Does India, a secular nation, need a law against forced conversions? With 24.14 crore people living in it, Uttar Pradesh is the most populous state in India. By enacting the religion law of conversion, it has violated the principles of a secular state. To prevent the forced conversion of one set of religious beliefs to another, the state passed a strict regulation in 2021. The interfaith relationships between Hindu women and Muslim men are popularly described as - “love-jihad” by the right-wing groups of India. It has become the bedrock of conversion of religion bill in the state headed by former priest of Gorakhnath Math Yogi Adityanath.
The state has now gone further to give this law deeper teeth in response to the disappointing results of the recently held Lok Sabha elections in 2024. The number of seats won by the ruling party—33 out of 80—is the lowest since the general election of 2014. The legislation pertaining to the conversion of religion is turning into an oppressive law for the populace, since all transgressions fall outside the purview of bail and the severity of the penalties has escalated. To exacerbate matters, the state government has also mandated that stores and restaurants post their names and contact information on the front of the building. But as of right now, the Indian Supreme Court has suspended it temporarily.
Muslim is the second largest religious community in India as well as in Uttar Pradesh that constitutes 20% of the total population of UP. The constitution declares India as a secular country and from article 25 to 28 talks about the religious freedom to all citizens equally without any discrimination. If Indian states pass conversion of religious bill, it does not seem to be digestible for critics who consider it to be alteration of the basic structure of the constitution. India has always been the country to accommodate many religions communities such as Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism, and others. Secularism ensures that all these religious communities can coexist peacefully and have equal rights but the tough and hardline stance on the matter of faith ahead of an assembly bypolls will cost the ruling party very dearly.
The conversion of the religion bill in the state will disturb the harmonious fabric of society, and it goes against the framework of our constitution. India has adopted secularism to avoid the pitfalls of a theocratic state where a single religion could potentially dominate political and social life, leading to discrimination and conflict. Secularism maintains the integrity and cohesion of a diverse nation like India.
India had been under Islamic hegemony from the 12th century to the 18th century, and thereafter it remained under British rule for nearly 200 years till 1947. Still, Hindus are the majoritarian community of the country. No invaders or onslaught of foreign rulers have been able to succeed in limiting the growth and progress of Hindus. Therefore, the apprehension of getting dominated by other religions seems unjustified, and no rule should be enacted to govern it, which is the unique selling point of Hinduism.