“Why does the majority fear a minority community that comprises only 2-3% of the population? Why is the ‘56-inch chest’ afraid of us?” Cynthia Stephen, activist, researcher and independent journalist, thundered into the microphone at a protest in Bengaluru’s Freedom Park last December. About 40 civil society organisations had gathered there to protest the anti-conversion bill, formally the Karnataka Protection of Right to Freedom of Religion Bill, 2021, introduced by the State government. “This Bill that the ruling BJP legislators want to pass is against the very Constitution they took their oath on while assuming power. It furthers the Manusmriti-sanctioned agenda of Brahminical patriarchy that delegitimises women, Dalits and other minorities,” Cynthia said.
The Bill seeks to punish forced or induced conversions. It prohibits conversion by “misrepresentation, force, allurement, fraudulent means, or marriage.” The Karnataka Assembly passed the Bill by a voice vote on December 24, even as the Congress and JD(S) opposed it. It is yet to be tabled in the Legislative Council.
