Conversion laws strike at core Indian values

(December 15, 2010) Anti-conversion laws in several Indian states are a direct affront to fundamental rights and may strike at the core of the country’s much-admired secular system, said an advocate for Dalit people. “Conversion to any religion is one’s fundamental right,” said James Masey, director of the center for Dalit and subaltern studies. The number of states to introduce anti-conversion bills in recent years indicate the big protest of religious fundamentalists of some religions against people freely becoming Christian or Muslim. The issue, united leaders across religious lines at a two-day conference to discuss the program that ended on Tuesday. The national consultation was organized by the National Council of Churches in India (NCCI), a joint forum of Protestant and Orthodox churches. It was attended by Hindus, Muslim and Christians. Hinduism is India’s majority religion, adhered to by 80 percent of the country’s 1.15 billion people. Islam is second with 13 percent, while only 2 percent of Indians are Christian. The issue of alleged forced conversions have been the flashpoint for deadly violence by Hindu extremists against Christians in several parts of India. The hardest hit states have been Karnataka and Orissa.
Currently, anti-conversion laws exist in states of Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and Rajasthan. The legislation restricts religious conversion and punishes people who change religion without informing the state.