For many in India, and particularly in Gujarat, 26 March will always be remembered as a black day. On that day in 2003, Narendra Modi, then Chief Minister of Gujarat, introduced the draconian Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act. Earlier that morning, Haren Pandya, former Home Minister of Gujarat and Modi’s bête noire, was assassinated under mysterious circumstances. To this day, the truth of Pandya’s death—who killed him and why—remains officially unrevealed. His father, Vitthalbhai Pandya, pursued justice relentlessly, even approaching the Supreme Court, convinced of who was behind the killing. Analysts and even the BBC documentary The Modi Question (banned in India) have highlighted how Pandya was a stumbling block to Modi’s rise.
The Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act, 2003, remains one of the most draconian laws in any democracy. Modi had promised such legislation during his 2002 campaign, railing against Muslims and Christians, and delivered soon after. The Opposition walked out of the Assembly in protest. Rules for implementation took five years to frame.
In 2006, at the Shabri Kumbh in the Dangs, Modi declared it his “constitutional duty” to prevent conversions, while Morari Bapu accused Christians of flying in missionaries from the Vatican. Both endorsed “ghar wapsi” programmes. In 2009, the Gujarat United Christian Forum for Human Rights challenged the law’s constitutional validity, but the petition was later withdrawn to be strengthened. In 2021, the Gujarat High Court blocked amendments, leaving the law intact.
The bogey of “forced conversion” has since become a central strategy of the Sangh Parivar. These laws, ironically called “Freedom of Religion,” are unconstitutional. Today, thirteen states, including Maharashtra, have enacted or proposed such laws. Maharashtra’s draft Dharma Swatantrya Adhiniyam 2026 requires prior permission for conversion, claiming to protect freedom of religion while imposing penalties. Civil society groups, led by PUCL, CJP, and BCS, condemned the move at a press conference in Mumbai, warning of its lack of transparency and its dangerous reliance on the “love jihad” conspiracy theory—a claim with no legal basis.
The constitutional validity of these laws is already under challenge before the Supreme Court. Petitions led by CJP have been pending since 2020, raising fundamental questions about freedom of conscience, personal liberty, and equality before law. Yet the bogey of forced conversion continues to be weaponised, deflecting attention from real crises: spiraling prices, corruption, crony capitalism, scarcity of essentials, and erosion of democratic institutions.
The judiciary itself has been inconsistent. In November 2022, a two-judge bench observed that forced conversions may affect national security and asked the Centre to respond. Yet in April 2021, a three-judge bench dismissed a similar petition, warning it was “very harmful” and affirming that adults are free to choose their faith. Article 25 of the Constitution guarantees freedom of conscience and the right to profess, practice, and propagate religion. Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights echoes this, affirming the right to change one’s religion or belief.
History reminds us of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s path-breaking decision in 1935 to abandon Hinduism, urging Dalits to embrace a faith that offered dignity and equality. In 1956, he and hundreds of thousands converted to Buddhism. His words—“If you want self-respect, change your religion”—still resonate.
The question is simple: Is an adult citizen of India free to choose the religion of one’s choice? The Supreme Court must act decisively, strike down these unconstitutional laws, and uphold the freedoms enshrined in our Constitution. Whether it has the courage to confront the Hindutva brigade remains to be seen.
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*Human rights, reconciliation & peace activist and writer
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