Seers back religious freedom laws, seek tougher curb on forced conversions

NEW DELHI: Hindu religious bodies , including the Nirmohi Aani Akhara , Akhara Parishad, and the Akhil Bharatiya Sant Samiti , on Thursday extended their support for the Freedom of Religion Acts enacted by several states and announced a nationwide campaign to back such laws.

Mahant Rajendra Das, president of Nirmohi Aani Akhara and general secretary of the Akhara Parishad, and Swami Jitendranand Saraswati, general secretary of Akhil Bharatiya Sant Samiti, said Bharat’s strength lies in its spiritual and cultural diversity, which now faces a “serious threat” from religious conversions.

At a press briefing in the presence of VHP joint general secretary Surendra Jain and Mahant Gauri Shankar Das, spokesperson of the Akhara Parishad, they stated that while Article 25 of the Constitution guarantees freedom of religion, the right to “propagate” faith does not extend to conversion by force, fraud, or inducement, as upheld by the judiciary. The religious leaders recalled that since Independence, several leaders had sought a central law against illegal conversions, but the Constituent Assembly had left the matter to the states.

Currently, states including Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan have enacted Religious Freedom Acts. They maintained that these laws are constitutional and aimed solely at preventing coercive conversions.

Raising concern over the Supreme Court’s decision to club and hear all petitions challenging these state laws together, they said each state’s circumstances and laws differ. They argued that as these are matters under the purview of state governments, they should first be heard in the respective High Courts.

The seers also alleged that “international conspiracies” promoting religious conversions could influence judicial proceedings and appealed to protect the judiciary’s integrity. They urged the court to direct states without such laws to frame them and ensure strict enforcement where they exist.