The Hindu Mahasabha has decided to make the occasion of Valentine's Day different this year. The organisation plans to welcome inter-religious couples with open arms and also conduct their marriage in their offices.
However, the non-Hindu partner would be required to return home which is known as Ghar Wapsi.
As per the reports of The Economic Times, 14 February known to everyone as Valentine's Day has been nicknamed as Prem Pariksha, Prem Vrat and Prem Vivah Day this year.
Prem Pariksha would be for a couple to accept and embrace each other's religion. Prem Vrat would require the couple to promise to spend their entire life with each other without getting indulged in other affairs thus proving their commitment and loyalty towards one another. After having met these requirements the couple would be married by the Mahasabha.
Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha president Chandra Prakash Kaushik has told the daily that the inter-religious marriage was part of the Ghar Wapsi programme.
"The Ghar Wapsi of the Muslim/Christian partner will be done an hour before the wedding. For that we are asking couples to inform us a day before so we can make arrangements," Kaushik was quoted as saying.
Kaushik added that about three priests have been employed to conduct the marriages and if the number of inter-religious couples increases then the organisation would employ a few more priests. Eight couples have so far registered themselves for the marriages. The Mahasabha is giving out all possible support to the non-Hindu partners so that they can easily embrace Hinduism.
In the previous year, the Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha's volunteers were on a hunt at Delhi metro stations for couples who engaged in displaying their love for each other on Valentine's Day as the organisation felt that the open display was wrong since India had always been considered as the epitome of love.
Meanwhile, Charu Gupta, Associate Professor of History at Delhi University said that it was ironical that the organisation, which earlier opposed to inter-religious marriages, is using the ideologies of love and conversion to brace their own religious identity.
