[Reader-list] THE GUJARAT ANTI-CONVERSION BILL

[arshad amanullah]

                            THE GUJARAT   ANTI-CONVERSION  BILL


by: Arshad Amanullah


The Gujarat Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Bill 2006, popularly known
as the Anti-Conversion Act Amendment Bill, has been passed by the
Gujarat Assembly on Sep 19, 2006. With this, Rajasthan has joined the
league of the BJP-run states (Arunachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya
Pradesh and Orissa) which already have Anti-Conversion Act. This bill
has once again highlighted the gravity of concerns which had already
been expressed by almost all major secular players of the country.



Passed in 2003, the earlier version of the Act, , did not come into
effect as it did not have clarity on what 'forced conversion' means
and to whom should it apply. According to the amended bill, forcible
religious conversion is a cognizable offence punishable by law.
Punishment for those found guilty can be upto 3 years or Rs 50,000.
Moreover, in case a minor, SC or ST is converted, the period is upto 4
years and fine is Rs 1 lakh. It makes prior permission of District
Magistrate mandatory in case a conversion is planned. The bill places
Jains and Buddhas under the category of the Hindus; Shias and Sunnis
under the Muslim category and Protestants and Catholics under the
Christian category.
Under the Bill, a person need not seek permission in case he/she is
converting from one sect to another of the same religion.



Though a Right-wing bi-monthly is all praise of the 'logical
coherence' observed in redefining the religious categories of the
country in the Bill, the same in its essence, violates the
Constitution and contravenes the Supreme Court orders. Articles 25 to
30 of the Constitution clearly state that Hinduism, Jainism and
Buddhism are three different religions. Buddhism is a separate
religion according to the National Commission for Minorities Act,
1992.Similarly, the Jains enjoy the same separate status as a division
of the Supreme Court has decried in 2004.Underlining this fallacy of
the Bill, Mr. Hamid Ansari, Chairman, National Commission for
Minorities, said: "Legislators can not, and should not, decide the
religious identity of a community this way. This decision has to be
taken by the community itself in a democratic manner".



All minority groups have bitterly criticized the Bill as they, apart
from being its unconstitutional, are apprehensive of the intentions of
the Gujarat government which has earned notoriety of being
anti-minority. Father Cedric Prakash termed it "draconian" while Udit
Raj, chairman of the All-India Confederation of SCs/STs organisations
sees Hindutva designs behind the Bill. Mr. Chakresh Jain, President,
Delhi Jain Samaj, has threatened to stage nation-wide protests against
the Bill because they "are not Hindus at all" as the Bill stipulates.



The issue of conversion always comes handy to the Hindu Right wing
politicians to whip up the anti-minority sentiments in the majority
community. As the Assembly election in Gujarat is round the corner,
the Modi government has embarked upon the preparation for the same
with the promulgation of the Bill. It aims at polarizing the
electorate of the state along the communal lines, instilling a
fear-psychosis among the majority community. The argument, though
repeated ad nauseum by the Sangh Parivar,  that if a check has not
been put on the conversion from Hinduism to other religions, the
Hindus will be reduced to minority till 2060, is still convincing to a
large number of people. The silliness of this argument is evident from
the fact that Christians and Jains constitute respectively 0.5 percent
and 1percent of the total population of the state. Likewise, there are
only 18000 Buddhists are part of the Gujarat populace.



It's true that number of Dalits and SCs/STs embracing Buddhism, is
increasing in Gujarat. No other than the vicious relationship between
caste-power-poverty, so arduously perpetuated through the
Varna-hierarchy, an intrinsic part of the Hindutva ideology, is
responsible for this. Thus, conversion to other religions is an
attempt to liberate themselves from this circle of oppressions on the
part of these wretched souls.



The Bill intends to sink the issues of poverty, education, employment
and survival of the Dalits and SCs/STs into the debate of fictitious
Hindu Brotherhood, with the help of dirty politics of identity. It has
made it threateningly clear to them that in case they convert to
non-Hindu religions, they will be deprived of the privileges bestowed
on them by the Constitution of India. Thus, the Bill, holding an axe
on heads of those SCs/STs, who may convert to other egalitarian
religions in search of a better social status, will be instrumental in
mobilizing the Vote bank of the BJP. Against this backdrop it is not
difficult to understand why the Modi government is eager to
incorporate Jainism and Buddhism into the Hindu 'mainstream'.



The danger of this Bill goes beyond the politics of ballots and
identity. It strikes at the very roots of the humanity. It brings all
sorts of social work for the poor and needy citizens into the pale of
suspicion. It puts a question mark on the sincerity of all activities
by all non-Hindutva charity trusts.


arshad amanullah
34,masihgarh,
jamia nagar
new delhi-25.