Ghar Vapasi

Is it a case of " Dhobi ka xxxx na Ghar ka , na Ghat ka "??

It is really sad that some radicals want to pull the wheel of growth to a grinding halt, that too in 21st Century. Yes, it is true that BJP is the largest party in the centre. But that does not give any outfit / wing connected in remotest way to the BJP, a free hand to push its own agenda forward in the largest democracy in the world.

It is true that many Hindu families from backward or dalit or adivasi classes were converted to Christianity or Muslim religion by inducements, financial aids etc, for past so many decades, and similarly the RSS, Dharm Jagran Manch etc have been reconverting them back to Hinduism. It is also true that these Hindu outfits have not been indulging in converting Muslims or Christians to Hinduism but concentrating only on reconversions.

However, the biggest problem today is that many parts of rural India are still backward, and illiterate. So all these poor people who do not have a thinking mind of their own, who follow their cast leader blindly fall a pray to the words of their leader, who is allured, induced or compensated well in advance. Then it is all sheep walk. Or else how on earth can explain the mass conversions, which have been taking place.

First these Dalits - Backwards are converted in to Christians or Muslims. Nobody cares a damn, because of vote bank politics. However, when the Hindu Fundamentalists awake and reconvert, then socalled all the secular parties create ruckus, on the streets and in the parliament.

History:

The root cause for this malice perhaps is - Illiteracy.  

There were no anti-conversion laws in British India. After Independence, the Lok Sabha debated two bills that sought to curb conversions, the Indian Conversion (Regulation and Registration) Bill of 1954, and, six years later, the Backward Communities (Religious Protection) Bill. While both bills had wide support, Nehru, playing his usual role as the one-man vanguard of Indian liberalism, saw that both were eventually  binned.

In certain ways it was Gandhi -  Nehru - Congress combination which was responsible for many a problems that we face today. They all did a lot for the country, and their contributions cannot be ignored, but so is the case with many of their gross mistakes.

Situation Today:

Orisa and MP came out with suitable laws for Anti - Conversion. Chattisgarh, Gujrat, Himachal Pradesh followed with similar laws. Foiled at the Centre, anti-conversion laws had greater success in the states. In 1967, Orissa, then ruled by the right-wing Swatantra Party, became the first state to enact a “Freedom of Religion” Law. Madhya Pradesh followed suit the next year, with Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh following with similar legislation. Chhattisgarh inherited Madhya Pradesh’s law when the state was partitioned.

There was a caveat though - the individuals would require permission from the  state governments before such conversions. The major evils of coercion and deception can be dealt with under the general law. It may be difficult to obtain proof but so is it difficult to obtain proof in the case of many other offences, but to suggest that there should be a licensing system for propagating a faith is not proper. It would lead in its wake to the police having too large a power of interference.”

In Madhya Pradesh, it seems, conversions are banned if they take place away from Hinduism.

A good example of the law at work was seen in Shivpuri, Madhya Pradesh, earlier this fortnight. Four Dalits converted to Islam as a reaction to the caste discrimination they faced. However, under the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, a change of religion requires the permission of the state government. Not only were those four arrested, but Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal activists ensured that they were reconverted to Hinduism. A number of applications for religious conversion now lie with the state government, which refuses to act on them, even as right-wing organizations discuss punitive measures such as the destruction of standing crops and dispossession of land and other property for Dalits who dare to convert in the future.

When these laws first came out in Orissa and Madhya Pradesh, they were immediately challenged in the courts. Matters eventually reached the Supreme Court in 1977, where in the landmark case, Stanislaus v. State of Madhya Pradesh, the court held that conversion, per se, is not a fundamental right under Article 25 and can be regulated by the state

A core belief:

Conversion is often a core part of religion. In fact, restricting conversion not only violates the right to religion but also the right to free speech. Moreover, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights ensures that a person’s right to religion also includes the " freedom to change his religion or belief ".

The state has no business policing the religious beliefs of its citizens; neither is it in a position to allow or disallow a change of faith if India is to be a liberal state.

My Recommendation:

The Big question, though is - How to decide that the conversion is not due to allurement, inducement or force , by an outfit of other religion through a leader of the community ?

I feel that the grant of such permission for conversions should be handled by a 3 - 5 member tribunal under the court, consisting of retired judges, and not the state governments. The tribunal should check and verify if the individual / mass conversion is a conscious decision or is it because of inducement, allurement, benefits like - food / health care assistance / education or cash benefits etc.

I have one more wild suggestion  - The Central Government should come out with a bill to Ban all such conversions till India achieves a literacy level of above 70 - 75 % ?