EFI expresses concern over Gujarat's Freedom of Religion Act amendment bill

The Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI) has expressed deep concern over the recent passing of an amendment to the Freedom of Religion Act, 2003 by the Gujarat State Assembly, saying that it violated fundamental rights guaranteed to an individual.

"The amendment fails to secure the right of an Indian citizen under Article 25, making it compulsory to take prior permission before carrying out a baptism ceremony. The amendment also differentiates between those converting to Islam and Christianity and those converting to the Buddhist, Jain or Sikh faiths," the EFI said in a statement. "Only those converting to Islam and Christianity have to report to the government. The amendment, passed amidst enormous opposition, takes away the fundamental rights guaranteed to an individual. The Constitution of India states that an individual has the right to ‘freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion’."

The EFI noted that the Anti–conversion Act was passed in 2003 but not executed due to lack of clarity on aspects such as the meaning of forced conversion and to whom it should apply. "But Gujarat government officials have claimed that the present Gujarat Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Bill 2006 has brought clarity to the Act," the evangelical body stated.

The EFI also expressed concern that the amendment also states that Jainism and Buddhism shall be understood as denominations of the Hindu religion.

Quoting Hamid Ansari, chairman of the National Commission for Minorities, who remarked that "legislators cannot, and should not, decide the religious identity of a community this way" and the "decision has to be taken by the community itself in a democratic manner" the EFI said that it was unfortunate that the government was usurping the rights given to the community.

The EFI has urged the Christian community nationwide to protest against the amendment by writing to the Governor of Gujarat.

"The amendment will come to pass only after the assent of Governor Nawal Kishore Sharma to the bill. The governor has one of four choices in regard to the bill. He can give his assent, withhold his assent, reserve the bill for the consideration of the president or return the bill to the assembly with a message for its reconsideration," the EFI noted.

"We urge the Governor of Gujarat to withhold his assent and reserve the bill for the consideration of the president," it added.