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GANDHINAGAR, INDIA, March 26, 2003: The Gujarat Freedom of Religion Bill, 2003, passed in the state assembly on Wednesday. It states anyone found converting a person from one religion to another “by force or any fraudulent means” can be fined up to US$2,000 or face up to three year’s imprisonment. The imprisonment period would be four years in the case of force or fraudulent means used against a minor, a woman, or a person belonging to Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe. The bill requires a person performing the conversion ceremony to obtain prior permission from the district magistrate, and the person being converted inform the district magistrate after adopting a different religion. For anyone violating either of the two provisions the fine is US$20 and imprisonment for a year. Minister of State for Home Amit Shah said, “Reports have been received by the government that conversions from one religion to another are made by use of force or allurement or by fraudulent means.” The bill, he added, would act as a “deterrent against the antisocial and vested interest groups exploiting innocent people belonging to the depressed classes.”

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