The RSS’s “Ghar Wapsi” program in Kashmir is not a new development. The Hindu nationalist organization has long sought to convert Muslim Kashmiris to Hinduism under its reconversion policy. For the disputed region of Kashmir, this policy to them is the only solution to a decades-long conflict. Although we’ve heard about such efforts before, it is alarming to witness them being actively pursued with the full weight of state power behind them. Sporadic incidents of reconversion have now surfaced in the valley, with the RSS and its political arm, the ruling BJP, beginning their campaign of “de-Islamization” and reconversion, particularly targeting minors. Vulnerable teenage girls in the valley have now become their primary focus.

This ideological war, deeply rooted in their extremist vision, is a clear manifestation of what they have been preaching since the founding of their organization—a group that has drawn inspiration from fascist movements. The ruling BJP government, an extension of this group, has deployed individuals to implement anti-Muslim and anti-Kashmir policies across the region. A recent survey conducted by our team has uncovered covert programs aimed specifically at teenage girls. These girls are taken to radicalization camps across India, where they are manipulated and subjected to unspeakable exploitation, including being encouraged to form illicit relationships with Hindu men. One survivor, Sobia (name changed), recounted her ordeal, explaining how she feigned illness to escape the camp and return home to a village in southern Kashmir. Another girl from Baramullah shared how she was approached by a state-sponsored agent posing as a welfare worker, only to be taken to Rajasthan, where she witnessed traumatic events. She, too, managed to escape and return to her village.
These young Kashmiri girls are lured with offers of lucrative jobs as receptionists in shady hotels across India, only to be entrapped in situations designed to strip them of their identity and dignity. The multi-faceted war against Islam in Kashmir, backed by the state, poses a grave threat to the region’s Muslim identity and social fabric.

If we do not recognize the severity of these actions and take steps to resist, the day may come when adhering to Hindu rituals will be forced upon us. The abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019, while not central to our resistance, was a significant blow to those who believed India would not dare take such a step. Yet, we woke up one morning to find that it had happened. The Indian government had granted its occupying forces the right to kill up to 20,000 Kashmiris if there was any mass uprising, in a chilling bid to stifle dissent after they took the decision to scrap the semiautonomous status of the region.

Kashmiris have always been ready to sacrifice their lives for their faith and their homeland. However, the current situation is far worse than we have ever faced. We must rise and defend our culture, social fabric, ethnicity, and identity before it’s too late. Strong nations do not sit idly by and wait for war to unfold on its terms. They act with foresight to preserve their future. If we again fell prey to the propaganda and deceit of those who are now invoking Indian constitution to defend the forced “marriage” of our teenage Muslim girls with Hindus, the day is not far when everyone of us might face this unprecedented situation in our own homes.