In bad faith

The religious conversion ordinance heightens worries about the targeting of certain religions

- PUJA AWASTHI

Shrinkhala Gupta’s intent to marry Fahad Hydar was drowned by her father’s protests. This despite Hydar’s parents having no objection to their son converting to Hinduism for the nuptials. “My father’s discomfort with Muslims is something we grew up with,” said Lucknow-based Shrinkhala, whose Muslim wedding in 2003 took place without her parents’ approval. For the wedding, Shrinkhala was given a new name: Shireen. “To me, it was a name given out of love by my in-laws,” she said. “I saw no reason to oppose it. Taking my husband’s surname was also not a big deal.”

Last week, the state government introduced the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance, which aims to prohibit “unlawful conversion from one religion to another by… fraudulent means or by marriage and for the matters connected therewith or incidental thereto”. Although the ordinance brings into its ambit all religious converters, detractors widely perceive it as being targeted at specific religious groups.

It is not a unique law. In 1967, Odisha enacted the Freedom of Religion Act, followed a year later by Madhya Pradesh. Both prescribed identical punishments and fines for conversions affected by fraudulent means. The UP ordinance is far stricter with a wider ambit (see box).

Vinod Bansal, national spokesperson for the Vishva Hindu Parishad, said that Hindu women like Shrinkhala were especially vulnerable as they were brought up with a natural tendency to trust. Hence, their likelihood of falling prey to the unscrupulous.