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Ahmedabad, March
10, 2008: The BJP-led Gujarat government today withdrew a
controversial amendment that made state permission necessary for
conversions but allowed people to switch sects within the same
faith.
The move to repeal the Gujarat Freedom of Religion (Amendment)
Bill, 2006 - which clubbed Jains and Buddhists with Hindus and
was panned by critics as a ploy to strengthen “pan-Hindu
solidarity” - came after Gujarat Governor Naval Kishore Sharma returned it
on August 1, 2007 saying
the amendment violated the Constitution.
The original 2003 act, which makes state permission mandatory
for any conversion, however, remains in force.
Gujarat Governor returns Freedom of Religion Bill
New
Delhi, August, 1, 2007: Gujarat Governor has returned Gujarat Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Bill, 2006 to the Assembly for reconsideration. The Bill seeks to amend Section 2 (b) of the “Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act” passed by the Assembly in 2003 to prevent conversion from one religion to another by use of force, fraudulent means or by allurement.
After careful considerations, the governor Naval Kishore Sharma has remarked, he has felt that the amended Bill was violative of Article 25 of the Constitution guaranteeing freedom of religion and protection against forced or fraudulent conversions.
The Act proposes to change the definition of “conversion” by which conversion from one “denomination” to another of the same religion was excluded from the meaning of “convert.” The Bill describes Jainism and Buddhism as “denominations” of Hinduism; Shia and Sunni as “denominations” of the Islam; and Catholics and Protestants as “denominations” of the Christian religion. This has caused resentment among the
Jains, Buddhists and a section of the Christians.
A Raj Bhavan spokesman said the Governor received a large number of delegations, particularly of the Jains and Christians, and memoranda raising objections against the Bill. The Jains and Buddhists were opposed to the idea of being considered as denominations of Hinduism and wanted the Governor to reject the Bill.
A press release issued by Raj Bhawan here on Tuesday, said that the proposed amendment would
amount to withdrawing the protection against forceful or inappropriate religious conversions, particularly in case of the Jains and Buddhists.
The release cites large-scale protests from different religious and social
organisations, especially from the Jain and Christian communities, in indicating toward the unacceptability of the proposed amendment. Delegations that met Sharma following the passage of the Bill last year, particularly objected to the inclusion of Jainism as a sect of Hinduism. The seemingly innocuous change had attracted widespread protests from the
All India Digambar Jain Dharam Sanrakshini
Sabha.
Governor Sharma considered the proposed amendment in the light of these protests and visits, and has
concluded that even the Supreme Court has ruled that Jainism is a “special religion” formed on the basis of quintessence of Hinduism, and not as a denomination of Hinduism. Building on this argument, Sharma has held that the amendment would make it difficult for the state to prevent forceful conversion of Jains into Hindus, and thus goes against the spirit of Article 25 (1) of the Constitution that guarantees freedom of religion. The press release says that it impairs the freedom of conscience, and protection against forced or fraudulent conversions.
A section opposed to the Bill had found it to be part of the larger design of the Sangh
Parivar. “If Buddhists are treated as part of Hinduism, then all its followers in China, Japan and much of South-East Asia become Hindus,” said Girish Patel, a noted social activist.
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