INDIA Karnataka, the Upper House approves the toughest law against conversions

It had already been approved by the Legislative Assembly in December: it establishes that any person can denounce a forced conversion and it is the duty of the defender to present evidence that they acted in good faith. Conversions are only possible with a long bureaucratic process and as long as no one raises objections. Karnataka Catholic Church: It is a “bitter, brutal and damaging measure, we will challenge it in its entirety”.

Bangalore () – In the Indian state of Karnataka, the controversial law against conversions was approved on September 16 by the Upper House of the local Parliament, despite the vote against the main opposition forces to the government led by the Hindu nationalists from the BJP, the party of Prime Minister Nardnra Modi. The opposition argued that the law would violate the freedom of religion enshrined in the Constitution. The government, for its part, says the law will only protect people from forced conversions, which it says are becoming more frequent.

the bill Protection of Right to Freedom of Religion Bill 2021 – better known as the Anti-Conversion Bill – had already been approved by the Karnataka Legislative Assembly last December. Meanwhile, the local government had issued an “urgency” decree to stop forced conversions.

In statements to Sajan K George, President of the Bangalore-based Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC), commented: “Karnataka’s anti-conversion law, in force since May with retroactive effect, contains draconian clauses to terrorize Christians in Karnataka. No only the person involved, but also his parents, brothers or sisters, another person related by blood or other ties, can file a complaint for forced conversion, thus leaving room to harass anyone without reason or motive, and the penalty is worse than that of a murderer: imprisonment for a term of three years, which may be extended to five, with a fine of Rs 25,000, and in the case of the conversion of a minor, a woman or a person belonging to the scheduled castes, the sentence can reach 10 years”.

The procedure for exercising the right to change religion (enshrined in the Indian Constitution) is also clearly vexatious. “Both the interested party and the minister of worship who accepts the conversion must notify it in a special form at least 30 days in advance to the District Magistrate, who will announce it on a bulletin board, to see if there are any objections. And even, a Once the conversion has been carried out, the interested party must fill out a new form and within 21 days they will be summoned to verify their identity and confirm the content of the declaration”.

Sajan K. George further stresses that “in the case of allegations of forced conversion, ‘the burden of proof of whether or not it was carried out through false statements, use of force, undue influence, coercion, seductive promises, or by any fraudulent means, does not fall on the person who denounces, but on the person who caused the conversion or favored it”.

The passage of such a law, even by the Karnataka Upper House, was met with dismay by local Christian communities. A statement released by the Karnataka Catholic Church reads: “The content of this rule remains bitter, brutal and damaging in nature.” Metropolitan Archbishop Peter Machado, the Bishops of Karnataka and all Christian leaders and others who support the non-denominational fabric of our democratic society will work to bring legal recourse and challenge this law in its entirety. As our strong objection has already been lodged with the Supreme Court of India and Karnataka High Court and is under consideration, we refrain from commenting further.”