Religious freedom does not entail right to convert: Indian judge

The top court in a northern Indian state has said the right to freedom of religion does not mean the right to convert and denied bail to a person accused of violating the sweeping anti-conversion law.

This is the second such order within 10 days from the Allahabad High Court in Uttar Pradesh where 17 Christians are jailed for breaking the state’s stringent anti-conversion law, enacted in 2021.

“When the high court continues to pass such orders it will be difficult for those in prison to get any consideration in a lower court,” noted a Christian leader assisting the jailed Christians.
“It is a matter of serious concern,” he said on condition of anonymity.

“The individual right to freedom of religion cannot be extended to construe a collective right to proselytize,” Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal said while dismissing Shriniwas Rav Nayak’s bail plea on July 9.

Agarwal in an order on July 1 had denied bail to Kailash, mentioned by only a single name, and ordered to stop all the religious congregations where conversions are taking place.

Uttar Pradesh is ruled by the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The BJP is against the conversion of marginalized people like the Dalits (former untouchables) and tribal people who are currently grouped under Hinduism in India’s census.

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the parent organization of the BJP, opposes missionary activities by the Indian Church among the downtrodden people.

It runs a nationwide campaign to reconvert Dalits and tribal people, who together make up more than 25 percent of India’s 1.4 billion population, most of them Hindus.

It has come to the notice of this court that “unlawful activity of conversion” to Christianity among the Dalits and indigenous people “is being done at a rampant pace” throughout Uttar Pradesh state, the judge said in the July 1 order.

“If this process is allowed, the majority population would become the minority one day,” he observed.

It is a legal issue and will have to be legally dealt with, observed A C Michael, an office-bearer of the United Christian Forum (UCF), an ecumenical body that keeps track of persecution against Christians in India.

“We have already expressed our concerns over the sweeping allegations the court made against the Christian community. But that is not enough, as the court had not expunged the remarks on its own,” Michael told UCA News on July 11.

We are already in touch with senior lawyers, Michael added.The UCF had expressed its anguish over Justice Agarwal’s earlier remarks against the community.Uttar Pradesh, ruled by Hindu monk-turned-politician Yogi Adityanath, leads among Indian states in violence against Christians, who make up a mere 0.18 percent of the state’s more than 200 million population.

This article is originally published on https://www.ucanews.com/news/religious-freedom-does-not-entail-right-to-convert-indian-judge/105685