Modi revokes religion law

BASANT RAWAT

Ahmedabad, March 10: The BJP-led Gujerat authorities today withdrew a controversial amendment that made state permission necessary for transitions but allowed people to switch over religious sects within the same faith.

The move to revoke the Gujerat Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Bill, 2006 — which clubbed Jains and Buddhists with Hindus and was panned by critics as a gambit to beef up “pan-Hindu solidarity” — came after governor N.K. Sharma returned it saying the amendment violated the Constitution.

The original 2003 act, which do state permission compulsory for any conversion, however, stays in force.

The abrogation came a twenty-four hours after main curate Narendra Modi told Pakistani human rights militant Asma Jahangir there was “complete spiritual freedom inch Gujarat” and that the minorities were “safe” in the state.

The United Nations particular representative on freedom of faith had met Modi in Gandhinagar after interactions with a figure of non-government arrangements and rights workers.

The controversial amendment had defined a convert as a individual who had renounced his faith for another but did not include one who had renounced his “denomination” and adopted another of the same religion.

Jainism and Buddhism were described as denominations of Hindooism in the same manner as Shias and Sunnis were Muslims or Protestants and Catholics were Christians.

With Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism set in the same group, it meant the hardest hit were Dalits who had either born-again to Buddhism or were planning to.

The basic purpose, some analysts had said, seemed to be to deter Dalits from converting.

Under the amendment, which also clarified the significance of “forced conversion”, A individual did not necessitate to seek permission for converting from one religious sect to another of the same religion. So a Hindoo could easily convert to Buddhism, but had to take the territory collector’s permission for embracing Christian Religion or Islam.

The amendment, however, excluded Sikhs from its purview.

Rights militants said the abrogation had come up at a clip Modi was being projected as a hereafter Prime Minister. They said the head curate was just trying to “hoodwink” people and shore up his mental image to do him nationally acceptable.

The United States Congress and Modi’s oppositions were not satisfied with the repeal.

“We desire the original measure to be withdrawn as it go againsts the Constitution, which vouches freedom of religion,” said rights militant Francium Cedric Prakash.