Chetana Mondal, B.A. L.L.B(H), Amity University, Kolkata
Shounak Banerjee Chowdhury, B.A. L.L.B(H), Amity University, Kolkata
ABSTRACT
Anti-conversion laws in India have been at the centre of the legal and political discourse of India. While supporters of these laws claim that they tend to protect, they are there to protect vulnerable communities from predatory proselytization via inducements, allurements, fraud, and coercion, critics say that they infringe upon the fundamental right and are an impediment to religious freedom in India and disproportionately target religious minorities. This paper examines the evolutionary timeline of how these laws came into being going back to the colonial era. This paper also talks about the rationale that is given in creating these laws, linking religious conversions to demographic anxiety and interfaith marriage, which has led to the creation of these draconian laws. This paper also analyses the judicial pronouncements for these laws in different cases.
Keywords: anti-conversion laws, fundamental rights, freedom of religion, forced conversions
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