To end to the menace of religious conversions, an ‘Anti-Conversion Law’ is required ! : Advocate Ashwini Upadhyay

“The menace of religious conversions has plagued India since pre-Independence days. Foreign invaders invaded our country just for power, but more importantly to make India a ‘Ghazwa-e-Hind’ (Islamic State). Today, a vast sum of money is getting routed to India from abroad in the form of black money and hawala transactions for the sole purpose of religious conversions. This money then finds its way to not only the missionary-fanatics but also to Naxalites, Maoists, separatists and terrorists. Therefore, the biggest threat to our country is posed by hawala and black money. If conversions are to be prevented in the true sense, bank notes of denominations higher than Rs. 100 should not be introduced to curb both hawala and black money which help in these conversions. In addition, strict provisions should be introduced in the Indian Penal Code against religious conversions. These provisions should include 10-20 years of imprisonment and confiscation of property”, said Supreme Court Advocate Ashwini Upadhyay in a special Online seminar on the ‘Need for a National Law to stop rampant religious conversions’ organised by Hindu Janajagruti Samiti (HJS). The event was viewed on HinduJagruti.org, YouTube and Twitter.

Mr. Vikas Saraswat (Coordinator of Indic Academy in Uttar Pradesh) said, “Despite the State-level Anti-conversion Laws in many States, no missionary has yet been punished. Moreover, the Government and the Police do not even dare to take action against religious fanatics involved in illegal activities. Advance training on how to go about religious conversions are imparted to these fanatics in foreign countries. A Central ‘Anti-conversion Law’ alone will not be sufficient to counter such attacks since any law will have loopholes. We should create Hindu missionaries. Religious conversions must be dealt with counter-conversions (bringing back the converted to Hindu Dharma)”.

Mr. Chetan Janardan (State Organiser of HJS for Andhra Pradesh) said, “Hindus have already become a minority in 7 States of our country. The Christian missionaries are openly admitting that they are responsible for conversions of more than one lakh Hindus during the coronavirus pandemic. A newly- converted person in Andhra Pradesh vandalised more than 100 Idols of Hindu Deities. Vijay, a Pastor, even said, ‘If Hindus have issues with us, just give us a separate country’. These instances are true reflections of their mindset. The fundamental solution to such conversions is to impart education on Dharma to our Hindu brethren. For this, HJS has started cond-ucting Online classes which explain the importance of Hindu Dharma. Through these classes, Hindus are being awakened and united. A truly awakened Hindu never falls prey to conversions”.