Karnataka Bishops Meet CM Bommai Over Proposed Anti-Conversion Law

Bengaluru: The Archbishop of Bangalore, Dr Peter Machado, led a delegation of Catholic bishops of Karnataka, met Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Wednesday, and expressed concern over a proposed law to ban forcible religious conversions in the state.

Terming the bogey of conversions as “malicious” and “untrue,” Dr Machado speaking to the reporters after the meeting said they had expressed their displeasure over it. He also highlighted the fact that despite hundreds of schools, colleges, and hospitals that operated under the aegis of each bishop, and that there were about a lakh students but none have been advised to get converted to Christianity. “Some minor events might have taken place which have been blown out of proportion now,” he added.

On Tuesday, Hosadurga BJP MLA Goolihatti Shekhar had raised the issue during the assembly’s zero hour. He said, “Christian evangelists are indulging in rampant religious conversion in my (Hosadurga) constituency. They have got about 20,000 people converted to Christianity from the Hindu religion”.

House Speaker Vishveshwara Hegde Kageri said many states already have strong laws to curb such practices and suggested Karnataka too could have a similar law.

Responding to this, Home Minister Araga Jnanendra said the government would study the laws on the subject in other states and come up with its own. They have already initiated discussions on the nature of law they need to bring about to effectively deal with conversions using force and other enticements.

When asked for his opinion on the discussions, Machado said, “Someone is trying to malign us. While the issue is being debated in the Assembly, we have reminded people not to do such things. It is not right if someone approaches people, hands over the book and a cross, and converts them. We, too, have a conscience and moral responsibility. We are not forcing anyone.”

In a memorandum submitted to the CM, the bishops noted that such a law would lead to “unnecessary communal issues and unrest” with many more controversial statements and reactions made following the same.

During the meeting with the CM, they also discussed about a host of other topics, including inclusion of representatives of Christian managements in committees formed to implement the new National Education Policy (NEP).

The memorandum also noted the need to include representation from Christian managements in the NEP implementation committees. “Even though thousands of educational institutions are being managed by members from the community, we would like to bring to your notice that there is no Christian representation in various committees formed to implement NEP,” the letter read.