Anti-Conversion Bill

• 04 Feb 2025

Why in News? 

The Rajasthan government introduced the Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Bill, 2025, aiming to prevent religious conversions through force, fraud, or inducement.  

• The Bill includes provisions for imprisonment of up to 10 years and a fine of up to Rs 50,000 for various offences. 

 Key Points 

• Approval and Purpose: 
  • In November 2024, the State Cabinet approved the draft of the Bill, aiming to stop the "increasing instances of 'love jihad'" in certain areas of the State. 
    • The term ‘love jihad’ refers to Muslim men marrying Hindu women to convert them to Islam. 
• Bill Provisions: 
  • The State Medical and Health Minister introduced the Bill, which makes offences cognisable, non-bailable, and triable in court. 
  • The Bill criminalizes conversions through misrepresentation, force, coercion, allurement, fraud, or marriage. 
  • Individuals wishing to convert their religion must give a declaration to the District Magistrate at least 60 days in advance. 
• Rationale Behind the Bill: 
  • According to the Bill’s statement, while other states have laws on the right to religious freedom, Rajasthan lacked such a statute. 
  • The Bill aims to balance the individual right to religious freedom with the need to prevent proselytism, which could undermine secularism. 

 Religious Conversion 

• Religious conversion is the adoption of a set of beliefs identified with one particular religious denomination to the exclusion of others. 
• Thus "religious conversion" would describe the abandoning of adherence to one denomination and affiliating with another. 
  • For example, Christian Baptist to Methodist or Catholic, Muslim Shi'a to Sunni. 
• In some cases, religious conversion "marks a transformation of religious identity and is symbolized by special rituals".