Anti-conversion laws in India: How states deal with religious conversion
There is no central anti-conversion law. The states that have enacted anti-conversion laws make religious conversion by force or allurement a punishable offence. Here is an account of how states deal with religious conversion in India
With the recent controversy over the Uttar Pradesh government’s anti-conversion ordinance, India Today takes a look at the existing laws regarding forced conversions in India.
The demand for an anti-conversion law has been raised at multiple levels, with political statements regarding a national anti-conversion law also being raised in Parliament.
ANTI-CONVERSION LAWS IN COLONIAL TIMES
According to research paper of the US Library of Congress (LOC), laws restricting religious conversions were originally introduced by princely states headed by Hindu royal families during the British colonial period — particularly during the latter half of the 1930s and 1940s.
These states enacted the laws “in an attempt to preserve Hindu religious identity in the face of British missionaries”. The LOC research paper indicates that there were “over a dozen princely states, including Kota, Bikaner, Jodhpur, Raigarh, Patna, Surguja, Udaipur, and Kalahandi” that had such laws.
ATTEMPTS TO ENACT A NATIONAL LAW
Following India’s independence, Parliament introduced a number of anti-conversion bills, but none were enacted. First, the Indian Conversion (Regulation and Registration) Bill was introduced in 1954, which sought to enforce “licensing of missionaries and the registration of conversion with government officials”. This bill failed to gather majority support in the Lok Sabha.
This was followed by the introduction of the Backward Communities (Religious Protection) Bill in 1960, “which aimed at checking conversion of Hindus to ‘non-Indian religions’ which, as per the definition in the Bill, included Islam, Christianity, Judaism and Zoroastrianism”.
The Freedom of Religion Bill was introduced in Parliament in 1979. It sought “official curbs on inter-religious conversion.” These bills were also not passed by Parliament due to a lack of political support.
In 2015, the Union law ministry had given the opinion that a law against forced and fraudulent conversions could not be created at a national level, since law-and-order is a State subject under the Constitution. However, state governments can enact such laws.
OVER TO STATES
Over the years, several states enacted “Freedom of Religion” legislation to restrict religious conversions carried out by force, fraud, or inducements. The research organisation, the PRS Legislative Research recently released a report comparing various existing anti-conversion laws in several states.
“Freedom of Religion laws” are currently in force in eight 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 passed in Himachal Pradesh (2019) and Uttarakhand also declare a marriage to be void if it was solemnised for the sole purpose of conversion, or a conversion was done solely for the purpose of marriage.
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Further, the states of Tamil Nadu in 2002, and Rajasthan in 2006 and 2008, also passed similar legislation. However, the Tamil Nadu legislation was repealed in 2006 after protests by Christian minorities, while in case of Rajasthan, the bills did not receive assent of the governor of the state, and the President of India.
In November 2019, citing rising incidents of forced or fraudulent religious conversions, the Uttar Pradesh Law Commission recommended enacting a new law to regulate religious conversions. This led the state government to promulgate the recent Ordinance.
ANTI-CONVERSION LAWS IN PRACTICE
According to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) reports of 2016 and 2018, observers have noted that there are very few arrests or prosecutions under these laws but they “create a hostile, and on occasion violent, environment for religious minority communities because they do not require any evidence to support accusations of wrongdoing”.
More recent reports by USCIRF have highlighted certain incidents of arrests, including an incident in 2017, where religious minority leaders and adherents faced intimidation and arrest as a result of these laws.
For example, a Catholic nun, along with four tribal women, was detained in June 2017 based on suspicion of induced conversion. In April 2017, three Christians were arrested in the Khandwa district of Madhya Pradesh following allegations that they were converting people.
In July 2017, Christians protested in Ludhiana, Punjab, after Sultan Masih, the pastor of the Temple of God Church, was murdered in public over suspicion that he could be engaged in conversion.
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WHAT’S IN THE ANTI-CONVERSION LAWS?
The PRS research shows certain common characteristics of the various state laws. While all states have banned conversions by force, fraud or allurement and inducement of money, only the Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and UP laws place a ban on conversion through marriage.
Notice of Conversion: The Arunachal Pradesh’s law is considered the most lenient legislation in the need for notice of conversion. It makes it mandatory only for the priest, who has performed the conversion, to give notice to the District Magistrate or similar authorities after the conversion. It does not require the converted person to make any such declaration.
In all other states, advance notice by the priest or “religious convertor” as well as the converted person is required. Uttar Pradesh has the strictest provisions, requiring a person who wishes to undergo a conversion to give a 60-day notice to the district authorities. The priest is required to give the notice one month in advance. Uttarakhand has prescribed one month notice period for both.
Punishment: Odisha and Madhya Pradesh, which have the oldest laws, also prescribe the lowest imprisonment time — one year for forced conversion. Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand prescribe up to five-year jail term for forced conversion. In case of a minor or a woman, the punishment is higher in all states.
Here is a comparison of various anti-conversion laws enacted in states:
