Thursday rally in Delhi not to felicitate converts, clarifies Arya Samaj

The Arya Kendriya Sabha of Delhi on Tuesday denied that converts from Islam or any other religion would be felicitated in Delhi at a rally in the memory of Arya Samaj leader Shraddhanand.

The Arya Kendriya Sabha of Delhi on Tuesday denied that converts from Islam or any other religion would be felicitated in Delhi at a rally in the memory of Arya Samaj leader Shraddhanand.

It said that the procession and rally being organised on December 25 in memory of Shraddhanand - who was killed on December 23, 1926 - was being organised by the Arya Kendriya Sabha of Delhi state.

The official invitee list of the programme issued by Arya Samaj states that Arya Kendriya Sabha chief Dharampal will preside over the event and BJP Delhi state president Satish Upadhyaya will be one of the two chief guests.

"Swami Shraddhanand was a committed political leader of the country and thousands of followers of the Arya Samaj take part in the march to pay him tributes. But we wish to state that this is a pure Arya Samaj event and no other organization has co-sponsored it," said Arya Samaj leader Rajeev Arya. "We don't work under any political party or ideology."

The programme will involve a procession from Naya Bazar, which will then culminate in a rally at Ramlila Maidan to honour Shraddhanand - the founder of Gurukul Kangri at Haridwar and the most prominent figure of the Shuddhi (purification) movement involving mass conversions from Islam.