Haryana home minister Anil Vij on Thursday said that a three-member committee to draft an anti-conversion law has been formed by the state government. It comprises secretary, home-1, TL Satyaprakash, additional director general of police, law and order, Navdeep Virk and additional advocate general Deepak Manchanda.
Vij said the committee will study the laws enacted by other states. The home minister termed the proposed legislation as a law against “love jihad”, a term coined by Hindutva groups for Hindu girls being allegedly forced to convert to Islam in the guise of marriage.
Vij had, on November 6, told the state assembly that the government was deliberating enacting a law to check forced religious conversions. He was speaking on the murder of a young Faridabad woman, Nikita Tomar, by her alleged stalker, Tausif.
Vij had said the state government was also compiling information about instances where forced religious conversions took place resulting in an inter-faith wedding.
Earlier in June, chief minister ML Khattar had said that the state government has decided that a Right to Freedom of Religion Bill will be passed to stop forced conversions. During an interview with HT in July, the chief minister had said that there were complaints regarding forced conversions and marriages from many districts.
“People are free to adopt any religion in an informed manner but using coercion, allurement to force religious conversions is a matter of concern. Such incidents vitiate the atmosphere of society. We are studying similar laws enacted by other states and will accordingly take a call,” Khattar had said.
