Major concerns among minorities over Karnataka's proposed Bill against conversions

If food is distributed to the masses on Christmas and there happens to be any Hindu in the group, will it be construed as luring the person into Christianity? Or, if a child carries home a school calendar with the picture of Jesus on it, will it be grounds for implication of attempts to conversion?

These are some of the questions that Archbishop of Bangalore Peter Machado has on his mind about the proposed anti-conversion Bill that the Basavaraj Bommai administration wants to introduce.

Concerned that such a legislation could only increase vigilantism, the Archbishop has written to Bommai, urging the government to drop the proposal.

On Friday, representatives of churches in various taluks and districts in the state also submitted memoranda to local authorities, opposing the move. Soon, they plan to hold a rally expressing their dissent.

Their concerns come even as Bommai recently reiterated the government’s intention to table the Bill in the upcoming legislature session.

The government’s move was prompted by allegations from some legislators about ‘forced conversions’ in rural areas by Christian missionaries.

BJP MLA Goolihatti Shekar lamented in the Assembly that his mother had converted to Christianity under the influence of Christian establishments.

That the directorate of minorities has recently ordered a survey of churches in the state has added to the skepticism.

Also read: Karnataka to soon have anti-conversion law: CM

Speaking to DH, Machado said once such a legislation is passed, it will no longer be restricted to government regulation, but will be misused by fringe elements.

“Karnataka is not like other states. It attracts global visitors and investors. Such legislation will portray the state in a negative light,” he says.

The People’s Union of Civil Liberties has filed a PIL in the Karnataka High Court against the survey.

Meanwhile, the government is in the process of studying similar legislations in other states, Home Minister Araga Jnanendra told DH.

A Cabinet sub-committee, too, will be formed, either headed by the home minister or the law minister, he added, conveying that deliberations are on to draft the Bill.

Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh have implemented similar laws.

Earlier this year, Gujarat brought the Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Act, 2021. Certain sections of this law that applied to conversions through interfaith marriages were stayed by the Gujarat High Court. The Allahabad High Court is also hearing PILs against the Uttar Pradesh law.

While it is unclear at this juncture is whether the state government will draft the Bill to include conversions through marriages, legal professionals say this move is “unwarranted”.

Former advocate general Ravivarma Kumar said there were no forced conversions in the state. “The obsession of the government to prevent conversions is unwarranted. Any force exerted can only be by the majority community and not the minority community. Moreover, forceful conversion is already a punishable offense under the IPC. The sections applicable are 120B, 153A, 295A, 298, 493, 496, 498, 505, 506, 508 and 509. It does not warrant separate legislation. This is proposed only to terrorise the minorities,” he says.

Further, such a legislation opens up the possibility of its application to inter-caste and interfaith marriages, too.

“Instead, the government should actually be looking at preventing honour killings,” he said.

Advocate B T Venkatesh holds a similar view. “It is against the Right to Worship guaranteed under Article 19 and therefore against the Constitution and fundamental rights. The nature of worship is also protected under Article 14 (2), which guarantees Right to Equal Protection. It also affects religious rights guaranteed in Articles 25-30,” he points out.

In all this, there is speculation that the Bill may not be tabled in the winter session starting in Belagavi on December 13.

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