BBC News Online: World: South Asia

Christians converted to Hinduism

Hindu leaders in the northeast Indian state of Assam say they have converted seven Christian families back to Hinduism.

It is believed to be the first such conversion in the northeast and the Hindu leaders say they plan to convert dozens more.

Leaders from the Hindu Vaishnavite group say the families who were converted to Christianity a decade or so ago asked to be made Hindus again.

In the past, some Hindu groups have accused Christian missionaries of forcing or bribing people to convert to Christianity - an accusation they deny.

But the BBC correspondent in Calcutta says the northeast region, which has been wracked by ethnic violence, has remained relatively untroubled by religious tensions.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service