The story so far: The Gujarat government recently issued a circular clarifying that Buddhism and Hinduism must be considered as two separate religions for religious conversions in the State. Accordingly, anyone converting from Hinduism to Buddhism, Jainism or Sikhism needs to get approval from the local district magistrate as defined under the Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act, 2003 (2003 Act).
The circular issued by the Home Department on April 8 noted that “applications seeking conversion to Buddhism were not being dealt with as per rules,” which prompted such a clarification. Signed by Deputy Secretary (Home) Vijay Badheka, the move comes amid growing concerns over the arbitrary interpretation of the 2003 Act by district magistrates, leading to delays in the approval process for religious conversions.
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