Indian bishops seek repeal of all anti-conversion laws

Catholic bishops in India have demanded the repeal of anti-conversion laws existing in 12 states, saying the legislation violates constitutional guarantees of religious freedom and privacy.

The demand was made at the end of the biennial general body meeting of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI), held Feb. 4–10 in the southern city of Bengaluru.

A Feb. 10 statement issued after the meeting said the Indian Constitution guarantees “all citizens the fundamental right to freedom of conscience and the right to freely profess, practice and propagate a religion of one’s choice.”

The laws, enacted in 12 states — Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Arunachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh — are commonly referred to as “Freedom of Religion” Acts.

The bishops said these laws are frequently misused and “many innocent individuals are incarcerated based on unfounded allegations of forceful religious conversions.”

The laws, mostly in states governed by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, have stringent provisions, including life imprisonment and heavy fines for those found guilty of conversion through force, coercion or allurement.

Father Robinson Rodrigues, CBCI spokesperson, said the bishops were concerned because hundreds of cases alleging forced or illegal conversions have been registered in recent years, many of which were later closed for lack of evidence or remain unproven in court.

“The conviction rate in these alleged conversion cases against Christians is zero, but still they were made to undergo innumerable hardships, including detention in prison,” Rodrigues told UCA News on Feb. 11.

Hindu activists, who oppose missionary activities in their attempt to stop the spread of Christianity, frequently raid and disrupt Christian prayer services and file police complaints of Christians violating the law by attempting to convert people.

Rodrigues said the laws were thus used to foment hostility against Christians. “This hate mongering has reached a dangerous level, and even Catholic nuns in their habits were targeted,” he said.

Several people have questioned the law’s constitutional validity in India’s Supreme Court.

On Feb. 2, the court sought responses from the federal government and the 12 states in a petition filed by the National Council of Churches in India, which represents about 14 million Christians.

In a separate demand, the Catholic bishops urged the government to end what they described as discrimination against Christians of Dalit origin, who are excluded from affirmative action benefits available to Hindu, Sikh, and Buddhist Dalits.

Under current policy, Christians and Muslims of Dalit origin are denied access to reserved seats in educational institutions, government employment, and political representation on the grounds that Christianity and Islam do not recognize caste distinctions.

An estimated 60 percent of India’s Christians are from Dalit or tribal backgrounds. Christians account for about 2.3 percent of India’s 1.4 billion population, roughly 80 percent of whom are Hindu.

This article was originally published on https://www.ucanews.com/news/indian-bishops-seek-repeal-of-all-anti-conversion-laws/111875