Church Council in India Denounces Rajasthan's Anti-Conversion Bill

|TOP|Jaipur, INDIA - The National Council of Churches in India (NCCI), India's largest council of Protestant and Orthodox churches, has flayed the Rajasthan Government for proposing the controversial anti-conversion Bill and failing to ensure the safety and security of the minority communities in the state.

In a meeting convened in Jaipur, April 27, the NCCI gave a patient hearing to the representatives of the Jaipur Christian Fraternity, who shared stories of their plight in the state and the threats posed by the controversial Bill.

"The Rajasthan State Freedom of Religion Bill, 2006, brings pressure on religious minorities and also provides leverage to fundamentalist forces," said NCCI general secretary, Bishop D.K. Sahu, expressing his deep anguish over the rise in incidents of anti-Christian violence by sectarian and fundamentalist forces' in the state.

According to the bishop, the Bill - passed by the state legislative assembly on April 7 - is on the same lines as those passed in Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Chattisgarh and was part of a coordinated strategy targeting religious minorities.

"The proposed Bill curtails fundamental rights enshrined in the constitution to practice, preach and propagate one's own religion," he said, adding that choosing a religion is a matter of faith and is neither a question of conversion nor an adherence to the religion of forefathers.

|AD|"We, as citizens of India, strongly register our protest to the Rajasthan Freedom of Religion Bill, 2006," Bishop Sahu said, noting that the severe penal clauses in the Bill placed a person, charged under its provisions, on the same level as one charged for rioting or causing death by negligence under the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

In a statement to the media, NCCI has also criticized BJP president, Rajnath Singh's statement that BJP led states would enact laws against "forced conversion" and said that such states were "humiliating" the minorities.

The NCCI said it has organised a meeting on May 18 and May 19 to discuss the Bill and take legal advice.

A NCCI delegation, led by Bishop Sahu, Rev. (Dr.) Enos Das Pradhan, Chairperson, Commission on National Issues and two Executive Secretaries, discussed the possible means of coordinating efforts at the local, regional and national level and placed emphasis on moving towards a dialogue between the growing churches and mainline Churches, so as to arrive at a common understanding of mission.

The NCCI delegation also called upon Smt. Pratibha Patil, Governor of Rajasthan, to formally protest against the situation in Rajasthan, and draw her attention to the anti-conversion Bill, which denied the freedom to minority communities to promote and propagate their religion.







Jacob Chatterjee
Christian Today Correspondent