Karnataka keen to pass an anti-conversion law by creating a narrative around Christians’ conversion
The BJP government in Karnataka is keen to follow in the footsteps of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. Passing a law banning religious conversion Through “force” or “charm”. Demand for such a law is not new in Karnataka The pitch has steadily increased in the last few months. Interestingly, while in other BJP-ruled states the argument in support of the law was woven around the narrative of ‘love jihad’, in Karnataka it has been around conversions by Christians.
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The first indication of this was found in July when the Directorate of Minorities Welfare had directed the Deputy Commissioners of all the districts. a survey of churches, allegedly for data collection purposes. This intensified after former minister and BJP MLA Goolihatti Shekhar demanded action against missionaries for “mass conversions” in his assembly constituency Hosadurga. He said his mother was among the 15,000 to 20,000 people in his constituency who were “victims” of the missionaries. Since then the MLA has made arrangements for ‘ghar wapsi’ of his mother and a few others. However, the survey officers in two villages of the MLA’s constituency No cases of “forced” conversion found,
The following month a House Committee on Backward Classes and Minorities meeting of the Karnataka Assembly, chaired by Mr Shekhar, decided on a survey to investigate “forced conversions”. A day later, an internal order was issued by ADGP, Intelligence to all Deputy Superintendents of Police to collect information about “authorized and unauthorized” churches. In November and December, Karnataka has seen several attacks and threats against Christian prayer meetings, especially in the border district of Belagavi. Several prayer groups have stopped holding meetings in halls and open grounds following alleged threats by Hindutva outfits. The police have “advised” them to stop their activity “to maintain the peace”. Cases have been registered against the attackers in some cases. The last time Christian institutions were attacked in Karnataka was in Mangaluru and other coastal towns in 2008, when the BJP first formed an independent government under the leadership of BS Yediyurappa.
Since November, organizations such as Shri Ram Sena, Hindu Janajagruti Samiti and saints from various religious sects have kept up the pressure on the government to pass an anti-conversion law. Christian groups, on the other hand, have petitioned the government to underline the dangers of such legislation. A petition states that Christians constitute only 1.8% of the state’s population and that there has been hardly any increase, which flies in the face of claims of “mass conversions”.
Bengaluru’s Archbishop Peter Machado recently said that the law would become a tool for fringe groups to target Christians. He claimed that there have been 32 incidents of attacks on the community since January even in the absence of law. He cited a fact-finding report by United Christian Forum and others based on calls received on the forum’s helpline, saying that Karnataka ranks third after UP and Chhattisgarh in such attacks. The report recorded an increase in attacks in October and November, as discussions on the anti-conversion law strengthened.
Read also | ‘The affluent castes undergoing conversion is a matter of great concern’
However, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, after studying similar laws in other states, continues to reiterate his government’s resolve to implement the anti-conversion law. But it remains to be seen whether he will move the bill in the upcoming session or defer it until the party’s strength in the Upper House to pass it without any hindrance after the Legislative Council elections due this Friday. is not adequately integrated.
Bageshree.s@thehindu.co.in
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