Identify fault lines in society

The Karnataka High Court has issued a notice to the state government on a PIL that questions the legality of an order issued by the Department of Minority Welfare to conduct a survey of all churches and collect the name of the pastors /fathers. On the face of it, the survey, being held at the behest of the legislative committee on backward classes and minorities, is illegal and discriminatory against one community, more so since the admitted purpose is to identify “authorised and unauthorised” churches and priests and take action against them in order to prevent “forced religious conversion which is rampant in some parts of the state”. The order is also violative of the Constitution which lays down that all persons are equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the right to freely profess, practice and propagate religion. The survey will also separately identify places of worship of Protestants and Catholics including residences where prayer meetings are held “illegally”. If this logic is stretched, even Satsang and pujas held regularly in Hindu homes may become illegal. Whether one likes it or not, conversion is the reality of the day as people have every right to follow any faith of their choice, whatever be the reason. Thousands of foreigners convert to Hinduism, while it is common for Dalits to embrace Buddhism. If this were indeed illegal, the government should have ordered action against all communities, not just one.

The manner in which the legislative committee presided over by BJP MLA Goolihatti Shekhar took the decision is in itself highly improper as a majority of the members including the Chairman of the panel were absent. Shekhar has a personal axe to grind as he had recently informed the legislature that his mother and four other families had converted to Christianity, before being brought back under the Ghar Wapsi programme. The bogey of conversion under coercion may not hold much water as so far only 36 such cases have been reported in a state with a population of over six crores, many of them motivated by vigilante groups.

Instead of bowing to fundamentalists who are targeting minorities, the government should identify the fault lines in the society to understand why people, especially Dalits, are converting in the first place. Karnataka’s poet laureate Kuvempu had described the state as ‘Sarva Janaangadha Shanthiya Thota’ or a garden where all communities live in harmony. The Bommai government should stand up to this ideal. Dividing the society on the basis of caste and community for narrow political gains should be avoided at all costs.