Synthiya Muki. S, School Of Excellence In Law, Tamil Nadu Dr. Ambedkar Law University
ABSTRACT
India being the largest democratic country in the world, inhabits people from different religious groups, governed by disparate family laws, and thus treated unequally by state and society. The majority population in India is Hindu. Muslims, Christians and few other religions also have a significant number of followers. Tolerance is strange but indispensable civic virtue in the country with pluralistic society. Ancient Indian texts show that principles of universal toleration and acceptance were embodied in ancient society. It is essential for individuals to live calmy and in harmony with people and practices of which they disapprove. However, Changes alone are static in this world. The people making tactical shifts in their personal belief to conform to their self-interest is not new. When people derive different benefits based on their spiritual allegiance, and have the right to profess, practice and propagate any religion freely, it naturally results in a recipe for expedient religious conversion. Thus, religion is a volatile issue in India and religious conversion add more to the volatility of the issue. Such religious conversions raise a legal issue. Therefore, various state governments have enacted anti-conversion laws with the aim of preventing conversions brought about by coercion or inducements. Such laws have been a subject of intense criticism and have been alleged as infringing on one’s right to freedom of religion. These laws also bag an intense scale of politics view. These laws are implemented by the parties with intention of attracting the community of huge voting bank. These laws are criticized as ‘uncivil proposal’ for citing a certain section of society as a potential threat that will pave way to further marginalization of minor communities. This article examines the issue of religious conversion in the context of existing constitutional provisions, judicial pronouncements and secularism. This article highlights the issues faced by the inter faith marriages in pursue of anti-conversion laws. This also analyses and criticizes the anti-conversion laws.
