I wonder why no government in Goa has ever brought in a similar legislation against religious conversions?
Stalin K. Director Video Volunteers <http://www.videovolunteers.org> - Empowering Community Voices Mobile +91-99235-94635 Skype: stalink1234 VIDEOS <http://www.youtube.com/user/VideoVolunteers> | TWITTER <http://twitter.com/videovolunteers> | FACE BOOK <https://www.facebook.com/VideoVolunteers> | BLOG <http://stalink.wordpress.com/> India Office: House No.1224 26/3 | St. John Road | Gaum Vaddy | Anjuna | Bardez | Goa 403509 New York Office: 47 West 92nd Street | New York City| New York 10025 | USA On Thu, Sep 21, 2017 at 2:56 AM, Goanet News <[email protected]> wrote: > Why Jharkhand’s anti-conversion bill is against Constitution and not > necessary > > Jharkhand’s Religious Freedom Bill, 2017, primarily targets Christians, and > goes against the freedom of religious belief in India’s Constitution > > COLUMNS Updated: Sep 12, 2017 18:15 IST > Harsh Mander > > PHOTO: Jharkhand chief minister Raghubar Das. Jharkhand will not be the > first government to pass an anti-conversion law if this is voted for by the > state assembly. Anti-conversion laws were passed in Orissa in 1967, in > Madhya Pradesh in 1968, in Gujarat in 2003 and Chhattisgarh in 2006. The > only Congress government to pass such a law was in Himachal Pradesh in 2006 > (File Photo)(Manoj Kumar/HT) > > It is a difficult time to be a part of the minority community in India > today with threats of various sorts coming from different quarters. But a > new assault on them is the approval by the Jharkhand Cabinet of a stringent > anti-conversion law, titled in characteristic double-speak, as the > Religious Freedom Bill, 2017. It contains stiff jail sentences and fines > for converting people through “allurement” or “coercion”. > > A day before this Cabinet decision, residents of Jharkhand awoke to > front-page advertisements with pictures of Mahatma Gandhi, and a toxic > quote attributed to him attacking conversions by Christian missionaries. As > a columnist wrote in an online publication, the words were pulled out of > context and distorted. Gandhi must not be appropriated by an ideology that > is violently opposed to all he stood far: An India with full religious > freedom and equal rights. And it is intensely worrying that taxpayers’ > money is used to foment hatred against a segment of people of the state. > > Christians constitute a small 4.3% of the population of Jharkhand. The same > tribal family may have adherents of the animist Sarna faith (comprising > nearly 13% of the population), Christians and persons who identify > themselves as Hindus. Left to themselves, tribal families and communities > live with peace with this diversity of faith practices. But the propaganda > of the Right-wing, now backed by the state government, aggravated by the > draconian anti-conversion law, will tear apart these families and > communities. > > The proposed anti-conversion law in Jharkhand has fostered enormous > disquiet among Christians everywhere in India. The ultra Right-wing regards > Islam and Christianity to be a “foreign” religion, and therefore requires > its adherents to respect “Hindu” culture and practices. But to advance its > political juggernaut objectives, it has built alliances with Christian > community leaders in some parts of India, such as Kerala and north-eastern > states. However, particularly in large tribal states of central India like > Jharkhand, Odisha and Chhattisgarh, the political strategy of choice has > been to target, defame and intimidate Christians, with violence against > their shrines, priests, nuns and women, and with laws that criminalise > conversions to Christianity. > > But it must be stressed that Jharkhand will not be the first government to > pass an anti-conversion law if this is voted for by the state assembly. > Anti-conversion laws were passed in Orissa in 1967 under a Swatantra Party > government; in Madhya Pradesh in 1968 under the Samyukta Vidhayak Dal > coalition (which included the Jan Sangh); and in Gujarat in 2003 and > Chhattisgarh in 2006 under BJP governments. The Jayalalithaa government in > Tamil Nadu passed the law in 2002 but repealed it in two years after its > passage in 2004. The only Congress government to pass such a law was in > Himachal Pradesh in 2006. Rajasthan passed an anti-conversion law in 2006, > but the governor refused to sign the law. Arunachal Pradesh passed such a > law in 1978 under the People’s Party of Arunachal, but it was never > enforced as rules have not been framed to date. > > Members of the Constituent Assembly took great care to uphold the freedom > of religious belief in India’s Constitution. After extended debate, it > decided that this freedom should not just be to practise and profess one’s > faith, but also to propagate it. KM Munshi declared that “under freedom of > speech which the Constitution guarantees, it will be open to any religious > community to persuade other people to join their faith”. > > However, organisations like the RSS never reconciled to this fundamental > guarantee of the Constitution. They rail against the “menace” of Christian > conversions allegedly funded by big foreign money. It matters little that > the facts don’t bear out their claims. Christians constituted 2.5% of > India’s population in 1981, and 2.3% in 1991, 2001 and 2011. If large-scale > conversions were indeed occurring, their numbers would have swelled. This > sustained misinformation has resulted in profound and sometimes violent > schisms between Christian and other tribal people. > > In this divisive competition for the religious allegiance of India’s > poorest and most vulnerable people, marked by stridency and hate, it is > important to recall the gentle counsel of one of the world’s tallest public > figures, the Dalai Lama: “It does not matter which God you worship, or even > if you worship no God. What is important is to be a compassionate human > being”. > > Harsh Mander is author, Looking Away: Inequality, Prejudice and > Indifference in New India > > http://www.hindustantimes.com/columns/why-jharkhand-s-anti- > conversion-bill-is-against-constitution-and-not-necessary/story- > FIhGsnxuqIItvniVAoiLQO.html >
