Rajasthan to Prevent Religious Conversions

Context

Recently, the Rajasthan Government added a Bill to prevent religious conversions achieved by force, fraud or inducement.

About

• Rajasthan’s first attempt to introduce an anti-conversion law was in 2006 but faced opposition and was returned by the President.
• In 2017, Rajasthan High Court issued hints to prevent forcible conversions within the absence of a regulation.
• The new Bill follows the strains of anti-conversion legal guidelines already present in states like Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

Key Provisions

• Unlawful conversion: It includes conversion through coercion, pressure, allurement (coins, benefits, etc.), or fraud.
• Burden of proof: The accused character has to prove that the conversion was not performed unlawfully.
• Filing of FIR: Blood household (parents, siblings, and many others.) of the aggrieved can file an FIR in suspected cases.

Punishments

• • General illegal conversion: 1 to 5 years in prison, fine of Rs 15,000.
  • Conversion of children, woman, or SC/ST: 2 to 10 years in prison, fine of Rs 25,000.
  • Mass conversions: 3 to 10 years in prison, fine of Rs 50,000.
    • Repeat offenders face double the punishment for every offence.
    • All offences are cognizable and non-bailable.
  • Voluntary Conversion Process: Converts need to fill a statement form and publish it to the District Magistrate (DM) 60 days in advance.
    • A month’s advance notice must take delivery of to the DM for the rite.
    • The individual acting the conversion rite has to also notify the DM 30 days before.
    • An officer will conduct an inquiry into the purpose and cause of the conversion.
    • A statement of the conversion must be filed with the DM, which includes details like the convert’s identification, faith earlier than and after conversion, etc.
    • The convert should appear earlier than the DM within 21 days of the assertion for verification.

Need and Purpose of the Bill

• • The government claims that many gullible individuals are being converted unlawfully.
  • The Bill aims to balance religious freedom with stopping fraudulent conversion.
  • It was aimed at stopping forcible conversions and conversions through coercion, pressure, allurement, or fraud.
• The Constituent Assembly discussed the inclusion of the right to propagate faith as a part of the essential rights.
• Some members have been concerned that the right to propagate should lead to forceful conversions and wanted to update the word “propagate” with “education privately”.
• Article 25(1) grants all folks the freedom of moral sense and the right to profess, education, and propagate religion.
  • This guarantees equal religious freedom to everyone, but with certain limitations in the interest of public order, morality, and health.

Source: The Hindu

UPSC Mains Practice Question

 Q. Analyze the socio-political implications of anti-conversion laws on religious minorities in India. (150 words)

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