Indian state brings in anti-conversion law
Jesuit decries new legislation in Gujarat as an attack on the constitutional guarantee of freedom to choose one s faith
Bharatiya Janata Party workers celebrate their party’s general election win in New Delhi in May 2019. (Photo: Bijay Kumar Minj/UCA News)
Pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-run Gujarat state in western India has become the third state in the country to promulgate a bill that aims to curb religious conversions by force and fraudulent means.
The Gujarat Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Bill 2021, passed on April 1, has a provision of imprisonment for 3-10 years and a maximum fine of 500,000 rupees (US$6,800) for violators.