A Hindu man and his children in India's Madhya Pradesh state converted to Islam after facing years of "social boycott" on account of his wife being of the Muslim faith, Hindustan Times reported on Friday.
Twenty-eight years ago, Vinod Prakash Khare, 51, married a Muslim woman who took up a Hindu name after the nuptials, the India daily reported.
However, Khare, a resident of Rajnagar, claimed that his relatives failed to accept the inter-faith marriage and "ostracised" him along with his wife and their children, the Indian daily reported.
Khare added that, having lost the support of the Hindu society, his family had to rely on the Muslim community for help in times of distress.
"The Hindu society has not been supportive of us. Nobody used to invite us to marriages,” Khar was quoted as saying.
“I was not even allowed to lend a shoulder to my father’s body during his funeral procession. In such times, the Muslim society helped us, so our family decided to accept Islam,” Khar added.
Khare who converted to Islam along with his daughters and son on August 21.
A sub-divisional magistrate in Rajnagar told the daily that he was aware about the family's conversion to Islam, adding that if any dispute unfolded "necessary steps would be taken."
"We are working to sort out their problems. They have assured to reconsider their decision,” the magistrate added.
