives, who always chose names that are easily identified with Chakkiliyars or untouchables. But like my parents, I too experienced unequal treatment.


My education and earnings did not change my identity, and never will. But we are fed with this lie by none other than the Dalit movements.


My father worked as a sanitary worker and my mother was a sweeper in a local school. For the last 15 years, I worked to address the discrimination and untouchability faced by my parents and tens of thousands like them because of their work — sanitation workers/sweepers/scavengers.


We belong to Chakkiliyar/Arunthathiyar caste in Tamil Nadu, who are called, especially by fellow untouchables, as migrants or outsiders. The reason being that Arunthathiyars’ first language is close to Telugu. During my research in undivided Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, Kashmir, and Karnataka, I found that in all these states, the sanitation workers were addressed as outsiders. It doesn’t matter whether they had migrated from other states. Interestingly, in all south Indian states, except in undivided Andhra Pradesh, sanitation workers speak Telugu. In Andhra Pradesh, they speak Hindi and a dialect closer to Odiya.


Scavengers and sweepers are not allowed inside the homes of upper-caste Hindus. Even the toilets are constructed outside the homes. Indian sociologists and anthropologists have a problematic understanding of caste and Indian homes, where Dalits have a separate entrance (as is visible from most buildings). Things are changing slowly in rural areas.


On the contrary, mosques have toilets within their premises. A toilet is not considered unholy. This is where I fell in love with mosques. I do not find any good reason why Dalits should continue to carry Hinduism on their shoulders.


Who’s a Dalit?

Many people request me to drop the word ‘Dalit’ form Dalit Camera. Dalit is not a term to refer to the physical body of untouchables, it’s a revolutionary concept that Dalit Panthers conceived of. Now, I don’t have a caste. But being part of Dalit Camera is a sign of solidarity I show to Dalit Panthers, and to my beloved Muslim brothers and sisters.


For us, Babasaheb Ambedkar’s image itself is enough. It conveys his ideology and idea of justice.


So, Dalits and Muslims have a battle to fight. The fight of Muslims is constitutional in nature, but the fight of Dalits is social, which is more difficult. Many Dalits still do not know that they are being treated unequally because of Hinduism. It’s for this reason Dalits are not aware that they too might find themselves without citizenship one day.


Raees Mohammed, formerly known as Ravichandran Bathran, is the founder of Dalit Camera @dalitcamera. Views are personal.


Subscribe to our channels on YouTube & Telegram


https://theprint.in/opinion/why-i-c...y-hindu-identity-dalit-camera-founder/359849/
Now he is going to face toughest fight ... because now Hindu disowned him and being Dalit muslim another issue .... But he need to be tough and fight to keep his muslim identity.


Manmohan Singh report says..... Muslims of India treated worst then Dalits ....
 
Periyar had suggested Ambedkar convert to Islam. After years of research, I too found Islam to be the only religion in India that could annihilate the caste system.
Raees Mohammed




A Dalit Camera event

Raees Mohammed at a Dalit Camera event | Photo: Baidurya

I learned one thing in my eight years’ experience with the Dalit movement through Dalit Camera assignments, and my research on caste for the last 14 years. Babasaheb Ambedkar was right when he said that leaving Hinduism is the only way to fight caste.

Dalit Camera is a digital platform that documents voices of Dalits, Adivasis, Bahujans, and minorities through a website and a YouTube channel by the same name.


Following his footsteps, I chose to leave Hinduism and embrace Islam on 30 January 2020 in Kodungallur, a historical town in Kerala’s Thrissur district. Kodungallur is where the first Indian mosque was built. I am now Raees Mohammed.


The date is significant. It is the day when the first Hindutva terrorist Nathuram Godse assassinated Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. It is also the day when our beloved brother Rohith Vemula, who fought against caste discrimination in Hinduism, was born.

A religion for emancipation

In my childhood, as a devotee of Lord Ayyappa, I had been to Kodungallur six times. It is also where CPI-ML (undivided) Kerala state secretary Najmal Babu embraced Islam in 2015. Rationalist Thanthai Periyar (father) had said that if one wanted to annihilate caste in 15 minutes and live with self-respect, then Islam is the only solution. Periyar had also suggested to Babasaheb Ambedkar to choose Islam as a religion for emancipation.


In my years of research, I too found Islam to be the only religion in India with the strength to annihilate the caste system.



The anti-caste movement has been the longest ongoing socio-cultural movement in India. The main demand is to consider ‘untouchables’ as equal citizens in Hindu society, and to be located under the ambit of the Constitution rather than Hindu religion. But I was curious why this easy solution to annihilate caste via Islam has never been even a reference point in Dalit movement and Dalit literature.


Fight for equality

In January, I was invited to Kodungallur to address a gathering on the dangers of fascism, and against the proposed National Register of Citizens, the National Population Register, and the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019.


Muslims are battling for their citizenship rights in Narendra Modi’s India today. But theirs is a battle different from the struggle of Dalits. The former is for justice and citizenship. The latter is for something as basic as self-respect, to be treated as an equal human being. In that sense, Dalits have it much worse.


This is when I embraced Islam and buried my Hindu identity as Ravichandran Bathran. I do not want to refer to my Hindu name because if you dive deep, all Hindu names only indirectly refer to caste, and I don’t want this Raees Mohammed to carry the old baggage. The name is not the real problem. After all, my parents named me with so much love. But the problem comes when the Hindu society attaches that name to a caste and instils a stereotype of the hereditary occupation of scavenging. My father was treated badly because the Hindu society said he did a job that was considered filthy. This is hypocrisy of the highest order. First, you enforce a traditional occupation on some groups, treat their members badly, and then blame the people rather than the caste system.


My parents chose a Sanskrit name, an unusual practice among my relatives, who always chose names that are easily identified with Chakkiliyars or untouchables. But like my parents, I too experienced unequal treatment.


My education and earnings did not change my identity, and never will. But we are fed with this lie by none other than the Dalit movements.


My father worked as a sanitary worker and my mother was a sweeper in a local school. For the last 15 years, I worked to address the discrimination and untouchability faced by my parents and tens of thousands like them because of their work — sanitation workers/sweepers/scavengers.


We belong to Chakkiliyar/Arunthathiyar caste in Tamil Nadu, who are called, especially by fellow untouchables, as migrants or outsiders. The reason being that Arunthathiyars’ first language is close to Telugu. During my research in undivided Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, Kashmir, and Karnataka, I found that in all these states, the sanitation workers were addressed as outsiders. It doesn’t matter whether they had migrated from other states. Interestingly, in all south Indian states, except in undivided Andhra Pradesh, sanitation workers speak Telugu. In Andhra Pradesh, they speak Hindi and a dialect closer to Odiya.


Scavengers and sweepers are not allowed inside the homes of upper-caste Hindus. Even the toilets are constructed outside the homes. Indian sociologists and anthropologists have a problematic understanding of caste and Indian homes, where Dalits have a separate entrance (as is visible from most buildings). Things are changing slowly in rural areas.


On the contrary, mosques have toilets within their premises. A toilet is not considered unholy. This is where I fell in love with mosques. I do not find any good reason why Dalits should continue to carry Hinduism on their shoulders.


Who’s a Dalit?

Many people request me to drop the word ‘Dalit’ form Dalit Camera. Dalit is not a term to refer to the physical body of untouchables, it’s a revolutionary concept that Dalit Panthers conceived of. Now, I don’t have a caste. But being part of Dalit Camera is a sign of solidarity I show to Dalit Panthers, and to my beloved Muslim brothers and sisters.


For us, Babasaheb Ambedkar’s image itself is enough. It conveys his ideology and idea of justice.


So, Dalits and Muslims have a battle to fight. The fight of Muslims is constitutional in nature, but the fight of Dalits is social, which is more difficult. Many Dalits still do not know that they are being treated unequally because of Hinduism. It’s for this reason Dalits are not aware that they too might find themselves without citizenship one day.


Raees Mohammed, formerly known as Ravichandran Bathran, is the founder of Dalit Camera @dalitcamera. Views are personal.


Subscribe to our channels on YouTube & Telegram


https://theprint.in/opinion/why-i-c...y-hindu-identity-dalit-camera-founder/359849/
My forefathers were Rajputs. We were privileged. Even then we left Hinduism.
Although I know many great Hindus people, but surely as religion, Hinduism is almost half based on injustice.
But of course there are many good things as well, but over all a no no.
 
Nopes, it's not like that. They have a social problem at hand, where Saudi men are marrying non Saudis due to dowry requirements..

According to the justice ministry, around 700,000 Saudi women are married to foreigners, representing 10 per cent of all married Saudi women.

The high rate of dowry, marriage expenses, limited incomes and a lesser sense of family stability among young people are among the major reasons for Saudis to take foreign wives.

Regarding a Kashmiri Muslim, I don't think it should be a problem.. unless one of the families sees huge cultural difference.
I see it as a good practice to follow your culture. Bottom line converting is nothing more than political gimmick, you may or may not know how these convert bring sham to one's religion. Isn't ISIS still to send a warning to Israel while they kill allot of natives on daily basis??
 

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