Why the Anti-Conversion bill in Rajasthan is being seen as the Government of the BJP line of the Toeing.

The Bhajan Lal Sharma government in Rajasthan has presented a bill against conversion in the ongoing budget session of the Legislative Assembly. The prohibition of the illegal conversion of the Religion Law, 2025, aims to avoid religious conversions by force, fraud or induction. Even when he does not say it explicitly, the bill is being seen by critics as a movement to stop the religious conversion of Hindus.

Rajasthan has rarely had cases of Hindus that adopt Islam, but the churches have been appearing in tribal areas in the south of the state. From time to time, one listens to interreligious marriages in the state. Given this, rather than addressing any urgent requirement, it is believed that the bill is a clear message that underlines the ideology and policy of the BJP.

The bill, presented by the State Minister of Health, Gajendra Singh Khimswar, provides up to 10 years in prison for those who force anyone to convert or make mass conversions. It provides up to RS 5 Lakh as compensation for victims of forced conversions. One of the provisions is mandatory for people to request the magistrate 60 days before the planned date of religious conversion.

The bill says that the right of people to freedom of conscience and religion cannot be extended to interpret a collective right to proselytism. “In the recent past, many of these examples have come to light where credulous people have become from one religion to another for misrepresentation, strength, undue influence, coercion, aluration or fraudulent means,” says the bill.

The bill also covers interreligious marriages. He says that if it is demonstrated that the purpose of marriage makes an illegal conversion, such marriage can be canceled by the court. The Family Court or a court that has jurisdiction on such matters can invalidate marriage.

The president of the Rajastan Legislative Assembly, Vasudev Devnani, had defended the bill during an interaction with the media. He said that the provision that makes it mandatory to inform the magistrate in advance about any conversion was essential to address the security and well -being of citizens, particularly to tribal and economically disadvantaged people. I expected that with the BJP in power both in the State and in the center, the promulgation of the bill would be soft.

It will be interesting to see what the opposition parties that assume the bill during the debate in the Assembly are standing. The Bharat Adivasi party states that tribal people have their own customs and oppose any religion that brings tribal communities to their fold. Its main opposition has been to qualify tribal peoples as Hindu. While left parties consider that tribal people have an independent religion, they have never opposed their conversion to Christianity in the state. The Congress opposes the BJP that qualifies tribal peoples as Hindus, but otherwise steps on a cautious path that fears a Hindu reaction.

It also remains to be seen how the debate on the bill affects the community atmosphere in the State. Rajasthan has witnessed some quite brutal hate crimes. In 2017, a 38 -year -old man, Shambu Raiger, had beheaded Mohammad Afrazul in Rajsamand. Police said Raiger suspected Afrazul, 48, to attract women.

In 2022, two Muslim men, Riyaz Ansari and Muhammad Ghaus, had decapitated a tailor, Kanhaiya Lal, in their store in Udaipur, because apparently he had shared a position in which the leader of BJP, Nupur Sharma, had made derogatory comments about Prophe Muhammad. In both cases, the defendant had made videos of his crime.

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