----- Original Message ----- From: Benjamin Marsh To: Indo-Eurasian_research@yahoogroups.com Sent: 17 July 2006 Monday 05:28 Subject: [Indo-Eurasia] Dalit Freedom Network Petition on Anti-Conversion Laws [Mod. note. Please see the note and petition below, directed at India's Prime Minister Singh, President Bush, and other officials, from Ben Marsh, the Washington, D.C. lobbyist for the Dalit Freedom Network. If you don't know about India's anti-conversion laws, please see the links in Ben's note. Anti-conversion laws, masked as "Freedom of Religion" laws, are supposedly aimed against "forceful" or "fraudulent" conversion of Hindus by Christians or Muslims. But their real object, promoted by high-caste groups in the Hindu right, is to uphold the caste status quo: historically, most Indian Christians and Muslims too have come from the most oppressed levels of Indian society. The laws have often been tied to anti-minority violence, as noted in the U.S. State Department report linked below, which among much else relates how in 2003 Karsan Patel, the "Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment" in Gujarat, "publicly told tribal school children in a Christian-run school 'to decide whether they want to live as Hindus or die as Christians.'" I plan on emailing Ben and asking him to add my name. If you do too, please add your academic title or affiliation, if you have one; feel free too to post his note elsewhere. - saf.] Dear List Members, At the end of this post you'll find a letter addressed to the Prime Minister of India that will be copied to India's Chief Ministers, the U.S. State Department, the White House, and several Members of Congress dealing with "Freedom of Religion" legislation present in six Indian states. Please email me if you are willing to sign it or if you want a pdf copy. Please also feel free to circulate it to other Lists. At the end you will find a list of current signatories. India's so-called "Anti-Conversion Laws", ostensibly written to protect uneducated low-caste people from being tricked into converting by evangelical Christians and Muslims, instead serve to restrict public services like healthcare and economic development being pursued by minority religions. More troublesome is the fact that these laws have been used by persecutors to give excuse to their violent crimes in the name of vigilante justice. My organization and our partners will be the first to discredit Christian organizations that forcibly allure low-caste people or pay for converts, but the reality is that no documented instances of forced conversion have ever taken place. These laws are truly a reactionary measure to stem the tide of low-caste people and untouchables away from Hinduism into what they consider to be more "spiritually democratic" religions. To give you some background on these laws, let me point you to the U.S. State Department's most recent Religious Freedom Department report: http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2005/51618.htm The State Department officially opposes the laws. Christian Solidarity Worldwide UK has also written an excellent report highlighting the problems with these laws: problems including vague language, unequal enforcement, and disproportionate punishment for different castes and religions. Moreover, the report highlights the international obligations to which India has agreed and the sections of the Indian constitution that deal with religious freedom which these laws violate. http://tinyurl.com/jslr6 The Dalit Freedom Network and CSW UK are partnering to bring a week of attention to these laws. I have letters circulating in the US House and Senate and CSW has a letter circulating in Parliament. Additionally, the Congressional Human Right Caucus is hosting a staff briefing next Friday on the issue. This letter is an important part of the effort to encourage the government of India to change their laws. While written from a US perspective, I think the letter is general enough that any who oppose these laws can add their name. Please send me an email if you would like to add your name. The letter: ************** Dear Prime Minister Singh, As academics, activists, and religious leaders we look forward to growing economic, social, and political ties between the United States and India. We are concerned, however, by the enactment of anti-conversion legislation in several Indian states. These laws seriously limit the right of Indian citizens to freely practice their chosen faiths and cause us to question your government's commitment to religious freedom. Six Indian states have already enacted legislation which restricts the right of citizens to convert from one faith to another. These laws clearly contradict Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. We urge the Governments of Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Arunachal Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan to repeal these unjust laws. The United States and India are entering into an unprecedented partnership. It is within the context of friendship and with hope that we ask the Government of India and the Indian States to defend and uphold the freedoms and rights that your forefathers sacrificed to protect. As the world's largest democracy and an emerging economic power, India is a role model to nascent democracies and developing nations across the globe. By repealing these laws and ensuring the future protection of religious minorities, India would set a powerful example to other nations dealing with inter-religious strife and would advance our mutual interests of protecting global human rights and advancing democracy. Centuries of human experience show that the law cannot constrain the conscience for long. Freedom of religion-including the freedom to convert-is the most fundamental of human liberties. We hope you will agree with us that anti-conversion laws are unacceptable and have no place in a free democracy. We await your response. Sincerely, Nanci Ricks Executive Director Dalit Freedom Network Peggy Birchfield Executive Director Religious Freedom Coalition Richard Cizik Vice President for Government Affairs National Association of Evangelicals Barrett Duke, Ph.D. Vice President for Public Policy and Research The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission Southern Baptist Convention William Greene President RightMarch.com Arie de Pater Advocacy Director Open Doors International Bill Saunders Human Rights Counsel Family Research Council Andrea Lafferty Executive Director Traditional Values Coalition Lindsay Vessey Advocacy Coordinator Open Doors USA Kristin Wright Executive Director Stand Today Wendy Wright President Concerned Women for America Angela C. Wu Director of International Advocacy The Becket Fund for Religious Libert Benjamin Marsh Washington, DC Coordinator Dalit Freedom Network (703) 973-1243