By Fr Cedric Prakash
For many in India, and particularly in Gujarat, 26 March will always be remembered as a ‘black
day!’ On that day in 2003, in keeping with an election promise, Narendra Modi, the then Chief
Minister of Gujarat introduced, the draconian ‘Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act’. Earlier that
morning, Haren Pandya, a former Home Minister of Gujarat and Modi’s bête noire, was found
assassinated in mysterious circumstances. Till today, the truth of Pandya’s death (who killed him
and why?) has not yet been officially revealed. Pandya’s father, the late Vitthalbhai Pandya (who
died in January 2011) was quite convinced of who was behind the killing of his son and he went
from pillar to post (right up to the Supreme Court) hoping that the full truth of Haren’s murder
would be revealed. Several non-partisan political analysts have also written volumes on this murder.
A two –part BBC Documentary ‘ The Modi Question’ which was released in January 2023 ( but
banned in India) , highlights the murder of Pandya and why he was a stumbling block to Modi’s
ascendancy to power!
As for the ‘Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act, 2003’, it is easily one of the most draconian ones in
the history of any democracy in the world. Modi piloted this bill! During his election campaign in
2002, he ranted and raved against the Muslims and Christians and promised to bring in an anti-
conversion law. True to his promise, he did so a few months later. At that time, the entire
Opposition, in total disagreement with the bill, walked out of the Gujarat Assembly! It then took a
full five years, until 2008, for the Gujarat Government to frame the necessary rules for the
implementation of that law!
In February 2006, in keeping with letter and spirit of his anti-Constitutional law, at a Shabri Kumbh
(a mass gathering of Hindus) programme in the Dangs (supported by the Gujarat Government),
Modi warned the Christians “It is my constitutional duty to prevent conversions. Our Constitution
disapproves of them, and yet some people turn a blind eye.” Morari Bapu accused the Christians of
bringing in planeloads of missionaries from the Vatican “who come here to carry out conversion
activities but when we organise a ‘ghar wapsi’ why should it be termed as bad?” Both Modi and
Morari Bapu, unequivocally also endorsed the ‘ghar wapsi’ programmes, which were part of that
Kumbh!. In 2009, the ‘Gujarat United Christian Forum for Human Rights’ and several other
eminent citizens challenged the constitutional validity of the Gujarat Freedom of Religion Law, in
the Gujarat High Court. A notice was sent by the Court to the Government to respond, they did not
do so (obviously, they could not).The petitioners later withdrew their petition with an intention of
making it stronger. In August 2021, the Gujarat High Court did not allow the Gujarat Government
to make amendments to the already draconian law.
The bogey of ‘forced’ conversion and the introduction of anti – conversion laws (strangely called
‘Freedom of Religion’) are part of a well-oiled strategy of the ‘Sangh Parivar’ .These laws are
blatantly unconstitutional. The States of Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana,
Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, and
Uttar Pradesh already have these laws in place. On 5 March, Maharashtra became the 13 th State to
do so, when the Government of Maharashtra approved a draft anti-conversion bill requiring prior
permission from a designated authority for religious conversion. Called the ‘Dharma Swatantrya
Adhiniyam 2026 (Religious Freedom Act, 2026), the proposed law specifically aims to prevent
individuals or organizations from carrying out forced or unlawful religious conversions. It seeks to
protect individuals’ freedom of religion by prohibiting coercive or deceptive practices and imposing
stringent penalties for violations.
On 11 March, led by the Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), Citizens for Justice and Peace
(CJP) and the Bombay Catholic Sabha(BCS), more than thirty civil society and human rights
organisations held a well-attended media conference at the Press Club in Mumbai. At the
Conference, several well-known citizens lambasted the Maharashtra Government for introducing
this draconian legislation and without due process. In a detailed statement the signatories said, “the
text of the draft law has not yet been made public, raising serious concerns about transparency,
democratic process, and the potential implications of the legislation for fundamental rights. The
participating civil society organisations emphasise that legislation with far-reaching implications
for religious freedom, privacy, and personal liberty cannot be drafted and introduced without public
consultation, scrutiny, and debate. A growing pattern of anti-conversion laws framed around “love
jihad” The proposed Maharashtra law appears to follow the pattern of anti-conversion legislation
already enacted in several states under the banner of “freedom of religion” laws. While framed as
measures to prevent coercion or fraudulent religious conversions, these statutes have frequently
been justified politically through the narrative of “love jihad”—a conspiracy theory alleging that
Muslim men systematically lure Hindu women into marriage in order to convert them. This claim
has no legal basis.”
Further, the statement said, “The Maharashtra proposal also comes at a time when the
constitutional validity of similar anticonversion laws across several states is already under
challenge before the Supreme Court of India. A batch of writ petitions –first filed by Citizens for
Justice and Peace (CJP), Mumbai that is the lead petitioner in the Supreme Court– has been
pending before the Supreme Court since 2020, raising fundamental constitutional questions about
the scope of freedom of conscience, personal liberty, equality before the law, and the limits of State
power in regulating religious conversion and interfaith relationships. Hearings in the matter that
have happened intermittently with pressing demands made by CJP for an interim stay on the most
egregious provisions are also scheduled today”
The ‘bogey’ of forced conversion is once again being made into an issue! There is absolutely no
evidence to substantiate this frivolous claim. It is a manipulative ploy, used by the Sanghis to
defocus from the real issues, which grip the nation. India has proved to have a spineless
Government, literally being held to ransom by the United States. We have lost our long-cherished
identity as a non-aligned nation. The ordinary citizen is suffering due to a terrible scarcity of LPG(
Smriti Irani seems to have done the disappearing trick instead of protesting!). The Epstein files have
revealed names of some prominent Indians- a great shame to the nation. The Election Commission
has proved to be a ‘caged parrot’ of the ruling regime! Corruption is the DNA of a Government,
which has abdicated its responsibility to govern. Prices are skyrocketing, even as the poor become
poorer and the crony capitalists friends of the regime continue to amass scandalous amounts of
wealth. The common person is denied the legitimate right of ‘roti-kapda-makaan’ and Adivasis of
‘jal-jungle- jameen’. The country is in the doldrums as never before! Besides, the ‘hindutvadis’ are
a frightened group: they are aware that their so -called brand of ‘religiosity’ goes against human
nature: the rights and freedoms, which are inalienable to every citizen. Therefore, the ‘forced
conversion’ gimmick is a convenient way to change the narrative and deflect from burning issues,
which literally throttle the country today!
On 14 November 2022, the two-judge bench of the Supreme Court consisting of Justice M.R. Shah
and Justice Hima Kohli observed that forced conversions may “ultimately affect the security of
nation and freedom of religion and conscience of citizen.” The bench directed the Central
Government to inform the Apex Court what steps it intends taking to curb deceitful or compulsory
religious conversions. The bench was hearing a PIL by Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, who has been
filing several petitions of this kind in the past. Upadhyay wants a law against fraudulent religious conversion and religious conversion by intimidation, threatening, deceivingly luring through gifts
and monetary benefits, as it offends Articles 14, 21, and 25.
Significantly, in April 2021, a three-judge bench of Justices Rohinton F Nariman, B.R. Gavai and
Hrishikesh Roy had dismissed a similar petition by the Upadhyay himself and had even threatened
to impose heavy costs if he persisted with the petition. The bench at that time had opined that any
religious conversion law would be violative of the constitution as the constitution clearly allows
joining of any religion of one’s choice and that is why the word “propagate” is in the Constitution.
The bench termed “very harmful” the petition that asked a strict central law to check religious
conversion and observed that adults are free to choose their faith. The bench also cautioned senior
advocate Gopal Sankaranarayan, who represented Upadhyay in the matter, “What kind of a petition
is this? This is a very harmful petition. If you are going to argue this, we are going to impose a
heavy cost on you”, said Nariman; he added, “There is a reason why the word ‘propagate’ is there
in the Constitution. You have to have some meaning for that word. There is no reason why
somebody above 18 cannot choose one’s own religion or somebody else’s religion,” The petition
was immediately withdrawn!
The point therefore is not whether one has the right ‘to convert another’; but whether a citizen of
India, has the right to choose a religion of one’s choice. Article 25 of the Constitution of India
unequivocally “guarantees the freedom of conscience, the freedom to profess, practice and
propagate religion to all citizens”. Besides, Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, asserts that “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this
right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community
with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship
and observance”.
As early as 1935, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar made the most daring and path-breaking speech of his
career, announcing that, because of the intransigence of the Hindus and the failure of a decade of
nonviolent protests, he had decided to abandon Hinduism and to seek another faith. He urged the
leaders at the Yeola Depressed Classes conference to consider their religious identity a choice, not a
fact of destiny. In a highly emotional voice he said, “If you want to gain self-respect, change your
religion. If you want to create a cooperating society, change your religion. If you want power,
change your religion. If you want equality, change your religion. If you want independence, change
your religion. If you want to make the world in which you live happy, change your religion”. About
twenty years later, on 14 October 1956(apparently the date on which King Ashoka became a
Buddhist) Ambedkar together with his wife and at least 365,000 of his followers, mainly Dalits,
decided to exit Hinduism and embrace Buddhism.
Is then an adult citizen of India free to choose the religion of one’s choice? The Supreme Court has
to act with alacrity, maintaining the unconstitutionality of these draconian laws and strike them
down in toto once and for all! Will it have the courage to take on the ‘hindutva’ brigade? That
perhaps is another matter!
(Fr Cedric Prakash SJ is a human rights, reconciliation & peace activist and writer.
contact: cedricprakash@gmail.com . The views expressed here are his own and do not reflect that of www.vibesofindia.com)
Also Read: Food, Faith and Fascism in New India https://www.vibesofindia.com/food-faith-and-fascism-in-new-india/
