Amendment to Gujarat Anti-Conversion Act passed
Gandhinagar, Sept. 19 (PTI): A bill to amend Gujarat's anti-conversion law to allow conversions between different sects of the same faith as well as between Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism was today passed in the state assembly by a voice vote amidst protests by the opposition Congress.
The Gujarat Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Bill 2006 also clarified the meaning of "forced conversion" and to whom the anti-conversion law should apply.
The amendement said "to convert means to make one person renounce one religion and adopt another; but does not include one who renounces one denomination and adopts another denomination of the same religion".
This implies there would be no government intervention in case of conversion from Shia to Sunni or from Protestant to Catholic.
Significantly, the same yardsticks will apply to conversions between Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism as the government considers these religions as a whole.
Under the amendment to the Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act of 2003, a person does not have to seek permission to convert from one sect to another of the same religion.
The opposition protested over the bill considering Buddhism and Jainism as being part of Hinduism.
The anti-conversion law was passed in 2003 by the assembly, but was not implemented as the government could not frame rules. Under the law, Hindus cannot convert to Islam or Christianity without permission from authorities.
Opposition leader Arjun Modhvaida accused the government of trying to play politics on the issue.
Click here for source
Gujarat clubs Jains, Buddhists with Hindus
GANDHINAGAR: For three years, the Narendra Modi government sat over a Bill seeking to regulate religious conversions, even after it was passed by the Assembly and had the governor’s consent.
Nothing came in the way of the law, apart from the chief minister’s own inhibitions to figure exactly how he could further consolidate his image as the Hindutva mascot.
Finally, on Tuesday, the Gujarat Assembly passed the Gujarat Freedom of Religion Bill (Amendment) Bill, 2006, with the amendment, coming after three years of conflicting legal opinion being balanced with political and ideological motives.
Amid protests by an outnumbered Opposition, the Bill went through, along with an important newly added clause which clubs Jains and Buddhists with Hindus, in the same manner as Shias and Sunnis on one hand and Protestants and Catholics on the other.
It virtually means conversions between Jains and Hindus, Buddhists and Jains, and Hindus and Buddhists can happen easily, without government’s permission.
More importantly, a Hindu who decides to become a Buddhist, would not be called a convert. Ditto for a Protestant seeking to become a Catholic, or vice versa, and a Sunni becoming a Shia or vice versa.
The curbs are on crossing the faith-lines between Hinduism, Christianity and Islam. Surprisingly, Sikhs are not even mentioned in the draft.
But if a Hindu wants to become Christian — the main target for Modi — the district magistrate has to be informed first. Christian community leaders are livid that the law is now on the verge of being enforced.
"The Bill is extremely draconian and unconstitutional," said Jesuit-activist Father Cedric Prakash, Minister for state for home Amit Shah, who introduced the Bill, said Jainism and Buddhism were "construed as parts of Hinduism".
During the discussion on the Bill, an appeal was made by a hardline BJP MLA and former state for home Gordhan Zadaphia, to also club Sikhs with Hindus.
It is learnt that the government had indeed toyed with the idea of describing Sikhs as "part of the Hindu family", but dropped the proposal fearing protests.
Shah refused to comment on the issue. Arguing that the amendment would not stand legal scrutiny, leader of opposition Arjun Modhvadia said: "Buddhism was given the status of a separate religion by the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992. As for Jains, they were given the same status by a division bench of the SC in 2004."
Click here for source
In Gujarat, convert within 'your family'
GANDHINAGAR: The Gujarat assembly on Tuesday passed the Gujarat Freedom of Religion Bill (Amendment) Bill, 2006, as the Narendra Modi government courted controversy by clubbing Jains and Buddhists with Hindus, in the same manner as Shias and Sunnis come under Islam and Protestants and Catholics under Christianity.
Despite the Governor's approval to the Bill in 2003, the law was never enforced as the government took time in framing rules centred around who should be called a convert and who should not.
If the 2003 Act, seeking to stop coercive conversions, had broadly defined conversion as "renouncing one religion to adopt another", Tuesday’s amendment seeks to classify the conversions and exempt from its ambit those who switch from "one denomination to another within the same religion".
Minister Amit Shah, who introduced the Bill, said Jainism and Buddhism were construed as parts of Hinduism and that persons of these denominations do not need to take an official permission to convert to Hinduism and vice-versa.
During the discussion on the Bill, a fervent appeal was made by BJP hardliner Gordhan Zadaphia to club Sikhism also with Hinduism.
The government indeed toyed with the idea of describing Sikhs as "part of the Hindu family", but dropped the proposal fearing large-scale protests.
The debate, peppered with the BJP benches frequently shouting "Vande Mataram", "Bharat Mata ki jai" and "Hindu virodhi hai hai", saw Congress MLA and ex-minister Babu Meghji Shah, a Jain, regretting that his religion was deprived of the minority status.
Click here for source
Gujarat's Anti-Conversion Act amended
GANDHINAGAR (ICNS) –
The Gujarat Assembly has passed amendments to a state law, allowing conversion between different sects of the same faith and between Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.
The amendment is made to the Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act of 2003, which awards three years' imprisonment and a fine of up to 100,000 rupees for anyone converting a person "by use of force or any fraudulent means."
The law also says that if the converted person is a minor, a woman, a dalit or a tribal, the jail term can be up to four years.
But the amendment that the legislators passed re-interpreted the meaning of conversion in the law.
It said conversion means "to make one person renounce one religion and adopt another; but does not include one who renounces one denomination and adopts another denomination of the same religion".
It would mean the law would not object conversion from Shia to Sunni or from Protestant to Catholic. It also thus allows conversions between Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism as the government considers these religions part of the same religious system.
Opposition leader Arjun Modhvadia protested considering Buddhism and Jainism as part of Hinduism.
He opposed the government stand that Jainism and Buddhism are denominations of Hinduism just as Shia and Sunnis are of Islam or Catholicism and Protestantism are of Christianity.
Modhvadia alleged that whenever elections were due, the Government came up with such bills. Before the Lok Sabha elections (2004), the Government brought the Anti-Conversion Bill. ‘‘Now the government is targetting 2007 Assembly elections,” he said.
Although the law was passed in 2003, it was not promulgated since the government could not frame rules. Christians leaders had opposed it saying it was aimed at harassing missioners working interior villages of the state.
Click here for source
Conversions among sects of same faith allowed in Gujarat
No intervention for conversion from Shia to Sunni
Bill clarifies "forced conversion" and to whom law will apply
Gandhinagar: The Gujarat Assembly on Tuesday passed by voice vote, amid Congress protests, a Bill to amend the law to allow conversions among different sects of the same faith as well as among Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.
The Gujarat Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Bill 2006 also clarified the meaning of "forced conversion" and to whom the anti-conversion law would apply.
The amendment said: "To convert means to make one person renounce one religion and adopt another; but does not include one who renounces one denomination and adopts another denomination of the same religion."
This implies there will be no government intervention in case of conversion from Shia to Sunni or from Protestant to Catholic.
Significantly, the same yardstick will apply to conversions among Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism as the Government considers these religions as a whole.
Under the amendment to the Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act of 2003, a person does not have to seek permission to convert from one sect to another of the same religion.
The Opposition protested against the Bill, which considers Buddhism and Jainism as being part of Hinduism.
The anti-conversion law was passed by the House in 2003, but was not implemented as the Government could not frame rules. Under the law, Hindus could not convert to Islam or Christianity without permission from authorities.
PTI
Click here for source
Gandhinagar, Sept. 19 (PTI): A bill to amend Gujarat's anti-conversion law to allow conversions between different sects of the same faith as well as between Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism was today passed in the state assembly by a voice vote amidst protests by the opposition Congress.
The Gujarat Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Bill 2006 also clarified the meaning of "forced conversion" and to whom the anti-conversion law should apply.
The amendement said "to convert means to make one person renounce one religion and adopt another; but does not include one who renounces one denomination and adopts another denomination of the same religion".
This implies there would be no government intervention in case of conversion from Shia to Sunni or from Protestant to Catholic.
Significantly, the same yardsticks will apply to conversions between Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism as the government considers these religions as a whole.
Under the amendment to the Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act of 2003, a person does not have to seek permission to convert from one sect to another of the same religion.
The opposition protested over the bill considering Buddhism and Jainism as being part of Hinduism.
The anti-conversion law was passed in 2003 by the assembly, but was not implemented as the government could not frame rules. Under the law, Hindus cannot convert to Islam or Christianity without permission from authorities.
Opposition leader Arjun Modhvaida accused the government of trying to play politics on the issue.
Click here for source
Gujarat clubs Jains, Buddhists with Hindus
GANDHINAGAR: For three years, the Narendra Modi government sat over a Bill seeking to regulate religious conversions, even after it was passed by the Assembly and had the governor’s consent.
Nothing came in the way of the law, apart from the chief minister’s own inhibitions to figure exactly how he could further consolidate his image as the Hindutva mascot.
Finally, on Tuesday, the Gujarat Assembly passed the Gujarat Freedom of Religion Bill (Amendment) Bill, 2006, with the amendment, coming after three years of conflicting legal opinion being balanced with political and ideological motives.
Amid protests by an outnumbered Opposition, the Bill went through, along with an important newly added clause which clubs Jains and Buddhists with Hindus, in the same manner as Shias and Sunnis on one hand and Protestants and Catholics on the other.
It virtually means conversions between Jains and Hindus, Buddhists and Jains, and Hindus and Buddhists can happen easily, without government’s permission.
More importantly, a Hindu who decides to become a Buddhist, would not be called a convert. Ditto for a Protestant seeking to become a Catholic, or vice versa, and a Sunni becoming a Shia or vice versa.
The curbs are on crossing the faith-lines between Hinduism, Christianity and Islam. Surprisingly, Sikhs are not even mentioned in the draft.
But if a Hindu wants to become Christian — the main target for Modi — the district magistrate has to be informed first. Christian community leaders are livid that the law is now on the verge of being enforced.
"The Bill is extremely draconian and unconstitutional," said Jesuit-activist Father Cedric Prakash, Minister for state for home Amit Shah, who introduced the Bill, said Jainism and Buddhism were "construed as parts of Hinduism".
During the discussion on the Bill, an appeal was made by a hardline BJP MLA and former state for home Gordhan Zadaphia, to also club Sikhs with Hindus.
It is learnt that the government had indeed toyed with the idea of describing Sikhs as "part of the Hindu family", but dropped the proposal fearing protests.
Shah refused to comment on the issue. Arguing that the amendment would not stand legal scrutiny, leader of opposition Arjun Modhvadia said: "Buddhism was given the status of a separate religion by the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992. As for Jains, they were given the same status by a division bench of the SC in 2004."
Click here for source
In Gujarat, convert within 'your family'
GANDHINAGAR: The Gujarat assembly on Tuesday passed the Gujarat Freedom of Religion Bill (Amendment) Bill, 2006, as the Narendra Modi government courted controversy by clubbing Jains and Buddhists with Hindus, in the same manner as Shias and Sunnis come under Islam and Protestants and Catholics under Christianity.
Despite the Governor's approval to the Bill in 2003, the law was never enforced as the government took time in framing rules centred around who should be called a convert and who should not.
If the 2003 Act, seeking to stop coercive conversions, had broadly defined conversion as "renouncing one religion to adopt another", Tuesday’s amendment seeks to classify the conversions and exempt from its ambit those who switch from "one denomination to another within the same religion".
Minister Amit Shah, who introduced the Bill, said Jainism and Buddhism were construed as parts of Hinduism and that persons of these denominations do not need to take an official permission to convert to Hinduism and vice-versa.
During the discussion on the Bill, a fervent appeal was made by BJP hardliner Gordhan Zadaphia to club Sikhism also with Hinduism.
The government indeed toyed with the idea of describing Sikhs as "part of the Hindu family", but dropped the proposal fearing large-scale protests.
The debate, peppered with the BJP benches frequently shouting "Vande Mataram", "Bharat Mata ki jai" and "Hindu virodhi hai hai", saw Congress MLA and ex-minister Babu Meghji Shah, a Jain, regretting that his religion was deprived of the minority status.
Click here for source
Gujarat's Anti-Conversion Act amended
GANDHINAGAR (ICNS) –
The Gujarat Assembly has passed amendments to a state law, allowing conversion between different sects of the same faith and between Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.
The amendment is made to the Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act of 2003, which awards three years' imprisonment and a fine of up to 100,000 rupees for anyone converting a person "by use of force or any fraudulent means."
The law also says that if the converted person is a minor, a woman, a dalit or a tribal, the jail term can be up to four years.
But the amendment that the legislators passed re-interpreted the meaning of conversion in the law.
It said conversion means "to make one person renounce one religion and adopt another; but does not include one who renounces one denomination and adopts another denomination of the same religion".
It would mean the law would not object conversion from Shia to Sunni or from Protestant to Catholic. It also thus allows conversions between Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism as the government considers these religions part of the same religious system.
Opposition leader Arjun Modhvadia protested considering Buddhism and Jainism as part of Hinduism.
He opposed the government stand that Jainism and Buddhism are denominations of Hinduism just as Shia and Sunnis are of Islam or Catholicism and Protestantism are of Christianity.
Modhvadia alleged that whenever elections were due, the Government came up with such bills. Before the Lok Sabha elections (2004), the Government brought the Anti-Conversion Bill. ‘‘Now the government is targetting 2007 Assembly elections,” he said.
Although the law was passed in 2003, it was not promulgated since the government could not frame rules. Christians leaders had opposed it saying it was aimed at harassing missioners working interior villages of the state.
Click here for source
Conversions among sects of same faith allowed in Gujarat
No intervention for conversion from Shia to Sunni
Bill clarifies "forced conversion" and to whom law will apply
Gandhinagar: The Gujarat Assembly on Tuesday passed by voice vote, amid Congress protests, a Bill to amend the law to allow conversions among different sects of the same faith as well as among Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.
The Gujarat Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Bill 2006 also clarified the meaning of "forced conversion" and to whom the anti-conversion law would apply.
The amendment said: "To convert means to make one person renounce one religion and adopt another; but does not include one who renounces one denomination and adopts another denomination of the same religion."
This implies there will be no government intervention in case of conversion from Shia to Sunni or from Protestant to Catholic.
Significantly, the same yardstick will apply to conversions among Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism as the Government considers these religions as a whole.
Under the amendment to the Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act of 2003, a person does not have to seek permission to convert from one sect to another of the same religion.
The Opposition protested against the Bill, which considers Buddhism and Jainism as being part of Hinduism.
The anti-conversion law was passed by the House in 2003, but was not implemented as the Government could not frame rules. Under the law, Hindus could not convert to Islam or Christianity without permission from authorities.
PTI
Click here for source
