Himachal Pradesh Governor gives assent to anti–conversion Bill

The Governor of the hilly state of Himachal Pradesh, Shri Justice Vishnu Sadashiv Kokje, has given his assent to the anti–conversion law, February 10, passed by the state legislature on December 29, 2006, much to the chagrin of the Christian community who see the move as encouraging the Hindu radicals in the state of intensifying their attacks on the minority Christian community.

While Christian advocacy group, All India Christian Council (AICC) is contemplating challenging the law in the Supreme Court, several Christian organizations and civil activists have already taken protests to the streets.

Expressing "deep regret" over the Governor's decision to give assent to the Bill, Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI) said, "Though the Act seemingly bans conversion by coercion or allurement, similar Acts have been misused in other states to harass Christian workers and at times, even hinder genuine conversions."

"The Act forbids any attempt of a person to convert from one religion to another through inducement or fraud. Those found to be at fault will be imprisoned up to two years and/or will also be fined Rs. 20,000," it noted.

"A person wishing to convert has to give 30 days prior information to the district magistrate of the district. The magistrate will then arrange an investigation to check the motives of the person wishing to convert," it added.

Calling the law "useless," Bishop Gerald Mathias of Shimla Diocese warned that the law was politically motivated as the government had failed to back their claims of forcible conversion in the state with adequate evidence.

"Approving this law was totally unnecessary. Congress professes to be a secular party but it has approved this law that discriminates against religions. There have been absolutely no cases of forced conversion on a large scale. Even Dalits here are very few. This law will serve politicians to make people forget about real problems of the state and to focus attention on non–existent conversions," the bishop said, noting that this was the first anti–conversion law to be ever enacted in a state governed by a secular Congress party.

According to the provisions of the law, the bishop noted, "converting women and persons belonging to Dalit and tribal communities is punishable by three years in prison and high fines. This is a means to block the missionary and social activities of the Church, which helps the most vulnerable members of society with its health care centers and schools."

The Church of Himachal Pradesh, like the rest of India, "is at the service of the poor and oppressed. If fundamentalists want to strike us with their words and actions, let them do so. But we will continue our work because ultimately truth will prevail. The most important thing for us is that the poor whom we serve know our real intentions and feelings," the bishop said.

Interestingly, last year, Congress party president, ms. Sonia Gandhi had assured the Christian community in writing that her party was against such laws and would take all steps to oppose them. Prior to this, anti–conversion laws were in force in the states of Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Arunachal Pradesh – states governed by the Hindu national Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) or its allies. Gujarat state passed a similar law in March 2003; but the law has not been enforced because the government has not yet formulated the rules under the Act. Tamil Nadu was another state that enacted the anti–conversion law in October 2002. However, the state government scrapped it following the defeat of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections. In Rajasthan, though the State Assembly has passed the anti–conversion laws, yet, the Governor has refused to give assent to it.

"It is highly regrettable that the secular Congress government in Himachal Pradesh has chosen to pass this law, which severely undercuts the fundamental right to freedom of religion, particularly for exploited Dalits and tribals. The assent of the governor amounts to an endorsement of the discrimination and persecution against religious minorities in that state, which has already begun since the bill was passed on 29 December," said Dr. Joseph D'souza, President of the Dalit Freedom Network.

"Hindu extremist groups already seem to have been bolstered by the passage of this law, encouraged by the state–sponsored religious freedom restrictions which are becoming ever more common across India. This is a very troubling trend, and we urge the international community to make urgent representations to the Indian government about the proliferation of anti–conversion legislation," said AICC partner organization, Christian Solidarity Worldwide's (CSW) advocacy director Tina Lambert.

Alleging that the anti–conversion law had been enacted at the behest of Hindu fundamentalists, to target the Christians, AICC's secretary general, John Dayal said, "It is our experience that it favours a particular religion and denies people any freedom of faith."

Calling the enactment of the law a "political gimmick," Dayal suggested that AICC would not hesitate to challenge the same in the state High Court or the Supreme Court of India.

According to Dayal, the ruling Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, by playing into the hands of Hindu fundamentalists, has alienated almost everyone, including a large chunk of his own party men and women.

"Going by available evidence, the former princeling and current Congress Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh apparently feels that unless he takes a page out of Gujarat supremo Narendra Modi's political manual, and makes Himachal Pradesh a 'Deva–bhoomi' abode of gods and goddesses immediately, he will not return to power when the Assembly goes to the polls," Dayal suggested, adding that he would also approach the State Information Commissioner, and if required, the Central Information Commissioner and demand data regarding the number of forced or induced conversions carried out by Christian evangelists in the state – the primary reason suggested by the Himachal Pradesh government for passing the law.

The State Government of Himachal Pradesh is now preparing to pass the requisite set of rules for implementing the law.