Freedom of Religion, Conversions
Whitewashing Religious Freedom by Dr Mike Ghouse The Kashmir Monitor Aug. 11, 2018
https://www.thekashmirmonitor.net/whitewashing-religious-freedom/
The whitewash report produced by the Hindu America Foundation, ..The majority of Indians of all faiths believe in Pluralism, i.e., respecting the otherness of other. It is not Hindus either, but the radicals among Hindus that are causing the problems with the subtle encouragement from the BJP government.
“The Indian government provides “unprecedented” religious accommodations to its religious minority population, says a report by a US-based Hindu advocacy group.” The truth is far from it. It sounds like the majority is doing a favor to the minorities in ‘accommodating’ them. It is like saying “we give equal rights to women” who the hell are we to give them their rights, to begin with, the rights were theirs. Indeed, every Indian is guaranteed those rights; we are all equal citizens. No one has more privileges than the other. ... The issue is not with Hindus or Muslims; it is with radicals among them.
Indian court jails first Christians under anti-conversion law https://www.ucanews.com/news/indian-court-jails-first-christians-under-anti-conversion-law/107657
An official of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which runs the state government, filed a complaint against the couple in January 2023, accusing them of engaging in the religious conversion of people from tribal and socially poor Dalit backgrounds. The couple denied the charge, arguing that they were providing education to children and helping people stop drinking alcohol and quarreling among themselves. The couple had spent eight months in prison until they were granted bail by the Allahabad High Court last September. Christian leaders say judgment will not stand as an actual conversion was not proven
The state recorded 209 anti-Christian incidents in 2024, the highest in any Indian state, according to the New Delhi-based United Christian Forum (UCF), which tracks violence against Christians across the country.
At least 70 Christians, including pastors, are in prison in the state for allegedly violating the stringent anti-conversion law.
The Madhya Pradesh government’s move to introduce the death penalty for forceful conversion violates the fundamental right to freedom of religion guaranteed by the Constitution under Article 25. Article 25 not only protects an individual’s beliefs but also includes acts of religious expression and propagation of religion to expand religious outreach.
The proposal to award the death penalty in cases of forceful religious conversions by the Madhya Pradesh government is a sharp departure from the constitutional safeguards and the established international norms. It is also a deviation from the principle of considering “rarest of rare” cases for awarding capital punishment in India, established and reaffirmed by various judicial precedents.
This measure of the state government is violative of the fundamental rights of the citizens as there is a high risk of misuse of this provision even in cases of voluntary conversions due to family pressure, and leading to exploitation of innocent individuals who will be subjected to false litigation while exercising their fundamental right of freedom to propagate religion. This would ultimately lead to the award of death penalty under the provisions of the MPFRA, which is a clear breach of fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 25 and 21 of the Constitution. The state government must reconsider its proposal, act within the constitutional framework while legislating anti-conversion laws, and ensure that no innocent person should be persecuted by State actions which are ‘bad in law’.
Shivam Kumar Singh
04/06/2025
In Indore, ‘love jihad’ vigilantes from Bajrang Dal have a free run https://scroll.in/article/1043195/in-indore-love-jihad-vigilantes-from-bajrang-dal-have-a-free-run In the last two months, they have accosted and shamed several inter-faith couples. The police have responded by taking Muslim men into preventive custody.
“The apprehension of disturbance in law and order should be real and reasonable. The way police detain these boys even after they are beaten is abuse of power,” said Rohit Sharma, advocate at Indore High Court. Since in several cases, the young women refused to file a complaint against the Muslim men, preventive custody was used to placate the mob, said the lawyers. “The police should take action against the Bajrang Dal instead of filing cases against the victims,” said Ehtisham Hashmi, a lawyer in Indore.
Indore police commissioner Hari Narayan Chari Mishra denied accusations of bias, saying they take action whenever they get a complaint. “If there is no complaint, what can the police do?”
On being asked about Bajrang Dal men beating up Muslim men in public spaces or at people’s homes, he said, “It is wrong but police will act when there is a complaint.”
Haryana ‘love jihad’ law puts first case to litmus test ThePrint https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqC5cjnCWxc Jan 14, 2023
The first case filed in Haryana under the new Prevention of Unlawful Conversion of Religion law carves the way for its implementation for the police and the courts. While the BJP and the Hindu organisations on the ground feel that the law is needed in the wake of increasing cases of ‘love jihad’, the lawyers and activists feel that the law may end up being a tool in the hands of parents aggrieved by inter-faith marriages of their adult children. Watch ThePrint Ground report by Sonal Matharu.
https://theprint.in/features/haryana-love-jihad-law-puts-first-case-to-litmus-test-govt-agenda-sangh-help-new-fears/1308950/ Sonal Matharu 11 January, 2023
—govt agenda, Sangh help, new fears. The Shuklas are fighting to bring their daughter back. But first, they're educating Haryana police and courts about the Act and getting help from Bajrang Dal too.
Subcategories
Mass Conversions - real or fake news
love jihad
Interfaith marriage committee, compilation of love jihad cases