KPSC UPSC IAS KAS EXAM
ANTI-CONVERSATION
BILL
A secular state claims to treat all its citizens equally regardless of religion,
and claims to avoid preferential treatment for a citizen based on their
religious beliefs, affiliation or lack of either over those with other
profiles.
With the Forty-second
Amendment of the Constitution of India enacted in 1976, the Preamble to
the Constitution asserted that India is a secular nation. ... None can say otherwise so long
as this Constitution governs this country. Politics and religion cannot be
mixed.
The Constitution (Forty-second Amendment) Act, 1976
Bill published on 1
September 1976
Introduced by H. R. Gokhale
Bill introduced in the Rajya Sabha Constitution (Forty-second Amendment) Bill, 1976
Bill published on 4 November 1976
Secularism and Constitution of India:
Secularism as contemplated by the Constitution of India has
the following distinguishing features:
(1) The state will not identify itself with or be controlled by any religion;
(2) While the state guarantees to everyone the right to profess whatever religion one
chooses to follow, it will not accord any preferential treatment to any of
them.
(3) No
discrimination will be shown by the state against any person on account of his
religion or faith.
(4) The right of every citizen, subject to any general condition, to
enter any offices under the state and religious tolerance form the heart and
soul of secularism as envisaged by the constitution. It secures the conditions
of creating a fraternity of
the Indian people which assures both the dignity of the individual and the
unity of the nation.
The Supreme Court has ruled in (Bal Patil and Anr. v. union
of India) that the State
has no religion and State has to treat all religions and religious people
equally and with equal respect without in any manner interfering with
their Individual rights of religion, faith and worship.
The objectives and parameters of a secular, socialist,
democratic republic had to be expressed in such flexible, yet firm, fashion
that a creative and realistic jurisprudence and complex of constitutional
strategies could be put into operation which would harmonies not antagonize,
religious minorities, integrate not acerbate, hostile strata, abolish not
accentuate, the socio-religious discrimination endured by the weaker human
sector and generate a system and society where secular unity would comport with
cultural diversity.
History & Background of secularism (42nd Amendment act)
In Venkataramana Devaru V. Stae of Mysore 1958 AIR 255,1958, SCR 895 Venkataramana temple as belonging to the Gowda Saraswath Brahaman
community. The trustees of this denominational temple refused admission to
Harijans on the ground that the caste of the prospective worshipper was a
relevant matter of religion according to scriptural authority and that under
Art.26(b) of the constitution they had the right to manage their
Indian Model of Secularism:
(2) It has a place not only for the right of individuals to
profess their religious beliefs but also for the right of religious communities to
establish and maintain educational institutions.
(3) The acceptance of community-specific rights brings us to
the third feature of Indian secularism because it was born in a deeply
multi-religious society, it is concerned as much with inter-religious domination
as it is with intra-religious domination.
(4) It does not erect a wall of separation between the state
and religion. This allows the state to intervene in religions, to help or
hinder them without the impulse to control or destroy them.
(5) It is not entirely averse the public character of
religion. Although the state is not identified with a particular religion,
there is official and therefore public recognition granted to religious
communities.
(6) Multiple values and principled distance means that the
state tries to balance different, ambiguous but equally important values.
This type of model makes its secular ideal more like a
contextual, ethically sensitive, politically negotiated arrangement, rather
than a scientific doctrine as conjured up by ideologies and merely implemented
by political agents.
Secularism undoubtedly helps and aspires to enable every
citizen to enjoy fully the blessing of life, liberty and happiness, but in the
pursuit of this ideal, those who believe in secularism must be inspired by a
sense of ethical purpose in dealing with their fellow citizens.
Why was preamble secular added?
Secular means that the relationship between the government
and religious groups are determined according to the constitution and law. It separates
the power of the state and religion. By the 42nd Amendment in 1976, the term
"Secular" was also incorporated in the Preamble.
What is secularism under the Indian constitution?
Secularism and Indian Constitution
With the 42nd Amendment of the Constitution of India (1976),
the Preamble to the Constitution asserted that India is a “secular” nation. The
meaning of a secular state is that it does not prioritize any one religion for
the country and its people.
What is the concept of secularism?
Secularism is the concept that government or other entities
should exist separately from religion and/or religious beliefs. ... In another
sense, it refers to the view that human activities and decisions, especially
political ones, should be based on evidence and fact unbiased by religious
influence
When was secularism added to the Constitution?
With the Forty-second Amendment of the Constitution of India
enacted in 1976, the Preamble to the Constitution asserted that India is a
secular nation. However, the Supreme Court of India in the 1994 case S. R.
Bommai
anti
“The bill is only aimed at preventing religious conversions
by inducements,” he clarified. Earlier in Bengaluru, the CM had spoken of the
need for an anti-conversion law that would prevent conversion by force, fraud
or inducement. Our code of editorial values.
In political terms, secularism is a movement towards the
separation of religion and government (often termed the separation of church
and state). ... He argued that government must treat all citizens and all
religions equally, and that it can restrict actions, but not the religious
intent behind them.
Is Hinduism legal in India?
Modern Hindu law
Article 44 of the 1950 Indian constitution mandates a
uniform civil code, eliminating all religion-based civil laws including Hindu
law, Christian law and Muslim law throughout the territory of India.
This means that people of different religions and faiths
have the freedom to practise and follow their religion without any fear of
discrimination.
A secular state is an idea pertaining to secularity, whereby
a state is or purports to be officially neutral in matters of religion,
supporting neither religion nor irreligion.
Is India a secular country justified?
Answer: Our constitution does not discriminate against anyone on the
basis of caste, creed, and gender. Everyone in India is free to practice any
religion. There is no official religion in India, hence making it a secular
country.
What is Anti-Conversion Law in India?
Multiple
anti-conversion bills were introduced in the parliament but not a single Bill
was passed. Currently, anti-conversion laws fall under the domain of state
governments.
Karnataka Anti-Conversion Bill: Converts May Lose Benefits
& Quota
For the converts, the same benefits and quota may not apply and
most of them will be repealed once the law comes into force.
Chennai: The people who are converting to Christianity or
Islam after anti-conversion law comes into force in Karnataka, the converts
especially from BC and SC communities will likely lose government benefits and
reservations in job and education in the state.
The Law Minister JC Madhuswamy said, the legislation will
address religious conversion but for now they do not specify the punishments so
the government will look into all these while scrutinizing the Bill.
The new bill against religious conversions is drafted based
on the Unlawful Religious Conversion Act proposed by Uttar Pradesh last year.
The report also said that the bill proposes to provide 10 years of imprisonment
if attempts are made to coerce the people for religious conversion.
The Minister for Rural Development KS Eshwarappa said that
those wanting to convert to other religions must be ready to forgo their
benefits received due to their previous religious identity too.
On Monday, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said that the bill
will be tabled once the law department finishes the scrutiny of the bill.
Further, the cabinet will also provide a nod for the Bill.
According to a report on Times of India, the Hindu people
from BC and SC communities are eligible for reservation even after they convert
to other religions. However, the same benefits and quota may not apply and most
of them will be repealed once the law comes into force.
Anti-conversion law has its origin in colonial India when
they were introduced by the princely states during the British period in the
1930s and 1940s. These first anti-conversion laws were made to preserve and
protect the cultural identity of the princely states from British missionaries.
Several princely states gave birth to anti-conversion laws like the Raigarh
State Conversion Act, 1936, Udaipur State Anti-Conversion Act, 1946, and several
other states like Bikaner, Patna, and Jodhpur, Bikaner followed suit.
After India's independence, multiple anti-conversion bills
were introduced in the parliament but not a single Bill was passed. Currently,
anti-conversion laws fall under the domain of state governments. The law seeks
to prevent religious conversions and at present, there are eight states where
the law is in force. The states are Arunachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Odisha,
Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand.
Apart from some differences the structure and content of the laws are almost
identical.
To prevent the conversion of a person to another religion
either by force or enticement is the common objective of the laws. The
penalties for violating the laws range from imposing fines and imprisonment if
the targeted member belongs to scheduled caste or scheduled tribes. In 1954,
the Indian Conversion (Regulation and Registration) Bill was introduced in the
parliament seeking to enforce licensing of missionaries and also registration
of conversion with officials of the government. Then the Backward Communities
(Religious Protection) Bill was introduced in 1960 for checking the conversion
of Hindu community people to 'non-Indian religions'. In 1979 the Freedom of
Religion Bill was introduced in the parliament that intended to
"officially prevent inter-religion conversion."
But due to a lack of support from the political parties,
none of the Bills was passed in the parliament. The anti-conversion laws in the
states have not been without legal challenges. On many occasions, these laws
have been challenged on the ground that innocent persons were being victimized
by them. Meanwhile, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said the state
will soon implement an anti-conversion law.
Speaking to the media, Bommai said, "Seers of various
mutts have appealed to the state government for implementing the Act to ban
religious conversions in the state. The government is already studying the laws
passed by some states in this regard. Karnataka will soon come out with its own
version."
