Nava Thakuria
Anti-conversion remains a major social issue in India for decades, but the recent voices by a large number of indigenous organisations to prevent various government benefits to the converted families, arouse a pertinent debate in the south-Asian country. The argument raised here, if one converts to foreign religions (read embracing Christianity and Islam) (s)he gives up the origin culture, tradition, custom, ritual and even languages in due course of time, and hence the concerned legal patronage should be stopped.
Even though religious conversion continues to be a very sensitive issue in India, the Union government in New Delhi has yet to formulate any central anti-conversion law. However, various State (province) governments have enacted laws to deal with the forceful or unethical conversion (often with allurement to change the religion through various fraudulent means) of a large number of families.
Mentionable is that even before independence (1947), some Hindu princely States enacted anti-conversion laws in their respective territories to prevent the residents from changing their religion. After independence, a number of anti-conversion bills were introduced in the Parliament, but none could be endorsed. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in 2015 tried to enact central laws on the matter, but it did not materialize. Arguments were that the law & order is a State subject under the Constitution (of India) and hence the State governments can enact laws against the menace of conversions.
The first State to take a pragmatic initiative was Odisha which passed the freedom of religion act in 1967. It was followed by Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh etc which adopted legislation against forced or fraudulent religious conversions and finally limited the process leaving aside few individual cases. The concerned governments observed that the Christian missionaries took advantage of their philanthropic works for the purpose.
A massive rally on 26 March in Guwahati over the issue of anti-conversion and delisting of schedule tribe (ST) status possessed by the converted individuals triggered the debate that has the potential to affect the religious, socio-cultural and political landscape of the country. Organised by Janajati Dharma-Sanskriti Suraksha Manch (JDSSM-Assam), the splendid rally titled ‘Chalo Dispur’ witnessed the participation of over 55,000 tribal people wearing their traditional attire and also carrying out folk musical instruments with them.
JDSSM-Assam leaders insist on removing the ST individuals (who had undergone a religious conversion) from the list of beneficiaries under various relevant government welfare schemes. Speaking to this writer, Binud Kumbang, a senior office bearer of JDSSM-Assam, argued that they are ‘not against any religion or anybody getting converted by their own wishes’ as it is permitted by the Constitution. But, he added, the converted ST families gradually change their religious, cultural and other customary traditional practices, and hence how come they continue taking benefits meant for the ST people.
The ST status is given to the indigenous people, who constitute around 8.6% percent of the country’s 1.3 billion population, with an aim to protect their traditional, cultural and linguistic identities. But a large number of tribal families have adopted foreign religions and thus lost their indigenous identities. So what is the logic for them to continue enjoying the benefits of reservation and other government endorsed facilities meant for the real ST people, questioned Kumbang.
The Constitution of India in its preamble defines the world’s largest democracy as a secular country, where the citizens have the fundamental right to practice any religion of their choice peacefully without hurting the religious sentiments of others. The developing country claims to support believers of all religious faiths where the Hindus enjoy the majority (79.80%, India Census 2011), followed by Muslims (14.23%), Christians (2.3%), Sikhs (1.72%) Buddhists (0.70%), Jain (0.37%) etc. A sizable number of families also practice indigenous faiths & religions, which is ethically different from the major religions.
Maintaining a national movement for over 18 years, Janajati Suraksa Manch (JSM, an organisation backed by Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram wing of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) has been pursuing that the conversion of indigenous people to religions other than Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism remains a threat to their vibrant culture and traditions. JSM leaders are planning to organise similar tribal rallies in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Kerala, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, West Bengal etc in the next few months for creating awareness about the delisting of converted people.
Advocating to prevent unethical religious conversion, the forum also urges both the Union and concerned State governments for amending Article 342 A of the Constitution (where the matter of benefits to socially and educationally backward classes is highlighted) and equalize with Article 341 for scheduled caste (who constitute around 16.6% of India’s population), where it is directed that if any SC person is converted to other religions, he/she would be automatically delisted from the reservation parameter).
A number of nationally acclaimed personalities like Surya Narayan Suri (Akhil Bharatiya Sangathan Mantri- JSM), Satyendra Singh (JSM central observer), Prakash Singh Uikeji and Ravindra Uike (executive members of JSM) etc graced the Guwahati rally, where tribal rituals were performed by Boro, Karbi, Tiwa, Dimasha, Rabha and Mising people, followed by the performances of tribal folk-dance troupes. They unanimously called concerned authorities to prevent those converted individuals from contesting in various local, regional and national elections in constituencies reserved for the ST candidates.
They also highlighted that the religious conversion has been increasing alarmingly in northeast India, where the tribals emerge as vulnerable to the growing menace. The 2011 census indicated that 87.93% of Nagaland’s population were practicing Christians. Their population accounts 87.16% (of total populace) in Mizoram, 74.59% in Meghalaya, 41.29% in Manipur, 30.26% in Arunachal Pradesh and 3.74% in Assam.
Community speakers like Babita Brahma, Pratap Terang, Tarun Chandra Rabha, Kameswar Pator, etc also delivered speeches on the menace of conversion that is engulfing the tribal communities. JDSSM-Assam president Bogiram Boro and convener Manturam Kohram informed that they have recently sent separate memorandums to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi via Assam Governor Gulab Chand Kataria highlighting their core demands.
But not everyone is happy with the development, as many individuals have opposed the demand for delisting the ST people from the specific government facilities as any Indian can change religions according to personal choices. Nobody should force one to convert and at the same time none needs to demand for scraping reservation benefits to the converted individuals, which is against the Constitution’s spirit. They opined that the indigenous people should be allowed to practice any religion according to their preferences.
