Anti-conversion laws in India: How states deal with religious conversion
With the current controversy over the Uttar Pradesh government’s anti-conversion ordinance, India Today takes a examine the present laws concerning pressured conversions in India.
The call for for an anti-conversion law has been raised at a couple of levels, with political statements concerning a countrywide anti-conversion law additionally being raised in Parliament.
ANTI-CONVERSION LAWS IN COLONIAL TIMES
According to investigate paper of the US Library of Congress (LOC), laws proscribing spiritual conversions have been in the beginning added via way of means of princely states headed via way of means of Hindu royal households at some point of the British colonial duration — especially at some point of the latter 1/2 of of the 1930s and 1940s.
These states enacted the legal guidelines “in an try to keep Hindu spiritual identification withinside the face of British missionaries”. The LOC studies paper suggests that there have been “over a dozen princely states, inclusive of Kota, Bikaner, Jodhpur, Raigarh, Patna, Surguja, Udaipur, and Kalahandi” that had such laws.
ATTEMPTS TO ENACT A NATIONAL LAW
Following India’s independence, Parliament added some of anti-conversion payments, however none have been enacted. First, the Indian Conversion (Regulation and Registration) Bill turned into added in 1954, which sought to enforce “licensing of missionaries and the registration of conversion with authorities officials”. This invoice didn’t collect majority guide withinside the Lok Sabha.
This turned into accompanied via way of means of the advent of the Backward Communities (Religious Protection) Bill in 1960, “which geared toward checking conversion of Hindus to ‘non-Indian religions’ which, as in line with the definition withinside the Bill, protected Islam, Christianity, Judaism and Zoroastrianism”.
The Freedom of Religion Bill turned into added in Parliament in 1979. It sought “professional curbs on inter-spiritual conversion.” These payments have been additionally now no longer exceeded via way of means of Parliament because of a loss of political guide.
In 2015, the Union law ministry had given the opinion that a law towards pressured and fraudulent conversions couldn’t be created at a countrywide level, given that law-and-order is a State concern below the Constitution. However, nation governments can enact such laws.
OVER TO STATES
Over the years, numerous states enacted “Freedom of Religion” rules to limition spiritual conversions finished via way of means of pressure, fraud, or inducements. The studies organisation, the PRS Legislative Research these days launched a file evaluating diverse present anti-conversion laws in numerous states.
“Freedom of Religion laws” are presently in pressure in 8 states — (i) Odisha (1967), (ii) Madhya Pradesh (1968), (iii) Arunachal Pradesh (1978), (iv) Chhattisgarh (2000 and 2006), (v) Gujarat (2003), (vi) Himachal Pradesh (2006 and 2019), (vii) Jharkhand (2017), and (viii) Uttarakhand (2018).
The laws exceeded in Himachal Pradesh (2019) and Uttarakhand additionally claim a wedding to be void if it turned into solemnised for the only reason of conversion, or a conversion turned into accomplished entirely for the reason of marriage.
Further, the states of Tamil Nadu in 2002, and Rajasthan in 2006 and 2008, additionally exceeded comparable rules. However, the Tamil Nadu rules turned into repealed in 2006 after protests via way of means of Christian minorities, whilst in case of Rajasthan, the payments did now no longer obtain assent of the governor of the nation, and the President of India.
In November 2019, bringing up growing incidents of pressured or fraudulent spiritual conversions, the Uttar Pradesh Law Commission advocated enacting a brand new law to modify spiritual conversions. This led the nation authorities to promulgate the current Ordinance.
ANTI-CONVERSION LAWS IN PRACTICE
According to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) reviews of 2016 and 2018, observers have stated that there are only a few arrests or prosecutions below those laws however they “create a hostile, and every so often violent, surroundings for spiritual minority groups due to the fact they do now no longer require any proof to guide accusations of wrongdoing”.
More current reviews via way of means of USCIRF have highlighted positive incidents of arrests, inclusive of an incident in 2017, wherein spiritual minority leaders and adherents confronted intimidation and arrest due to those laws.
For example, a Catholic nun, in conjunction with 4 tribal women, turned into detained in June 2017 primarily based totally on suspicion of brought about conversion. In April 2017, 3 Christians have been arrested withinside the Khandwa district of Madhya Pradesh following allegations that they have been changing people.
In July 2017, Christians protested in Ludhiana, Punjab, after Sultan Masih, the pastor of the Temple of God Church, turned into murdered in public over suspicion that he might be engaged in conversion.
WHAT’S IN THE ANTI-CONVERSION LAWS?
The PRS studies suggests positive not unusualplace traits of the diverse nation laws. While all states have banned conversions via way of means of pressure, fraud or allurement and inducement of money, handiest the Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and UP laws area a ban on conversion thru marriage.
Notice of Conversion: The Arunachal Pradesh’s law is taken into consideration the maximum lenient rules withinside the want for observe of conversion. It makes it obligatory handiest for the priest, who has done the conversion, to offer observe to the District Magistrate or comparable government after the conversion. It does now no longer require the transformed man or woman to make such a declaration.
In all different states, increase observe via way of means of the priest or “spiritual convertor” in addition to the transformed person is needed. Uttar Pradesh has the strictest provisions, requiring someone who needs to go through a conversion to offer a 60-day observe to the district government. The priest is needed to offer the attention one month in increase. Uttarakhand has prescribed one month observe duration for both.
Punishment: Odisha and Madhya Pradesh, that have the oldest laws, additionally prescribe the bottom imprisonment time — one year for pressured conversion. Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand prescribe as much as five-year prison time period for pressured conversion. In case of a minor or a woman, the punishment is better in all states.
