Chattisgarh govt. mulls over strengthening anti–conversion law

Raipur – The state government of Chattisgarh, one of the four states in India where anti–conversion law is in force, has temporarily postponed its plans of modifying its existing anti–conversion laws and strengthening it, due to “technical problems,” Christian Today has confirmed.

The state of Chattisgarh that was created in November 2000, splitting it from Madhya Pradesh, has continued to retain the Freedom of Religion Act adopted by Madhya Pradesh in 1968. Renamed the Chattisgarh Dharma Swatantraya Adhiniyam (Freedom of Religion Act), the anti–conversion law prohibits conversion by “forcible or fraudulent” means and, according to the state law minister, Brij Mohan Agarwal, the state government wanted to “make some amendments in it to make it more effective.”

Under the proposed amendments, any person wishing to convert – and any religious leader involved in the conversion – must contact district officials 30 days in advance. Officials must approve the conversion before it takes place.

If the amendments are accepted, anyone found guilty of attempting to convert someone “forcefully or fraudulently” may be imprisoned for up to four years and fined up to Rs. 100,000 rupees (USD $ 2,275).

Under existing provisions, an offender may be imprisoned for up to two years and fined a maximum of Rs. 10,000 (USD $ 227).

Though local leaders of the ruling state Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) insist that the proposed amendments were held up due to “technical problems,” Christian Legal Association of India (CLAI) feel that the opposition secular Congress Party in the state legislature must have put a spanner in their plans by objecting to the amendments.

Incidentally, the amendments were suggested by the BJP as early as 2003, when the Chattisgarh Govornor Lt. Gen. K. M. Seth told the state assembly in December of that year that the anti–conversion law would be “stricter” under BJP rule.

However, till date no concrete action has been taken and the local Christian community continue to hope that things stay this way.

With the ouster of Ajit Jogi, former Chief Minister of Chattisgarh and a tribal Christian, from power, the influence of the Christians in the state has been on the decline and that of Hindu fundamentalism on the rise.

Presently, anti–conversion laws are in force in the states of Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, and Arunachal Pradesh. Gujarat state passed a similar law in March 2003, but the law has not been enforced because the government has not yet formulated 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.