The challenge of religious conversions
10 years, 3 months ago

The challenge of religious conversions

Live Mint  

On 1 May 1947, Vallabhbhai Patel rose in the Constituent Assembly to move a Constitutional clause that dealt with the right to freedom of conscience and religion. In the case of Stanislaus vs State of Madhya Pradesh, the court made a clear distinction between the right to propagate one’s religion or faith and the right to convert. The court’s words are worth noting: “The freedom of religion enshrined in Article 25 is not guaranteed in respect of one religion only but covers all religions alike which can be properly enjoyed by a person if he exercises his right in a manner commensurate with the like freedom of persons following other religion. What is freedom for one is freedom for the other in equal measure and there can, therefore, be no such thing as a fundamental right to convert any person to one’s own religion.” This goes into the heart of the problem and shows why the current debates are misleading. Any idea of a fundamental right to conversion in the name of freedom of religion will badly hurt India’s secular fabric.

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History of this topic

What are Anti-Conversion Laws? All you need to know
1 month, 3 weeks ago

What are Anti-Conversion Laws? All you need to know

India Today  

Legislation at the state level called 'Freedom of Religion Acts' or 'anti-conversion laws' were enacted in India for the purpose of monitoring religious conversions. Anti-conversion laws are legal restrictions placed to stop people from changing religions. These laws are contended to violate a person’s right to change or practice religion as guaranteed and protected in international human rights laws. Temples …

‘UP’s anti-conversion law aims to uphold spirit of secularism': Allahabad HC
7 months, 1 week ago

‘UP’s anti-conversion law aims to uphold spirit of secularism': Allahabad HC

Hindustan Times  

Uttar Pradesh's stringent anti-conversion law aims to 'uphold the spirit of secularism,' a single-judge bench of the Allahabad high court observed on Tuesday, as it rejected the bail plea of a man booked for allegedly forcing a girl to convert to Islam. In his bail plea, Azeem, the accused, claimed having been ‘falsely implicated.’ He also asserted that the girl …

New UP conversion law reinforces curtailment of citizens’ rights
7 months, 2 weeks ago

New UP conversion law reinforces curtailment of citizens’ rights

Hindustan Times  

Uttar Pradesh, no stranger to draconian state action against the citizenry, just got a harsher upgrade on a law that was already skating on the thin ice of unconstitutionality. Article 25 in Part III of the Constitution, which delineates ‘Fundamental Rights’, provides that ‘… all persons are equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the right freely to profess, practice …

'India's Majority Population Will Be Minority If...': Allahabad HC On Religious Conversions
8 months, 3 weeks ago

'India's Majority Population Will Be Minority If...': Allahabad HC On Religious Conversions

News 18  

The Allahabad High Court on Monday observed that if the current trend of religious conversions carries on then the majority of India’s population will find itself in the minority one day. Hearing the bail plea of a person, who is accused of taking people from a village in Uttar Pradesh to a religious congregation in the name of the ceremony …

Rise in anti-conversion laws, hate speech in India concerning: US
8 months, 3 weeks ago

Rise in anti-conversion laws, hate speech in India concerning: US

Deccan Chronicle  

Washington: In the wake of the Pannun case, the United States is turning on the heat further on India now on the human rights and religious freedom fronts. US secretary of state Antony Blinken late on Wednesday said there has been a “concerning increase” in anti-conversion laws, hate speech, and demolitions of homes and places of worship for members of …

Gujarat govt notice requires Hindus to seek permission for converting to Buddhism
11 months, 2 weeks ago

Gujarat govt notice requires Hindus to seek permission for converting to Buddhism

Hindustan Times  

Ahmedabad: The Gujarat government, which issued a circular earlier this week designating Buddhism as a distinct religion has ruled, under the Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act, 2003, that conversions from Hinduism to Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism will now necessitate prior approval from respective district magistrates. Highlighting discrepancies in the interpretation of the Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act by district magistrate …

Legally Speaking | Are laws that prevent forced conversions really about freedom to practise religion?
1 year, 1 month ago

Legally Speaking | Are laws that prevent forced conversions really about freedom to practise religion?

Hindustan Times  

Article 25 of the Constitution of India recognises freedom of conscience and the right to freely profess, practise and propagate religion. Last month, the Allahabad high court dismissed petitions filed by eight interfaith couples seeking protection for their lives, noting that their marriages were not in compliance with the provisions of the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion …

Political Storm Over Religious Conversions: Does India Need a National Law? - News18
1 year, 9 months ago

Political Storm Over Religious Conversions: Does India Need a National Law? - News18

News 18  

The possible repeal of the Karnataka Freedom of Religion Act, 2021, enacted under the Basavaraj Bommai-led BJP government has created a political storm. Amid the sharp political narrative between the Congress and BJP, the intricate issue of religious conversions in India has never found the serious attention it deserves. The absence of empirical data or any study on religious conversions, …

Religious conversion a serious issue, should not be given political colour, says Supreme Court
2 years, 2 months ago

Religious conversion a serious issue, should not be given political colour, says Supreme Court

The Hindu  

The Supreme Court on January 9, 2023 said the Tamil Nadu government prima facie was giving “political colour” to a case concerning the “very serious” issue of religious conversions through force, deceit, and allurement, which was a concern for the entire nation. Ravikumar when senior advocate P. Wilson, for Tamil Nadu, said the petitioner, advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, was a …

Religious conversion case: SC seeks AG's assistance on what measures can be taken
2 years, 2 months ago

Religious conversion case: SC seeks AG's assistance on what measures can be taken

India Today  

Terming it a very serious issue, the Supreme Court on Monday sought the assistance of the Attorney General of India in a petition highlighting the issue of religious conversion by force, deceit, or allurement. READ | Forced religious conversion can affect national security, says Supreme Court The top court converted the case into a suo moto case after objections were …

Muslim body challenges religious conversion laws of five States in Supreme Court
2 years, 2 months ago

Muslim body challenges religious conversion laws of five States in Supreme Court

The Hindu  

Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind on Thursday asked the Supreme Court to declare the religious conversion laws of five States as unconstitutional, saying they bring the personal decision of an individual to adopt another faith under state scrutiny. The Acts have said that any form of allurement given to convert would amount to exercising “undue influence” over a person to change faith and …

Women, children main targets of foreign-funded religious conversions, PIL petitioner tells SC
2 years, 3 months ago

Women, children main targets of foreign-funded religious conversions, PIL petitioner tells SC

India TV News  

Delhi: Women and children are the main targets of 'foreign-funded' religious conversion in the country and the Centre and state governments have failed to take appropriate steps to check it, the Supreme Court has been told. In a written submission filed before a bench of Justices M R Shah and C T Ravikumar which is hearing a plea against religious …

Explained | What are the existing laws on religious conversions?
2 years, 3 months ago

Explained | What are the existing laws on religious conversions?

The Hindu  

The story so far: The Supreme Court’s recent remarks on religious conversions cast a spotlight on the long-standing debate about what the fundamental right to “propagate” one’s religious faith entails. Ray, heading a five-judge Bench,dissected Article 25 to hold that “the Article does not grant the right to convert other persons to one’s own religion but to transmit or spread …

District Magistrate's Nod For Religious Conversion A Precautionary Measure; Protects Women & Backward Classes : Gujarat Govt Tells Supreme Court
2 years, 3 months ago

District Magistrate's Nod For Religious Conversion A Precautionary Measure; Protects Women & Backward Classes : Gujarat Govt Tells Supreme Court

Live Law  

The requirement of obtaining permission from district magistrates before conversion is designed to shield against forcible conversions and protect the freedom of conscience, submitted the Gujarat government in an affidavit. The Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act, 2003, which was amended in 2021 to include forcible religious conversions through marriage, sought to control and curb "the menace of organised, sophisticated large-scale, …

‘Freedom of religion does not include the right to convert people’: Gujarat in Supeme Court
2 years, 3 months ago

‘Freedom of religion does not include the right to convert people’: Gujarat in Supeme Court

The Hindu  

The Gujarat government has told the Supreme Court that freedom of religion does not include the right to convert others, and requested the Supreme Court to vacate a High Court stay on the provision of a State law that mandates prior permission of the district magistrate for conversion through marriage. The Gujarat High Court had through its orders dated August …

Freedom of religion does not include right to convert people: Gujarat in SC
2 years, 3 months ago

Freedom of religion does not include right to convert people: Gujarat in SC

Deccan Chronicle  

NEW DELHI: The Gujarat government has told the Supreme Court that freedom of religion does not include the right to convert others, and requested the top court to vacate a High Court stay on the provision of a state law that mandates prior permission of the district magistrate for conversion through marriage. The Gujarat High Court had through its orders …

Right to religion does not include right to convert: MHA to SC
2 years, 3 months ago

Right to religion does not include right to convert: MHA to SC

The Hindu  

The right to religion does not include the right to convert other people to a particular religion, especially through fraud, deception, coercion, allurement and other means, the Home Ministry told the Supreme Court on Monday. The government said, “Fraudulent or induced conversion impinged upon the right to freedom of conscience of an individual apart from hampering public order and, therefore, …

Religious freedom does not include right to convert other person: Centre tells SC
2 years, 3 months ago

Religious freedom does not include right to convert other person: Centre tells SC

India Today  

The Centre told the Supreme Court on Monday that religious freedom does not include a fundamental right to convert other persons. The plea states, "incidents are reported every week throughout the country where conversion is done by intimidating, threatening, deceivingly luring through gifts and monetary benefits and also using black magic, superstition, miracles but the Centre and States have not …

Forced conversions may ultimately affect national security, freedom of religion, Supreme Court tells Centre
2 years, 4 months ago

Forced conversions may ultimately affect national security, freedom of religion, Supreme Court tells Centre

The Hindu  

The Supreme Court on Monday said religious conversions by means of force, allurement or fraud may “ultimately affect the security of the nation and freedom of religion and conscience of citizens” while directing the Centre to “step in” and clarify what it intends to do to curb compulsory or deceitful religious conversions. He submitted that the apex court had dealt …

Forced religious conversion may pose danger to national security: SC
2 years, 4 months ago

Forced religious conversion may pose danger to national security: SC

Deccan Chronicle  

NEW DELHI: Forced religious conversion may pose a danger to national security and impinge on religious freedom of citizens, the Supreme Court said on Monday, and asked the Centre to step in and make sincere efforts to tackle the "very serious" issue. "Therefore, it is better that the Union government may make their stand clear and file counter on what …

Forced conversions may ultimately affect national security, freedom of religion, Supreme Court tells Centre
2 years, 4 months ago

Forced conversions may ultimately affect national security, freedom of religion, Supreme Court tells Centre

The Hindu  

The Supreme Court on Monday said religious conversions by means of force, allurement or fraud may “ultimately affect the security of the nation and freedom of religion and conscience of citizens” while directing the Centre to “step in” and clarify what it intends to do to curb compulsory or deceitful religious conversions. “Giving of rice, wheat, clothes, etc., etc., can …

SC Lawyer & BJP’s Ashwini Upadhyay Urges Centre to Bring Tough Laws to Stop Forceful Religious Conversions
2 years, 6 months ago

SC Lawyer & BJP’s Ashwini Upadhyay Urges Centre to Bring Tough Laws to Stop Forceful Religious Conversions

News 18  

Supreme Court lawyer and former Delhi BJP spokesperson Ashwini Upadhyay has appealed for tough law at the Centre to deal with matters relating to marriage and forceful religious conversions. In a letter to home minister Amit Shah and law minister Kiren Rijiju on August 31, Upadhyay argued that the right to change religion is “inherent” in the right to freedom …

Religious conversion, unless forced, is not prohibited: Delhi HC
2 years, 9 months ago

Religious conversion, unless forced, is not prohibited: Delhi HC

The Hindu  

The Delhi High Court on Friday observed that a religious conversion, unless forced, is not prohibited as every person has the right guaranteed under the Constitution to choose or profess any religion. A Bench of Justices Sanjeev Sachdeva and Tushar Rao Gedela made the remarks while hearing a petition by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay seeking directions to frame laws to …

Explained | Karnataka’s anti-conversion legislation
3 years, 3 months ago

Explained | Karnataka’s anti-conversion legislation

The Hindu  

The story so far : Amid vociferous opposition, the Karnataka Protection of Right to Freedom of Religion Bill, 2021, was introduced by Home Minister Araga Jnanendra on Tuesday during the winter session of the Assembly in Belagavi. The Basavaraj Bommai led government wants to prohibit conversion by “misrepresentation, force, allurement, fraudulent means, or marriage.” What does the Protection of Right …

MP School Attack: Ransacking Churches & 'Conversion Allegations' a Pattern Now
3 years, 3 months ago

MP School Attack: Ransacking Churches & 'Conversion Allegations' a Pattern Now

The Quint  

Although it's been a week since the actual incident happened, why we are talking about it now is because unfortunately this kind of an attack against the Christian minority is not a one-off event. It is becoming a grotesque pattern with churches being frequently ransacked across the country and prayer meetings being disrupted by Hindutva mobs on mere suspicions of …

Is religious conversion a criminal issue?
3 years, 3 months ago

Is religious conversion a criminal issue?

The Hindu  

T he Church is against any form of incentivised conversions. In a letter to the Karnataka Chief Minister, Dr. Machado says, “Thousands of schools, colleges and hospitals are run and managed by Christian community across the State. When lakhs of students are graduating from these institutions year after year and thousands of patients irrespective of caste, creed or colour receive …

Changing faith or propagating one's religion: Is it a right or a crime in India?
3 years, 4 months ago

Changing faith or propagating one's religion: Is it a right or a crime in India?

Deccan Chronicle  

The controversy about Sameer Wankhede’s Scheduled Caste certificate gives us the opportunity to examine two issues. Dalits and Adivasis who convert are vulnerable, because the State insists on registering them on official certificates as “Christian Adivasi”, making it difficult for the individuals in question to then access their rights, including reservations. In Gujarat, some Dalit converts to Christianity officially retain …

Forced religious conversion cannot be measure of spread of any religion, says Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi
3 years, 5 months ago

Forced religious conversion cannot be measure of spread of any religion, says Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi

Firstpost  

Naqvi said both believers and atheists have equal constitutional and social rights and protection in India. New Delhi: Forced religious conversions cannot be the measure of spread of any religion in a nation like India, Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said on Tuesday and asserted that both believers and atheists co-exist with equal rights in this country. In his …

SC Message for Bajrang Dal: Propagating Religion Is Not a Crime
3 years, 11 months ago

SC Message for Bajrang Dal: Propagating Religion Is Not a Crime

The Quint  

While Article 25 grants the freedom to practise and profess religion, it doesn’t give the right to practise religious conversions. In the Stainislaus vs State of Madhya Pradesh case, while upholding the validity of anti-conversion laws of Madhya Pradesh and Odisha, the Supreme Court said, “Article 25 does not grant the right to convert other people to one’s own religion, …

Aakar Patel | It's wrong to say Indians have right to choose faith
3 years, 11 months ago

Aakar Patel | It's wrong to say Indians have right to choose faith

Deccan Chronicle  

Last weekend the newspapers carried the headline: “People are free to choose their religion: Supreme Court”. Article 25 of our Constitution reads: “All persons are equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the right freely to profess, practise and propagate religion”. The fundamental right was drafted after a debate in which India’s Christians had specifically asked for the right to …

'Religious Conversion Just For The Purpose Of Marriage Is Unacceptable': Allahabad High Court Dismisses Plea Of Married Couple
4 years, 4 months ago

'Religious Conversion Just For The Purpose Of Marriage Is Unacceptable': Allahabad High Court Dismisses Plea Of Married Couple

Live Law  

The Allahabad High Court has dismissed a writ petition seeking police protection filed by a married couple.This is after the Court noted that the girl was a Muslim by birth and she has converted her religion to Hinduism, just a month before the marriage was. The Allahabad High Court has dismissed a writ petition seeking police protection filed by a …

"It Is One's Personal Choice To Follow Whatever Religion He Wants": Delhi HC Dismisses PIL Seeking To Control Religious Conversions
5 years ago

"It Is One's Personal Choice To Follow Whatever Religion He Wants": Delhi HC Dismisses PIL Seeking To Control Religious Conversions

Live Law  

The Delhi High Court on Friday dismissed a plea moved by Advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay seeking control on religious conversion through inducement or intimidation. He says: 'The mass religious conversion of the socially economically downtrodden men, women and children, and, in particular of the schedule caste and schedule tribe community, is on the rise in the last 20 years.' It …

On secularism, conversion & religion
6 years, 1 month ago

On secularism, conversion & religion

Deccan Chronicle  

When the late J. Jayalalithaa opened up the debate on conversions by passing an ordinance during her second tenure as chief minister of Tamil Nadu that made the choice of faith subject to the state’s approval, not surprisingly, the VHP, RSS and the BJP hailed it as a great achievement. Modern religions are akin to great commercial enterprises like Coke …

On secularism, conversion & nature of religion
6 years, 1 month ago

On secularism, conversion & nature of religion

Deccan Chronicle  

When the late J. Jayalalithaa opened up the debate on conversions by passing an ordinance during her second tenure as chief minister of Tamil Nadu that made the choice of faith subject to the state’s approval, not surprisingly, the VHP, RSS and the BJP hailed it as a great achievement. This very simply means that people are free to believe …

Rajnath Singh is right: A debate on religious conversions is probably overdue
10 years ago

Rajnath Singh is right: A debate on religious conversions is probably overdue

Firstpost  

A ban on religious conversion is illiberal but a debate on conversions is not the same as communal. Not for the first time has an important leader from the BJP-Sangh Parivar stable called for a national debate on religious conversions. Why are religious conversions being carried out?” All faiths consider their own versions of god and scripture superior, but the …

Hindus don’t always have equality with minorities
10 years ago

Hindus don’t always have equality with minorities

Live Mint  

An article written by former police officer Julio Ribeiro, initially headlined I am on a hit list, has ignited a debate concerning India’s Christians and their security under the Narendra Modi government. Even today, top ranked institutions like St Stephen’s College, Christian Medical College in Vellore, St Xavier’s College and countless missionary schools across India clearly declare themselves to be …

Conversion row: Digvijay Singh pitches for 'Freedom of Religion Act'
10 years, 2 months ago

Conversion row: Digvijay Singh pitches for 'Freedom of Religion Act'

Firstpost  

Amid voices advocating for a stringent anti-conversion law in the country, Digvijay Singh said instead of anti- conversion law, India needs a ‘Freedom of Religion Act’. Bhopal: Amid voices advocating for a stringent anti-conversion law in the country, AICC General Secretary Digvijay Singh here on Sunday said instead of anti- conversion law, India needs a ‘Freedom of Religion Act’. “Instead …

Debating the conversion conundrum
10 years, 3 months ago

Debating the conversion conundrum

The Hindu  

Sometimes as I watch TV, I feel a sense of despair. What was interesting to notice is that the word ‘conversion’ means different things to different people; that the dictionary definition does not quite capture the contextual emotions of the word — meanings one should open up the debate to by looking at the various nuances of the word. > …

Conversion and freedom of religion
10 years, 3 months ago

Conversion and freedom of religion

The Hindu  

One of the oft-repeated theories in the wake of the general election this past May was that Prime Minister Narendra Modi assumed power by presenting a single-minded commitment to developing India’s economy. Article 25 states that subject to public order, morality and health, and to the other fundamental rights guaranteed in the Constitution, all persons are equally entitled to “freedom …

Is religious conversion really a fundamental right, or can we ban it?
10 years, 6 months ago

Is religious conversion really a fundamental right, or can we ban it?

Firstpost  

By Jaideep A Prabhu To most observers, India appears a paradox - teeming with diversity of cuisine, dress, language, pigmentation, and faith under one flag, yet simultaneously simmering with communal tensions. As Jakob de Roover of Ghent University argues, the liberal principle of religious freedom implicitly endorses the Abrahamic view of the world that religion revolves around doctrines and truth …

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