[Reader-list] THE GUJARAT ANTI-CONVERSION BILL

[Vedavati Jogi]

i appreciate gujrat govt. for showing this courage......
when muslims outnumber hindus, this country is partitioned, in 1947 we have 
experienced this.
kashmir problem is also an eyeopener for all hindus
(excluding mentally bankrupt pseudo secularists)

vedavati


>From: "arshad amanullah" <arshad.mcrc at gmail.com>
>To: reader-list at sarai.net
>Subject: [Reader-list] THE GUJARAT ANTI-CONVERSION BILL
>Date: Sat, 14 Oct 2006 10:26:08 +0530
>
>                             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.
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