Time to ban Conversion
It was my very best friend Sageer Khan who first of all ingrained in me most deeply in Mackronia locality in Sagar in Madhya Pradesh way back in 1994 that conversion is a crime that is worst than all the other crimes in this world and when I wanted to myself convert and become a Muslim in 1994 deeply influenced by what version he gave to me of Islam and even once expressed my desire to him to become Muslim but Sageer Khan started crying most astoundingly and caught my hand and placed it on top of his head and said that say to me on oath that you shall never shun Hinduism nor Mahadev Baba whom you have worshipped till date just like I Sageer Khan will never shun Islam nor Allah nor will you enter mosque nor see towards mosque which I had to give and said that religions are just different paths to reach the same goal just like mountaineer chooses different paths to reach the same goalpost at top of a mountain. Sageer further added that, “We should never shun the religion in which God whom you call Mahadev and I call Allah ensured that we took birth in till we stay alive and are non-negotiable just like parents and nation”! I nodded my head!
Sageer Khan further also said that, “It is better to burn yourself alive than convert like Rani Padmini did as Alauddin Khilji wanted her to convert and so also Sikh Gurus Arjan Dev and Guru Tegh Bahadur preferred to die rather than convert as conversion is worst sin on earth because conversion is most favourite pet weapon of USA and UK who add united before their name just like UN who too add united before their name but always favour division of other countries especially India and who hate Hindus most as maximum freedom fighters in India were Hindus and among Hindus hate Sikhs most as maximum freedom fighters of Hindus were Sikhs like Sardar Bhagat Singh and so coined Khalistan and partitioned Punjab maximum giving the people of Punjab deepest scar and maximum Sikhs killed in Hindustan in name of Khalistan and among Muslims hate Shias most as maximum freedom fighters of Muslims were Shias like Mohammad Ali Jinnah and so coined Pakistan and maximum Shias killed in Pakistan not safe even in mosques and are safest in Hindustan and Hindus are most tolerant in the world and USA and UK trust Sunnis most but mark my words Inshallah it is only and only Sunni Muslims who will definitely combat, control, conquer and so also completely crush USA and UK who are root cause of all pains, problems, partitions and parents of all conversions and converters and so also of all terrorists, rioters who encourage “divide and rule” policy and then there will definitely be peace, progress and prosperity all over the world and India will again become united as it stood prior to partition masterminded by USA and UK who encouraged conversions which is the root cause of creation of Pakistan and I fail to comprehend that why Centre never steps in and bans conversion and punish it most stringently which is most cherished weapon of USA and UK to ensure more and more partition of India as they are not happy with partition of India in 1947 and are parents of Pakistan and Israel and so also ban polygamy for all which is root cause of conversion and over population in India and Pakistan would never have come into being if Hindus had been in majority in Pakistan and Bangladesh which USA and UK knew and so encouraged more and more conversion culminating in partition of India way back in 1947 and even now in 1994 we see conversion has not been banned nationally. It is high time that we get rid of the absurd notion that conversion cannot conquer country not learning even after partition of India on ground of religion in 1947.” Now we are in 2026 and we still see that conversion has not been banned nationally because of lack of political will to take any bold decision on this just like we see in case of implementation of uniform civil code which Apex Court keeps directing time and again so many times yet not even polygamy abolished for all most disgracefully!
It must be laid bare that India’s first anti-conversion statute was Odisha’s Freedom of Religion Act, 1967 which had specifically criminalized conversion by force, inducement or fraud with comparatively light penalties capped at short prison terms and modest fines. Even Madhya Pradesh followed soon and banned conversion in 1968 and replaced the earlier law with one enacted in 2021. Arunachal Pradesh enacted law to ban conversion in 1978 and Jharkhand in 2017. We witnessed how most commendably more stricter laws were enacted “post-2018 wave” in Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh in 2019, Gujarat in 2021, Haryana in 2022, Karnataka also in 2022, UP in 2021 and then amended in 2024 and Rajasthan in 2025. Most recently, Chhattisgarh on March 19, 2026 most laudably passed a Bill aimed at preventing religious conversion carried out through force, inducement, fraud or misrepresentation with stringent provisions including life imprisonment in cases of “mass conversion”. All offences will be cognizable and non-bailable. It must be noted that the Bill also clearly states that reconversion to one’s ancestral religion will not be treated as conversion under the law. Even the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly passed on March 17, 2026 the Maharashtra Freedom of Religion Act, 2026.
What I find most particularly baffling is that why Centre led by PM Narendra Modi is not banning conversion nationally despite knowing fully well its dangerous implications and which is encouraged to the hilt by USA and UK and their allies as they are not happy with just one partition of India in 1947? Why even forced religious conversion is not being banned nationally? Is it because of maximum foreign funding to ruling party BJP which gets maximum funding as was disclosed in electoral bond case?
To be brutally honest, I have just no idea but conversion must be definitely banned and especially forced conversion as it brooks no more delay any longer now! Interestingly enough, we see that Gujarat which is home State of PM Narendra Modi halts State grants to institutions accused of illegal religious conversions as soon as chargesheets are filed, without waiting for a conviction. But still this is not being done nationally most disgracefully due to lack of political will power which definitely depicts a sorry picture of the deplorable state of affairs and makes for most depressing reading!
One must be candid enough to concede that the only silver lining in this is the Supreme Court’s most laudable 1977 judgment in Rev. Stainislaus vs State of Madhya Pradesh which held that the right to “propagate” religion under Article 25 of the Constitution does not include a right to convert others and upheld early anti-conversion laws from Odisha and Madhya Pradesh. One fervently hope that the Judges of Supreme Court will not become a willing stooge in the hands of USA and UK and justify conversion on one pretext or the other and Centre must also have the guts, gall and gumption to catch the bull by the horns and ban conversion on a national level and punish most stringently those who indulge in conversion and especially mass conversion as it clearly aims to destabilize the demography of India to facilitate very quickly the partition of India just like retention of polygamy encourages conversion which must also be abolished for all and those who encourage mass conversion must be dealt with iron hands as my very best friend Sageer Khan always wanted more than three decades ago from 1993 onwards! Sageer Khan said that, “Centre must ban conversion completely and those who encourage conversion without using any force must be punished for 10 years to 20 years in prison and those who forcibly convert must be punished only and only by shooting them in public and should not allow any of his relatives to attend his last rites and should not be given proper burial so that no one dares to again ever indulge in forcible conversion.”
It is high time and all the High Courts and the Supreme Court also must stop giving conversion a degree of legitimacy on one pretext or the other and should rather strive to ensure parity in distribution of High Court Benches in different States and different regions which we don’t see happening most unfortunately even though this directly concerns judiciary and yet only five elite States have multiple High Court Benches – Maharashtra, Assam, Karnataka, West Bengal and Assam leaving big States like UP and Rajasthan with just one High Court Bench and States like Orissa, Bihar and Gujarat with not even one Bench most shockingly! Why West UP which owes for majority of pending cases of Allahabad High Court which is highest in not just UP but all across the nation has not even a High Court Bench nor even a Circuit Bench to say the very least? This is really terrible!
It definitely cannot be lightly dismissed by anyone and has to be taken most seriously by all of us that it is none other than the Allahabad High Court in a most learned judgment titled Kailash vs State of UP in Criminal Misc. Bail Application No. – 19442 of 2024 and cited in Neutral Citation No. – 2024 : AHC : 105940 that has been pronounced as recently as on July 1, 2024 has minced just no words to say in no uncertain terms most unequivocally while expressing most serious concern on huge conversions that unlawful conversion of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes SC/ST and economically poor persons to Christianity was being done at rampant pace throughout Uttar Pradesh. Most worryingly, the Bench minced absolutely just no words to say most clearly that the majority population of the country would become the minority one day, if religious congregations where conversions take place are not stopped. No denying it.
It must be also further disclosed here that the Single Judge Bench comprising of Hon’ble Mr Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal of the Allahabad High Court made these so very crucial observations while dismissing the bail plea of an accused after perusing it very minutely in detail under the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021. Very rightly so! It was also observed by the Bench that Article 25 of the Constitution of India provides for “freedom of conscience and free profession, practice, and propagation of religion” but does not provide for conversion from one faith to another faith. The Bench also sought to clarify on “propagation” that, “The word “propagation” means to promote, but it does not mean to convert any person from his religion to another religion.”
All told, it is trite to say that conversions must actually be now totally banned not just from few States as we see right now but from all over India on a national scale as it is high time now and for which Centre must definitely take the much needed initiative just like it has done to amend the penal laws as we cannot gloss over or take lightly what the Allahabad High Court has expressed its utmost concern over the huge conversions taking place. There can be no more dilly-dallying on this as it brooks no more delay any longer now! We have seen that how many missionaries groups on many occasions give lure of huge money and what not just to secure conversions which definitely is a very big potential threat not just to one religion alone but to our national security also as the population demography can be easily changed very fast by mass conversions as pointed out in this brilliant judgment by Allahabad High Court who very rightly held that, “It has come into notice of this Court in several cases that unlawful activity of conversion of people of SC/ST castes and other castes including economically poor persons into Christianity is being done at rampant pace throughout the State of Uttar Pradesh.”
It is not just the illiterate people but also literate people who too many times get brain washed and indulge in wrong acts which are inimical to our national interests which has to be checked, combated and crushed completely by ensuring that no conversion is ever allowed in India under any circumstances whatsoever! Not all are lucky like me to get a friend like Sageer Khan who regularly accompanied me to temple of Lord Hanuman and Devi Durga in Mandir Marg in Civil Lines in Sagar in Madhya Pradesh for two years from April 1993 to April 1995! It is definitely high time and now what most commendable initiative we see that the UP State Government is taking must definitely be implemented nationally also most promptly so that those who indulge in forced or fraudulent conversions are sent behind bars at least for life if not killed publicly as my very best friend Sageer Khan wanted most desperately! If conversion cannot be banned completely because of “freedom of choice to practice the religion of his/her choice” as enshrined in Constitution the least that can be done is to completely ban forced or fraudulent conversion and those who are still found to be indulging in it rampantly must be strictly punished with the same punishment as we see has been done by the UP State Government! No denying or disputing it!
