Religious conversion and some concerns

In India, religion is not just a matter of faith. First, it is part of one’s identity: every contract involving a person mentions his or her religion in their description. Not all religions have the same civil law. Besides, though the Indian Constitution says the country is secular and all citizens are equal before the law, over the years, there has been a policy tilt in favour of the minority communities in the matter of rights and privileges, mainly for political reasons.

The Constitution grants all citizens the right to choose, practise and preach any religion of their choice. But it lays down that change of religion should not involve the use of force or inducements. It is this constitutional provision that provokes one to look with suspicion over the conversions from Hinduism to Christianity or Islam that keep taking place.

Forcible conversion was the method some Muslim rulers used in the olden days. The pattern of conversions today indicates that inducements play an important role. A large proportion of religious conversions take place among the poor, backward people in tribal areas.

The above fact justifies the laws on conversion passed in several States. Apparently, the Union Government, too, has started work on a Bill on religious conversion. I wish to present the following for its consideration.

A public notification by a person intending to change religion a specified number of days ahead of the actual event must be made mandatory. The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, makes the conversion to another religion a valid ground for divorce. If a person decides to embrace another religion for some reason, the spouse should get enough time to take whatever action she or he thinks is appropriate. As of now, a husband or wife can hide his or her new religious identity, which can cause legal complications.

Besides, certain religions have their own family laws. Unannounced conversions to such religions can cause immense hardships to people who deal with those who strike sales or other financial deals with such converts.

Inducement to convert need not come in the form of money or other material gifts. There are many instances of colleges run by certain communities rewarding converts with admission for their children. This is a clear violation of the Constitutional provision regarding conversion.

While talking about benefits such as college admission, one cannot ignore the Supreme Court verdict in the TMA Pai case, which makes it mandatory for minority educational institutions to reserve 50 per cent of their seats for their respective communities–religious or linguistic. Religious groups can misuse this to lure members of other religions towards them with college seats. Unfortunately for linguistic minorities, this is not possible as one’s mother tongue cannot be changed.

Here, certificates issued by religious bodies, such as baptism certificates, are considered enough to prove a student’s minority status. How is this allowed when a backward class Hindu student has to produce a relevant certificate from a government authority as proof of his or her eligibility for reservation? Such certificates issued by the government authorities should be made mandatory to enjoy the reservation benefit in every case.

(Incidentally, the court order mentions religious minorities, not the subdivisions among them. In practice, several colleges extend the reservation benefit only to subgroups–Catholics, Protestants, etc.)

An important question in this regard relates to the religious conversion of persons below 18 years. Minors have no right to vote, even in a local body election in India. They are not considered grown up enough to operate a bank account independently. Then how is it possible that they can take an independent decision on the more complex issue of embracing a new faith? Therefore, the proposed law should ban the religious conversion of minors even if their parents choose a new faith.

Above all, it is one’s social obligation to inform other members of society, who would have a property and other financial dealings with one in the future, and the Government, from which one may receive new benefits, of one’s impending change of religious identity. It should also be made binding on the individual to publish his or her new and old names in the government gazette and newspapers, with old and new names and colour photographs, immediately after conversion.

India conducts a Census only once in ten years. It is the government’s right and duty to keep a watch on the demographic change in between. There are, of course, persons and political parties that will wonder why demographic change should worry the government. Surprisingly, they are the ones who cry the loudest about the demographic change the government allegedly want to affect in the Kashmir Valley.