Sikh community demands law after reports of woman's forced conversion, marriage to Muslim man: All you need to know

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa alleged on Tuesday that four Sikh women were forcibly married and converted to Islam in Kashmir recently and demanded that they be returned to their families as well as a law against forced religious conversions. Protests began on Sunday after police said that a Sikh woman, a resident of Srinagar, was allegedly abducted by a 29-year-old Muslim man. Police said the man was arrested on kidnapping charges on Saturday, days after the woman’s parents filed kidnapping charges against the man, according to Hindustan Times. However, there was no clarity on whether the woman had converted to Islam of her free will or if the abduction charges were genuine. While Sirsa alleged that four such cases took place, police sources told NDTV that one such case was known to have occurred so far. Where were protests against the ‘forced conversion’ staged? Members of the Sikh community took out marches on roads and highways across Jammu and Kashmir to protest against the alleged “abduction and forcible conversion”. Sirsa, also the president of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee, landed in Srinagar on Monday and staged a protest along with a group of Sikhs. The protestors demanded the women’s return to their families and that an anti-conversion law is put into effect in the Union Territory.

Members of the Sikh community took to the streets in Jammu, Kathua, Udhampur, Reasi, Srinagar and Anantnag over the issue. They blocked highways in Kathua and Jammu.

The protest outside the Jammu and Kashmir Bhawan was led by the Jag Aasra Guru Ott (Jago), a religious party recognised under the Societies Registration Act, 1860. According to party president Manjit Singh GK, the protest was held to demand an “anti-conversion” law in Jammu and Kashmir, a memorandum for which has been submitted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Sikhs form roughly two percent of the population of Jammu and Kashmir. What are the accusations made by Akali Dal? Sirsa said the four women, including an 18-year-old, were forcibly converted and married to middle-aged men and said the judiciary did not do justice with the families. “The parents of the woman were not allowed inside the court, while all the relatives of the man were inside the court so that they could pressure the girl and then it is justified. Our community will not tolerate it. This is not an issue of a single woman, it is a collective issue,” he said. Who said what? • Sirsa said Union Home Minister Amit Shah has assured the Sikh community that the perpetrators of the alleged abduction of the women will be dealt with strongly and the law will take its own course. • Meanwhile, National Conference (NC) vice president Omar Abdullah said if anyone has broken the law, necessary punishment should be handed out. “Any move to drive a wedge between Sikhs and Muslims in Kashmir will cause irreparable harm to Jammu and Kashmir. The two communities have supported each other through thick & thin, having withstood countless attempts to damage age old relationships,” he said. • People’s Democratic Party (PDP) leader Naeem Akhtar said Muslims must speak up for the concerns of the Sikh community and amplify their demand for quick and decisive action. Sikh community demands Uttar Pradesh-like anti-conversion law A delegation of United Sikh Forum, Srinagar and Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, Budgam demanded enactment of a law similar to the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance, 2020. The controversial Uttar Pradesh ordinance on unlawful conversion came into force in November last year and was passed by the state Assembly in February. The bill outlaws conversions through marriage, deceit, coercion or enticement. The law makes religious conversion a non-bailable offence , inviting penalties up to 10 years in prison if found to be guilty of using marriage to force someone to change religion. Violation of provisions of the law provides for a jail term of one to five years with a penalty of Rs 15,000 for forceful religious conversion. For conversions of minors and women of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes community, there will be jail term of three to 10 years with a Rs 25,000 penalty. In cases of forced mass conversions, the ordinance has provisions for a jail term of three to 10 years with a Rs 50,000 fine. What are the other steps taken against forced conversions? In March, the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh notified a law against religious conversion through fraudulent means, including those for the sake of marriage, that stipulates a jail term of up to 10 years for violators. Several states have enacted ‘Freedom of Religion’ legislation to restrict religious conversions carried out by force, fraud or inducements. These include Odisha (1967), Madhya Pradesh (1968), Arunachal Pradesh (1978), Chhattisgarh (2000 and 2006), Gujarat (2003), Himachal Pradesh (2006 and 2019), Jharkhand (2017), and Uttarakhand (2018). The states of Tamil Nadu (2002) and Rajasthan (2006 and 2008) had also passed similar legislations, but the former was repealed after protests by Christian minorities while the latter did not get the Governor and President’s assent. With inputs from PTI