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6. Is there a legal right to convert?
This is a subject that is coming up for discussion quite a lot. There
is a Constitutional provision which gives a right to propagate one's religion.
The proponents of the conversion programme say that this also implies
that there is a right to ask people to convert. However, all rights are
subject to maintenance of public order, and if there is a threat to it,
then the right has to be restricted. This is the way all civil societies
function.
The issue of conversions due to force, fraud and
inducements was debated at the time of framing the Constitution immediately
after the independence in 1947. A specific provision was not put in, since
it was said that such conversions are immoral - a fact accepted by the
Christian members of the Constituent Assembly. In the aftermath of the
Niyogi Committee, Madhya Pradesh, followed by Orissa and Arunachal Pradesh,
had to enact a law specifically prohibiting such activities. In all the
cases, the governments belonged to the Congress party. In 1977, when these
acts were challenged, the Supreme Court ruled that the states had acted
legally and within the spirit of the Constitution. Thus, a fundamental
right to convert has been denied by the Supreme Court.
While a person cannot be denied a right
to convert himself on his own free will, and after his own study of the
religion he wishes to adopt and the one that he wishes to leave, the right
to ask someone else to change should be questioned. At the same time,
conversions due to force, inducements and fraud have to be determined
as illegal. While today the use of force (in physical terms) is limited,
given that the proselytising religions do not have the state power to
back them while being in a minority, conversions due to inducements and
fraud are quite rampant. Mass conversions, the so-called faith healing
programmes, conversions in the guise of offering social service, etc.,
will fall in the illegal category.
When
discussing the legal provisions on conversions, it has to be understood
that it causes tremendous social tensions. Thus, conversions have to be
looked at from a social angle and not merely a legal one.
See also (Q. 7)
(Q.30) &
(Q31)
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