Ban on conversions or separating religion from politics - what does India need?

Ban on conversions or separating religion from politics – what does India need?

Introduction:

Mass conversion of poverty ridden Muslims of Agra into Hinduism created flares of aggressive controversies, debates, demands for anti-conversion laws and of course the most predictable of them all -the blame game. When India has so many more important issues to deal with like poverty, illiteracy, safety of women, our politicians are busy playing their old card of religion. Media talks of banning conversions and the motives of the political groups behind these hypes but nobody raises the demand to separate religion from politics. Most of the political parties use religion to win votes by creating tension in the name of religion and almost every time religion is brought in between it creates chaos and results in aggression. The solution is either to ban conversions or separate religion from politics completely.

Ban on conversions:

1. Every person has the right to follow the religion of his/her choice. Regardless of their religious beliefs, they have the right to support whichever political party they choose and the same should be expected from the parties playing in the region.

2. Anti-conversion laws will ensure that a person is not lured into conversion with promises of getting better living, ration cards and adhaar cards. The political parties will also have no such religion card to play.

3. Banning conversions would make India peaceful as it would solve the much talked about problem of people being forcedly converted to other religion.

4. These conversions create conflicts amongst people and India has more than often witnessed such instances where such conversions led to tension in various areas.

5. Other problems such as “love jihad”, though failed to reap the result politicians sought, would be solved if anti-conversion laws are brought into effect.

Separate religion from politics:

1. Religion is merely used by politicians to draw votes and people fall prey easily when their belief is put to question. This filthy policy of dividing people on the basis of religion to gather votes has been practiced for long and it definitely needs amendments.

2. Strictly separating religion from politics would ensure that instead of voting a person on basis of their support towards a particular religion and their hatred towards the other, people would actually use their wits and see the real deeds behind the false promises.

3. When they need votes, they use religion and when the game is over their deeds of corruption equally affect people of every religion. It is not just the other religion that suffers the wrath of bad politics.

4. Use of religion to earn votes has to be banned else hate speeches and such incidences will continue to happen and affect the minds of generations to come.

5. India needs development in the fields of economy, commerce and trade and not for the propagation of any religion. Politicians must get serious about the duties they are elected for instead of focusing on how to show the people how much they hate the other religion.

6. More than proving to the people how much they follow their own religion, our politicians show how much they disgust the other religion. People today are better informed and understand the dirty politics well but the lives of common people are still put to stake. Those ridden by poverty get involved into these affairs and it is none other than they themselves who face the consequences.

7. Anti conversion laws would be against the freedom of religion. Every person has the right to follow whichever religion they choose. A person can choose to be an Atheist, Muslim, Hindu, Christian, Jain, or might even choose to follow more than one religion at the same time. How is this in any way the business of politicians to show the right path or “gharwaapsi?” And these are the people we elect to power to run the country, who should rather be saints preaching in ashrams and madrasas.

Conclusion:

Banning conversions would not solve the problem. The problem is not conversion of people but the motive with which they are being lured to conversion. Make a law of anti-conversion and soon they will find out another way that will involve hurting the religious sentiments of people. The only solution is to make laws that would ensure complete separation of religion from politics. India doesn’t need sadhvis and maulvis, it needs scientists and economists.