Spate of anti-conversion laws leading to state 'complicity' towards vigilante violence

By Radhika Chitkara, Vikas Kumar*
On November 28, 2020, the BJP state government in Uttar Pradesh enacted the Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversions Ordinance criminalizing “unlawful” conversions which have been secured by “misinterpretation, force, undue influence, coercion, allurement or by any other fraudulent means or by marriage”.
On December 26, 2020, the BJP state government in Madhya Pradesh followed suit by enacting the Religious Freedom Ordinance 2020. Over the past four years, four BJP state governments have enacted anti-conversion laws, with Jharkhand and Uttarakhand enacting the Freedom of Religion Acts in 2017 and 2018 respectively.
While the Jharkhand and Uttarakhand laws continue the decades-long legacy of criminalizing conversions outside the so-called “Hindu” fold in attempts to “Hinduise” adivasis, the UP and MP Ordinances expand their ambit to criminalize conversions by marriages, mass conversions, while also targeting associations and organizations.
The UP Ordinance introduces a punishment of 1-5 years of imprisonment for unlawfully converting another, with enhanced punishments for converting minors, women, members of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, and mass conversions, potentially inviting draconian sentences extending to 20 years imprisonment.
Heads of organizations/ institutions are also liable to imprisonment, along with a cancellation of registration. Pertinently, “reconversion” to a previous religion is not criminalised. Other draconian provisions of the law include a reversal of burden of proof, and the strengthening of police powers without any oversight to conduct inquiries into allegations of so-called unlawful conversions.
Introduced under the bogey of “Love Jihad”, these anti-conversion laws need to be understood in light of virulent attempts of the Hindu Right to consolidate a pan-national “Hindu” identity. The flipside of this are targeted attacks on dalits, adivasis, women, sexual and religious minorities and institutions.
The UP and MP Ordinances particularly introduce police powers of the State to control women’s bodies, sexualities and autonomy to further a politics of strengthening endogamy and Brahmanical family forms. Against a long history of vigilante attacks and atrocities on inter-caste and inter-faith consensual relationships, the State becomes complicit in violence against women and men exercising sexual autonomy.
It is relevant to note that the Ordinances empower any “aggrieved person” to lodge an FIR against a suspected unlawful conversion, and the police has unrestrained and unchecked powers to intercede. “Love Jihad” continues the branding of Muslim men as “terrorists”, in a context where a large number of Muslim men are incarcerated or under suspicion under anti-terror laws solely on the basis of their identities.
The immediate aftermath of the Ordinance testifies to this State complicity with vigilante violence, where within 30 days the UP police had registered 14 cases, made 51 arrests out of which only 2 have been released on bail, and also interrupted marriages. 13 of these 14 cases relate to Hindu girls in consensual relationships with Muslim men.
Rendered invisible behind this criminalization of “conversions” are expansive attempts of right-wing cultural organizations like the RSS, VHP, Bajrang Dal and others seeking to “Hinduise” dalits and adivasis, permitted under the law under the guise of “reconversion” or ghar wapsi.
While the 1990s witnessed targeted attacks on Christian missionaries in Odisha for so-called fraudulent conversions, as in the gruesome murder of Graham Steines by the Bajrang Dal, the past few years have witnessed reinvigorated attempts at communal polarization and atrocities against Muslims and Christians in Jharkhand. Popular demands for the enactment of a Sarna Code arise simultaneously with the enactment of the Jharkhand Act in 2017, which has been viewed as an attempt to fragment struggles for land rights.
In also criminalizing mass conversions, these spate of laws neglect the long history in the subcontinent where conversions have been a political, social and spiritual strategy of resisting inequalities and indignities of Hinduism, especially of its oppressive system of caste hierarchy. Conversions to Sikhism, Buddhism, Islam and Christianity are a part of this long tradition of staking claim to equality, dignity, and socio-economic rights.
---
*Secretaries, People’s Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR). This is the concept note prepared for virtual meet a public meeting on Conversions, Personal Freedoms and the State

Comments

Defeat of martial law: Has the decisive moment for change come in South Korea?

By Steven Lee Late at night on December 3, soldiers stormed into South Korea’s National Assembly in armored vehicles and combat helicopters. Assembly staff desperately blocked their assault with fire extinguishers and barricades. South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol had just declared martial law to “ eliminate ‘anti-state’ forces .”

70,000 migrants, sold on Canadian dream, face uncertain future: Canada reinvents the xenophobic wheel

By Saurav Sarkar* Bikram Singh is running out of time on his post-study work visa in Canada. Singh is one of about 70,000 migrants who were sold on the Canadian dream of eventually making the country their home but now face an uncertain future with their work permits set to expire by December 2024. They came from places like India, China, and the Philippines, and sold their land and belongings in their home countries, took out loans, or made other enormous commitments to get themselves to Canada.

A groundbreaking non-violent approach: Maharishi’s invincible defense technology

By MajGen (R) Kulwant Singh, Col (R) SP Bakshi, Col (R) Jitendra Jung Karki, LtCol (R) Gunter Chassé & Dr David Leffler* In today’s turbulent world, achieving lasting peace and ensuring national security are more urgent than ever. Traditional defense methods focus on advanced weapons, military strategies, and tactics, but a groundbreaking approach offers a new non-violent and holistic solution: Maharishi’s Invincible Defense Technology (IDT).

Govt of India asked to work for release of 217 Indian fishermen detained in Pakistan since 2021

By A Representative Members of the fishing communities from Gujarat and Diu, Union Territory, held a press conference in Ahmedabad, urging the Union Government to take proactive measures to secure the release of Indian fishermen currently detained in Pakistan. Presently, 217 Indian fishermen, mostly from Gujarat and Diu, are held in Pakistan’s Malir Jail. Of these, 53 have been incarcerated since 2021 and 130 since 2022.

This book examines dialectics of complex caste and class relationship

By Harsh Thakor* In Caste and Revolution by N. Ravi, the author addresses questions raised by Dalit and Bahujan intellectuals inspired by revolutionary parties. These questions center on caste issues and seek to formulate a profound diagnosis to chart a path toward the annihilation of caste. The book explains how caste-based feudalism and comprador bureaucratic capitalism intertwine to perpetuate the caste system. It asserts that only the path of a New Democratic Revolution can eradicate caste. The book delves into the need for an equal position for oppressed castes in all layers of society to abolish caste discrimination and oppression. It offers an analytical diagnosis, a penetrating navigation, and a detailed account of the dialectics of caste and class across diverse spheres. Annihilation of Caste and the New Democratic Revolution A revolutionary party develops a perspective document on the caste question, integrating its understanding of caste and the program for caste annih...

34 Dalit families in IIT Kanpur without toilets in Open Defecation Free India

By Sandeep Pandey When Indian Institute of Technology at Kanpur was set up in 1959, two villages were uprooted. The farmers were given meagre compensation for the standing crop. No compensation was given for the land to build this institute of national importance. Each family was promised a job but what was not told to them was that one would require specialised skills to get a job at IIT. Some members of these families were, of course, absorbed for menial work. Some washerfolk families were also invited from outside to live on campus to take care of the laundry needs of students, staff and faculty members. One of these men was cajoled by IIT authorities then to forego a regular employment at IIT and instead take up clothes washing work.

प्राकृतिक संसाधनों के दोहन करने की प्रतिस्पर्धा: बढ़ रही पर्यावरणीय और सामाजिक चुनौतियां

- राज कुमार सिन्हा प्राकृतिक संसाधनों और कॉमन्स, जैसे सामुदायिक भूमि, वन, चारागाह और जल निकाय स्थानीय समुदायों के लिए महत्वपूर्ण हैं जो इन संसाधनों पर निर्भर हैं और उनके सतत् उपयोग एवं संरक्षण के लिए पीढ़ियों से प्रयासरत हैं। कॉमन्स न केवल हमारी पारिस्थितिकी को संतुलित रखते हैं, बल्कि ग्रामीण आजीविका, जैव विविधता, और जलवायु अनुकूलन के लिए भी महत्वपूर्ण हैं। दुर्भाग्यवश, हर साल इन संसाधनों में 4% की कमी आ रही है, जिससे पर्यावरणीय और सामाजिक चुनौतियां बढ़ रही हैं। इन कॉमन्स के संरक्षण और पुनरुद्धार के लिए दीर्घकालीन योजना पर कार्य करने की आवश्यकता है। जिससे एक बेहतर, समान और टिकाऊ भविष्य का निर्माण हो सके।

Balod tech fest tests students’ interest in innovative ideas in the fields of science, engineering, start-ups

By A Representative A techno fest scheduled on December 20 and 21 in Balod district of Chhattisgarh will test the innovative ideas of school students in the fields of science, engineering and start-ups. For this two-day fest organised at Maheswari Bhawan of the district, a total of 824 models made by students were initially registered. Out of those, a selection committee chose 200 models from several schools spread over five blocks of Balod. These will be on display on these two days from 10am to 4.30pm. Out of many ideas, one of the most interesting models is a smart glove which can be used by children with impairments and disabilities. For those who cannot speak at all or have speech difficulty, they can ask for help from caregivers by pressing their fingers on the glove after wearing it. This will attract attention.

Local businessman subjected to physical assault, verbal abuse: Demand for accountability, justice

By Kirity Roy* On October 9, 2024, a disturbing incident of harassment and abuse took place in the Swarupnagar Block of North 24 Parganas district, involving a local businessman, Hasanur Gazi, who was subjected to physical assault, verbal abuse, and religious discrimination by a Border Security Force (BSF) constable. The incident, which occurred at the Hakimpur Checkpost, has raised serious concerns about the safety and dignity of citizens living in border areas, especially those belonging to religious minorities.

Search This Blog