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AICU’s lawyer, P I Jose, told the Supreme Court that this provision was being misused by Hindutva organizations like the RSS and VHP to indulge in Ghar Wapsi, that is re-conversionn of Christians and Muslims into Hinduism. The RSS and its affiliates are misusing the delay in not hearing the original 2004 public interest petition on this issue, by engaging in Ghar Wapsi and others and therefore there is a need to hear the matter early, even though the government of India is delaying it by not filing a reply, advocate Jose told the court.
As per Para 3 of Constitution (scheduled castes) order 1950 which the petition has challenged, “no person who professes a religion different from the Hindu, the Sikh or the Buddhist religion shall be deemed to be a member of a scheduled caste”. Bodies like the RSS and VHP are capitalizing on the delay by luring Dalit Christians to re-convert by promising those Scheduled Caste rights and other incentives, he alleged.
AICU, which represents the Catholic Laity in the country, is deeply concerned over ‘Ghar Wapsi’ or the re-conversion programme and ether coercive and violent actions indulged in by Hindutva right wing outfits, and had moved a fresh petition for scrapping of the clause, Lancy D’ Cunha added.
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It is important to mention that on the one hand the poor Christians of Dalit origin are deprived of their constitutionally guaranteed freedom of faith and worship, on the other hand large groups of politically and institutionally patronised narrow fundamentalist religious bigots openly come out with violent intimidatory programs like ‘Ghar Wapsi’ and other like programs depriving the poor Christians of Scheduled caste origin their basic human rights of peaceful living.
The existing laws seem to legitimize Ghar Wapsi, while making it prohibitive and punitive for any Dalit to exercise his or her freedom of faith and convert to Islam or Christianity. Conversions to Buddhism and Sikhism do not invite this punishment, he said.
“The AICU has also, therefore, decided to take legal action against the chief minister of Jharkhand, Raghubar Das, and his government who recently pushed an anti-religious conversion bill in the state legislature. He then added insult to injury by using public money to issue an outrageous newspaper advertisement which uses a garbled statement of Mahatma Gandhi made before Independence to target Christians. Our lawyers are currently in the process of finalising our petition,” he concluded.