Withdraw so-called Freddom of Religion Laws in India

PRESS STATEMENT
31 July 2007

Civil Society, Human Rights and Freedom of Faith groups welcome decisions of Solicitor General of India and Gujarat Governor Nawal Sharma trashing so called Freedom of Religion Laws

Bills shame Secular India, encourage bigotry, hate campaigns and communal politics, says John Dayal; Congress-ruled Himachal urged to withdraw its law

New Delhi, 31 July 2007

Dr John Dayal, Member of the National Integration Council, has welcomed Gujarat Governor Nawal Kishore Sharma’s refusal to sign Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s controversial amendments to the notorious Freedom of Religion Bill, and has called upon the Congress ruled
Himachal Pradesh to recall a similar law enacted this year.

Speaking on behalf of the All India Catholic Union, the All India Christian Council and other groups, Dr Dayal said it was time the Union government also picked up the political courage to purge the Statute Books of all such laws which eroded fundamental rights as Freedom to profess the Faith of one’s choice. Such laws encourage religious bigotry and hate crimes, Dr Dayal said. They also lead to police brutalities and miscarriage of justice, especially in rural areas.

Data collected by the All India Christian Council, Dalit and Tribal groups and the Christian Lawyers Association in recent months clearly shows how emboldened fundamentalists groups have become in several states where they are being backed by the local police and political elements.

Mr. Sharma is the third Governor of a State in recent months to reject the so called Freedom of Religion Bills, which are a thinly disguised attempt to curb freedom of Faith under the pretext of preventing conversions by force or allurement by Christian missionaries.

Before Governor Sharma, President Pratibha Patil in her capacity as the then Governor of Rajasthan similarly rejected a Bill passed by the State assembly though the Christian population is less than one per cent. The third is the case of Madhya Pradesh where Governor Balram Jhakkar who has refused to sign amendments by the BJP government o an older Bills, has been told by Solicitor general of India that the measures are against the Constitution. In Tamil Nadu, the then Chief Minister Dr J Jayalalitha had herself withdrawn a Freedom of Religion Act her government had enacted a few months earlier.

In his ruling today, Gujarat Governor Sharma – a former Union Cabinet Minister and long time Congress leader from Rajasthan known for his secular credentials – has also debunked a popular Sangh Parivar thesis which snatches the rights of Sikhism, Buddhism, and Jainism as independent religions,. The Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh described them as wings of Hinduism.

The Gujarat Freedom of Religion (amendment) Bill, 2006 sought to replace the definition of convert by a new one under which a person renouncing one denomination and adopting another denomination of the same religion was to be excluded from the meaning of `convert'. Returning Bill the Governor said "what made it more objectionable were the three explanations stipulating that the "Jains" and "Buddhists" shall be construed as denominations of Hindu religion, Shia and Sunni of Muslim religion and Catholic and Protestant of Christian religion". The provisions of amendment Bill are violative to the Article 25 of the Constitution which guarantees to all citizens to freely profess, practice and propagate a religion.”

Ruling United Progressive Alliance’s Vice Presidential candidate Mr. Hamid Ansari in his earlier position as Chairman of the National Minorities Commission had asked States to disclose incidents of forcible conversions, and no state had been able to present a single genuine case.

Solicitor General of India Goolam E Vahanvati has similarly faulted several amendments in the Rajasthan Act as being against Constitutional Guarantees. His opinion was sought by Governor Balram Jhakkar. ”If somebody merely objects to the proposed conversion, does that make it forcible? A conversion may be purely voluntary but any objection can lead to an adverse report, he has held. The Solicitor General correctly rejects the new powers sought to be given to the police, and says a heavy burden is placed on citizens, which in turn violates article 25 of the Constitution.
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Released to the Media by
Dr John Dayal
Member: National Integration Council,Government of India

National President: All India Catholic Union (Founded 1919)
Secretary General: All India Christian Council (Founded 1999)
President: United Christian Action, Delhi (Founded 1992)

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