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Faith and freedom

Freedom of religion is protected only when state keeps away from matters of faith, marriage

Protracted litigation in the name of combating forcible religious conversion is taking up valuable time of courts. The Supreme Court is hearing a purported Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking action to curb deceitful religious conversion in the country. Not wanting to be left behind, the Gujarat government is seeking the removal of a stay on a provision in its anti-conversion law that requires prior permission from the District Magistrate for any conversion done “directly or indirectly”. The Gujarat High Court had correctly stayed Section 5 of the Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act, 2003 (amended in 2021 to include ‘conversion by marriage’), while also staying the operation of other provisions that sought to cover inter-faith marriages as instances of illegal conversion. The High Court had noted that the prior permission requirement would force someone to disclose one’s religious belief or any change of faith, contrary to Supreme Court rulings that say marriage and faith involve an individual’s choice. In a strange claim, Gujarat argues that the stay on Section 5 is affecting even genuine inter-faith marriages that involve no fraud or coercion, as those who usually solemnise such marriages are unable to do so. This is based on a claim that the prior permission requirement obviates the need to question the genuine nature of the conversion, if any, consequent upon an inter-religious marriage.

No one would buy the claim that the provision enables voluntary conversion. Freedom of religion is protected only when no questions are raised and no suspicion entertained based on the mere fact that an inter-faith marriage has taken place. Common sense would suggest that forcing someone to disclose an intent to change one’s faith violates freedom of conscience and the right to privacy. Also, when a separate appeal against the High Court’s interim orders staying the provisions is pending before the Supreme Court, there was no need for the State government’s petition seeking to revive the prior permission requirement as part of the ongoing hearing on the PIL against religious conversions. On the larger issue, the observations of a Supreme Court Bench headed by Justice M.R. Shah to the effect that religious conversion through “allurement” or charity work is a serious problem indicate an eagerness to goad the Government into coming up with anti-conversion measures on a national scale. It is questionable whether courts should entertain exaggerated allegations of rampant fraudulent conversions across the country, instead of leaving it to States to identify the extent of the problem, if any, and adopt steps to protect religious freedom and communal harmony.

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Seek (verb) - ask for, call on, solicit on, invite मांगना

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litigation
(noun) – legal proceeding, trial , hearing, lawsuit, legal case, case मुक़दमेबाज़ी

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Allegation
(noun) – charge, accusation, claim, assertion, declaration आरोप

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Mere
(adjective) – no more than, just, only केवल

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Strange
(adjective) – unusual, odd, curious, peculiar, funny, bizarre अजीब

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Communal
(adjective) – collective, cooperative, community,

सांप्रदायिक

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Rampant
(adjective) – uncontrolled, unrestrained, unchecked, unbridled, widespread

अनियंत्रित

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Interim
(adjective) – provisional, temporary, pro tem, stopgap, short-term,

अंतरिम, अस्थायी

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Curb
(verb) – check, restrain, control, restrict, inhibit

रोकना

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Purported
(adjective) – supposed, alleged, ostensible, so-called

कथित

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Stay
(verb) – Stop, Halt, Defer, Postpone

रोकना

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Coercion
(noun) – force, violence, constraint, duress, compulsion

ज़ोर-ज़बर्दस्ती

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State
(noun) – Government

सरकार

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Provision
(noun) – A stipulated condition

प्रावधान

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Contrary
to (phrase) – In contradiction of, against, counter to, in contrast to, in opposition to

के विपरीत

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Violate
(verb) – breach, infringe, rape, break, transgress

उल्लंघन करना

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Conscience
(noun) – sense of right and wrong, integrity, morality

अन्तश्चेतना

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Exaggerated
(adjective) – represented as greater than is true or reasonable

बढ़ाकर कहा हुआ

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Claim
(noun) – Assertion, statement, accusation, declaration, allegation, contention

दावा

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Goad
(verb) – provoke, spur, prick, sting, prod, egg on

प्ररेरित करना

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Observation
(noun) – remark, comment, opinion, thought, statement

टिप्पणी, विचार

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Prior
(adjective) – previous, preceding, past, erstwhile, earlier

पूर्व

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Revive
(verb) – Recover, resume, develop, recuperate, flourish

पुनर्जीवित करना

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Harmony
(noun) – a state of peaceful existence and agreement

सामंजस्य, सद्भाव

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Ruling
(noun) – decision, judgment, decree

फ़ैसला

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Intent
(noun) – intention or purpose

इरादा

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Scale
(noun) – the size or level of something, especially when this is large:

पैमाना, स्तर

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Combat
(verb) – Fight, counter, battle

सामना करना

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Conversion
(noun) – becoming a member of a different religion

धर्म-परिवर्तन

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Keep
away from (phrase) – steer clear of, avoid, shun, evade

से दूर रहना

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Protracted
(adjective) – lengthy, prolonged, extended, long

लंबा

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In the name of
(phrase) – for the sake of.

के नाम पर

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Public
interest litigation (PIL) (noun) – it is defined as a legal action brought in a court of law for the enforcement of a public interest in which the general public or a class of the community has some interest and which could have an effect on their legal rights or responsibilities

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Deceitful
(adjective) – dishonest, deceiving, fraudulent, cunning

कपटी; बहकाने वाला

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Stay
(noun) – a suspension or postponement

रोक

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Anti
-conversion law (noun) – It prohibits conversion of religion through “coercion, force, misrepresentation, undue influence, and allurement” as well as fraud, or marriage.

धर्मांतरण विरोधी कानून

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Inter
-faith (adjective) – involving persons of different religious faiths

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Instance
(noun) – example, occasion, occurrence, case, representative case

उदाहरण, घटना

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Solemnise
(verb) – to perform an official religious ceremony, usually a marriage

आधिकारिक धार्मिक समारोह संपादित करना (प्रायः विवाह)

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Obviate
(verb) – preclude, prevent, remove, get rid of, do away with, get round, rule out, eliminate

छुटकारा पाना

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Consequent
(adjective) – Resulting, resultant, consequential, subsequent

परिणामी

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Buy
(verb) – accept the truth of.

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Enable
(verb) – allow, permit, empower, aid, assist, support, facilitate

कुछ संभव बनाना

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Voluntary
(adjective) – intended, intentional, deliberate

स्वैच्छिक

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Suspicion
(noun) – Doubt, misgiving, thought, distrust, disbelief, wariness

संदेह

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Entertain
(verb) – take into consideration, have in view; agree to, approve of, support to.

विचारना, स्वीकार करना

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Take
place (phrase) – happen, occur, come about, transpire, come to pass

घटित होना

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Appeal
(noun) – plea, petition, urgent/earnest request, entreaty

अपील

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To the effect that
(phrase) – used to refer to the general meaning of something written or spoken.

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Allurement
(noun) – attraction, persuasion, enticement, temptation.

प्रलोभन, लुभाव

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Eagerness
(noun) – keenness, enthusiasm, readiness, willingness, zeal

उत्सुकता

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Measure
(noun) – an action that is done for a special reason

कार्रवाई, उपाय