Anti-Conversion Bill: Not the Panacea
By MOIRANGTHEM PRAKASH SINGH

Rajasthan joins select group of states –Arunachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa by passing the anti-conversion Bill, titled “Rajasthan Dharma Swatantraya Bill 2006� (Religious Freedom Bill). The Bill aims at maintaining “harmony amongst persons of various religions� and it is also intended to make “unlawful� means and “allurement� in religious conversions punishable. The draft mentions about a simple imprisonment of not less than two years, extendable up to five years to anyone who “converts or attempts to convert, either directly or otherwise any person from one religion to another by use of force or by allurement or by fraudulent means�. There is also a provision for fine up to Rs.50, 000. Any offence under the new law will be cognizable and non-bailable. And interestingly it has a provision for re-conversion to Hindu faith.

The act of “conversion� is defined in the Bill as:
renouncing one’s own religion and adopting another. One’s own religion has been explained as: religion of one’s forefathers. Conversion, for Sangh Parivar and many Hindu believers, denotes conversion to other religions such as Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and Sikhism etc. For them, Hinduisation of tribals massively in the tribal belts, as an organized campaign with a hidden agenda, is not conversion.

Sangh Parivar and Conversion:

It is very interesting to ascertain Sangh Parivar’s dual role viz. anti-conversion and pro-conversion. While BJP is endeavouring to resists conversion by making stringent conversion laws, its saffron brigades are busy in attacking Christian minorities for alleged engage in conversion activities. Whether it is Keonjahar in Orrisa, or Dangs in Gujarat or Jhabua in Madhya Pradesh or Kota in Rajasthan, they are victims of Sang Parivar. Here a question arises: whatever Christian Missionaries are doing -- providing health, education and other welfare measures in interior areas where our governments have been neglecting for decades -- are only for conversion purpose? If they wanted they could have easily converted the entire nation during their two hundred years reign.

While strongly defying Christian or Muslim conversions, Sangh Parivar is busy in converting tribals into Hindus. In the tribal areas of Chhatisgarh, Gujarat, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, particularly BJP ruled states, as an organized campaign, Sangh Parivar is Hinduising tribals. Nothing is different Saffron brigade from the Christian missionaries in providing education, health services and other welfare measures by running schools, hospitals and hostels in the tribal belts with the only motive of Hinduisation. Mention may be made of Sarswati Sisu Mandirs, Ekal Vidyalayas, Vanvasi Kalyan Parisad etc through which tribal masses are being converted to Hindus. Festivals like Durga Puja, Ganesh Chaturvedi, which were never heard in these areas, are organizing by the Saffron family with huge state fundings. Hanuman and Shabri have been projecting among adivasis. Adivasis are taught how to offer puja and worship Hindu gods and goddess.

They justify Ghar Wapsi (reconversion) and Sudhi (purification) programmes claiming they have been converted earlier by forcibly or through allurement. For them tribals are Hindus only. They prefer to address them as vanvasis (forest dwellers) rather than adivasis (original inhabitants). Are they (Tribals) Hindus? They are nothing but tribals with their own beliefs and rituals. They have their own deities and distinct cultures.

Why Sangh Parivar Is So Worried About Conversion?

Every community in a pluralist society wants to increase its number as more number can assure more share in power which is not supposed to be in a constitutionally democratic country like India. Sangh Parivar wants to increase number of Hindu believers to enhance their political weight. That is why every conversion to Islam or Christianity is strongly resented by Saffron family as it amounts to loss of numbers and hence loss of political weightage. It is for this reason conversion becomes so furore for them and started reconversion programmes.

Sangh Parivar must try to understand the reason behind Dalits and Tribals’ conversion to other religions–discrimination, negligence, uprooted social hierarchies and illtreatments from upper castes. Glaring examples are of Meenakshipuram’s Dalit conversion to Islam and Ambedkar’s mass conversion to Buddhism.

The real issue:

What becomes clear now is that the state itself through connivance of Sangh Parivar is diverting attention of people to non-issues instead of addressing the real ones. Both Christian missionaries and Saffron brigades, taking advantage of the poverty of tribals, are trying to bring tribals under their own folds. Nothing significant changes have brought to their lives. They are living in the same status what they lived in fifty years ago, becoming worse, in a sense that their identity, culture and indigenous knowledge are being looted. It will be a wise policy to get rid of tribals from their hardships, rather than making stringent the conversion laws, if they want to resist conversion. Anti-Conversion Bills not only forfeiting our constitutional rights, but will also increase the rift between the communities. All Democratic and Secular forces must collectively fight such fundamentalist challenges.

MOIRANGTHEM PRAKASH SINGH
Researcher
People’s Research Society (PRS)
E-7/138, Archana Apartment,
LLR Society, Arera Colony,
Bhopal-462016.
Ph. No.0755-4226442

E-mail:bemprakash@gmail.com