Unlawful Religious Conversion Bills – Part 1
January 1, 2021, 11:38 PM IST
Saroj served in the Indian Army as a technical officer for 23 years and opted for premature retirement in 1991. Operational service includes 1971 India-Pakistan war in high altitude sector and two years in counterinsurgency operations in northeast. LESS... MORE
UP government has instituted a bill titled ‘Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Ordinance, 2020’ in the state. The title of the bill clearly relates to unlawful conversions which means that any willing religious conversions by adults are excluded. The bill also does not target any religion in particular as it is applicable for all religious conversions. Madhya Pradesh government too has passed a similar bill recently. A few other states too are likely to bring similar legislation in the near future. As expected, there is a lot of hue and cry over these bills from some quarters in the country. The question is do India and Indians need such a bill? Perhaps it may be prudent to clarify and understand some key issues involved before one can answer this question.