6 January 2015

Legal Nugget : Anti-conversion laws

This is an information piece on anti-conversion laws. Personal opinion is at the end of the post.

I. Anti-conversion laws have been around for a while

Some states in India have a "Freedom of Religion Act" aka Anti-Conversion Law. Key provisions are :
  • Does not allow persons to convert others by the use of force, allurement or the threat of divine displeasure
  • Asks for registration of the conversion with the local collector/magistrate AFTER the conversion, within a specified period (EXCEPT in Gujarat, where you have to take PRIOR permission)
Legal provisions of some of the states : Arunachal PradeshMadhya PradeshOrissaGujarat

II. Most of them are constitutionally valid
  • In 1977, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of the Orissa and Madhya Pradesh Acts (see here)
  • The prior permission to convert restricts the freedom of religion. The after conversion intimation is not restrictive. Comparison can be made to marriage laws where a registration of marriage facilitates the proof of marriage but does not impact the validity of marriage
  • A petition was filed in the Gujarat High Court challenging the state law. Don't know the status of the same. Found this article only
III. Law Commission of India recommended conversion related provisions during UPA-2

Interesting to note that the Law Commission of India in 2010 recommended some guidelines. See page 20 (para 16) of their report.

Personal Opinion :
Over the years, there have been several instances of mass conversions and conversions in exchange for goodies. A religious conversion cannot simply happen through the performance of a certain ceremony or by declaration or by an affidavit. It should be preceded by a shift in the persons' conception of God. From the point of theology, the latter is the necessary condition while the former is an ancillary condition.

A conversion has many legal and social consequences. In India, personal laws are governed by the religion of the party and can vary greatly from one religion to another (polygamy, maintenance, divorce, inheritance etc.). Thus, a conclusive proof of conversion would be desirable.

The performances of rituals, customs and duties of the new religion can be guiding factors to infer successful conversion. However, there can be instances of families converting from religion A to religion B, yet continuing with some of the customs of their earlier faith. Hence, there can be no direct proof of a persons' shift in the belief of God.

The elements of a "genuine" conversion are difficult to prove. On the other hand, bogus conversions are simpler to prove. There are some instances where the conversion is clearly a sham. Mass conversions is one such example. Conversion in exchange for money/food is another. In these instances, the culpability of the offence is on the converter and not on the converted.

The matter of conversion and of one's faith is personal. If person A bribes person B to convert and B agrees, then that is a reflection of the religious beliefs of those two. Person A clearly wants more "numbers" on his side and is ready to recruit non-believers. Person B is ready to renounce his faith in exchange for money goes to show how much of a believer he is. Both of them have made a mockery of religion.


In light of the above, my recommendation would be :
  • Punishing the converter for forcible conversions (using coercion, threat, violence, fraud, misrepresentation, undue influence etc.). I would be apprehensive to include allurement. While the former forces consent, the latter invites consent. In the former, there is no consent since force has been used, but in the latter the offer is so good that the converted sees it as a beneficial transaction. However, some forms of allurement may constitute as undue influence (providing food and healthcare to the poor)
  • A duty upon the converted to report his conversion to local magistrate AFTER the conversion. Like mentioned above, a conversion has manifold implications and hence there should not be any ambiguity
  • The non-reporting of conversion will not have a bearing on the conversion itself. But for the conversion to have legal effects, it must be reported to the magistrate. While a mental conversion is good in theology, it is not good in law



    Image : http://www.quazoo.com/q/Religious_conversion

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