3 weeks ago
Bengal to Get Anti-Conversion Law, Land Sale Restrictions
The leader of West Bengal, a state in India, wants to make some new laws.
One new law would make it illegal to force anyone to change their religion.
Another new law would add extra rules about who can buy and sell land.
The state also wants one shared set of family rules for everyone, called the Uniform Civil Code.
A small group of judges and experts is checking this plan before lawmakers vote on it.
The leader said some outside groups are tricking poor people in Bankura and the forest area into changing their religion.
He also promised to spend a lot more money on roads and other development in those areas.
Last year those areas got very little money, but now they will get many times more.
The exact rules have not been announced yet, so we don't know every detail.
If the new law passes in August, West Bengal would be the fourth state in India to take this step.
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said his government will soon bring a stringent law against forced religious conversion and legal restrictions on the sale and purchase of land.
Adhikari said the Uniform Civil Code would be brought 'very soon,' a promise the BJP made in its election manifesto to implement within six months of forming the government.
A four-member committee headed by retired Supreme Court judge Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai has four weeks to scrutinise the draft UCC Bill before it goes to the Assembly.
If the bill is passed during the extended Budget Session in August, West Bengal would become the fourth state to move towards implementing a UCC.
At a Bankura review meeting, Adhikari alleged foreign-funded organisations were misleading poor people in Bankura and Junglemahal and conducting illegal conversions, while announcing Rs 1,610 crore for the region.
- Who
- West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, leading the state's BJP government.
- What
- Announced plans for a stringent anti-forced-conversion law, legal restrictions on land purchase and sale, and a Uniform Civil Code, alongside a Rs 1,610 crore development push for Junglemahal and western districts.
- Where
- Bankura, West Bengal, India.
- When
- On Tuesday, at a review meeting of the Paschimanchal Unnayan Parshad, about six weeks after the state Cabinet approved the UCC draft committee; the UCC move was announced in the Assembly on June 29.
- Why
- To advance the BJP government's ideological agenda on religious conversion, land and demography, fulfilling election promises made after ending 15 years of Trinamool Congress rule.
BJP government position
Concerns raised in reporting
Anti-forced-conversion law
BJP government position
The government says a stringent law is necessary because foreign-funded organisations are allegedly misleading poor people in Bankura and Junglemahal and conducting illegal religious conversions and 'fundamentalist' activities.
Concerns raised in reporting
The article notes that religious conversion and what the BJP calls 'land jihad' have long been part of the party's political narrative, and that this agenda has moved 'from campaign rhetoric towards the policy domain' since the TMC was voted out.
Restrictions on land sale and purchase
BJP government position
The government argues restrictions are needed because of demographic changes in border areas allegedly caused by infiltration, and because indigenous people may be losing land to 'outsiders.'
Concerns raised in reporting
Adhikari did not spell out what the proposed land law would entail or whether it would restrict sales between members of different faiths; the move invites comparison with other BJP-ruled states bordering Bangladesh that restrict certain land transactions.
Key facts
- Chief Minister
- Suvendu Adhikari
- Planned legislation
- Uniform Civil Code; anti-forced-conversion law; legal restrictions on land sale and purchase
- UCC draft committee
- Four-member panel headed by retired Supreme Court judge Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai; four weeks to submit recommendations
- UCC milestone
- If passed in the August Budget Session, West Bengal would become the fourth state to move towards implementing a UCC
- Regional development allocation
- Rs 1,610 crore for Junglemahal and western districts in the current financial year, including Rs 1,600 crore for development schemes
- Previous year's allocation
- Rs 20 crore, of which only Rs 6 crore was spent
- Other announced measures
- Land along the border handed to the BSF; 'illegal' OBC list scrapped; imam-muezzin allowances stopped; swords barred during Muharram
- Refugee benefits
- Hindu refugees from Bangladesh applying under the Citizenship Amendment Act should not lose ration, Annapurna or old-age benefits until their applications are decided
Quotes
Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari
West Bengal Chief Minister
“The answer for this can be given by Hamim (suspected Jaish‑e‑Mohammed operative Hamim Mondal), who was arrested from Purba Bardhaman. So many illegal establishments have been set up in the name of religious institutions … fundamentalists and radical groups are bringing foreign funds into the country.”
indianexpress.com
“We will bring the UCC very soon; one country, one law. After that, our next steps will be to bring a stringent law to prevent forced conversion and new legal restrictions on land purchase and sale.”
NDTV
Sources
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