New Delhi, March 20:
The National Commission for Minorities (NCM) has taken up the issues of
conversion laws enacted by states and the freedom of religion with
members of Parliament.
It did so by inviting several MPs for a meeting on the issue on March
17 to discuss "State laws on religious conversion and its impact on the
freedom of religion in India." More specifically, it wanted to discuss
"whether a Central legislation equally applicable to all states will be
an effective solution to the problem of conversion or some other
remedial measures can be thought of to bring about uniformity in state
legislations and to uphold the religious freedom enshrined in the
Constitution."
That the NCM is concerned about the anti-conversion laws enacted by
several states in the country comes through in the background note it
prepared for the meeting which says: "Some states on the grounds of
public order and health appear to have transgressed limits in
regulating religious conversions by enacting laws which infringe on the
freedom of conscience of a person to hold a particular religious
belief."
Enunciating its views on conversion laws, the NCM further says, "What
is required is a transparent policy whereby only conversion by force,
allurement or inducement is prohibited." Speaking to this paper, NCM
chairman Mohammed Shafi Qureshi said: "There are certain states that
have passed legislation which is against the basic concepts of the
Constitution which allows people to practice and propagate their
religion. When the Constitution guarantees freedom of religion, why
should state governments ban conversion?"
According to the NCM, states that have enacted laws to regulate
conversions in the post-Independence period are Orissa, Madhya Pradesh,
Chhattisgarh, Arunachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Himachal
Pradesh.
Most of the state laws not only stipulate that a person seek prior
permission of the district magistrate for conversion but also provide
for imprisonment and/or a fine for those found violating the law.
According to latest reports, the Vasundhara Raje led Rajasthan
government which had tried to push through the controversial Rajasthan
Dharm Swatantrya Bill, 2006, that is still pending presidential
approval is now ready with yet another Anti-Conversion Bill, Dubbed the
Rajasthan Dharm Swatantrya Bill 2008. As for Gujarat, it continues to
draw flak for having legislated the Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act,
2003 which makes it mandatory for both the person converting and the
person conducting the conversion ceremony to seek prior approval from
the district magistrate. Significantly, on March 10 the Narendra
Modi-led Gujarat government was forced to withdraw the Gujarat Freedom
of Religion (Amendment) Bill, 2006 after the governor objected to it
saying that it violated Article 25 (A) of the Constitution.
At the thinly attended discussion to which MPs had been invited,
Asaduddin Owasi of the All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM)
who represents Hyderabad said that a conversion involved not merely
physical conversion but one that involved a change in the state of mind
too. Mr Owaisi also said that in a in a secular democratic state, no
person should be asked to seek prior approval another person or
statutory authority for the free exercise of his choice of religion.
CPI(M) MP Mohammed Salim said that anti-conversion laws are not needed
and they go against the Constitution while Shiv Sena MP Chandrakant
Bhaurao Khaire accused Christian missionaries of carrying out religious
conversions.
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