Chhattisgarh High Court lifts ban on non-Hindu missionary activities
Raipur (AsiaNews) – The Chhattisgarh High Court lifted a ban on religious activities by non-Hindu missionaries imposed last year in the District of Bastar because "it violates the fundamental right to preach and propagate religion."
Justice Mohan Manindra Shrivastava issued his ruling following petitions by the Chhattisgarh Christian Forum and other Christian associations.
"The GCIC welcomes the decision of the High Court,” Sajan K George, president of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC), told AsiaNews. “Religious freedom is a right guaranteed by the Constitution for all the citizens of India. But this right is systematically denied to vulnerable Christian communities."
In July 2014, the village council (Gram Sabha) in Sirisguda had passed a resolution banning non-Hindu rites, meetings and practices “To stop forced conversion by outside religious campaigners and to prevent them from using derogatory language against Hindu deities and customs”.
In adopting the resolution, the council cited Section 129 (G) of the Chhattisgarh Panchayat Raj Act (Local Government Act) banning “non-Hindu religious propaganda, prayers and speeches in villages".
Christian activists and associations have challenged the state law because it overrides the Constitution of India, and have brought legal action against officials for not acting according to the law.
The State of Chhattisgarh already has an anti-conversion law Chattisgarh Religion Freedom Act 2006), which requires would-be converts to inform the district magistrate a month in advance of their intention of changing religion. Under the law, the district magistrate has the power to grant or deny permission to convert.
For Sajan K George, the “wave of attacks by pro-Hindutva fundamentalists against tribal communities in Chhattisgarh is a major concern. Christians are subject to economic and social boycott, suffer from discrimination and are even subject to attacks in their homes when they engage in private prayers. They are often denied access to food and water."
To illustrate his point, the activist noted that last year “35 new Christians announced their return to Hinduism”.
This occurred when Dinesh Kashyap, a member of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, visited the village of Madota (District of Bastar) where he organised a ceremony of reconversion to Hinduism of the 35 recently converted Christians.
Sadly, “Such incidents of Ghar Wapsi (homecoming) are carried out with impunity," George lamented.
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