District Collector in Chitradurga has sanctioned a deeply intrusive check to probe individual homes
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI — In the wake of upcoming anti-conversion law in Karnataka, reports have surfaced that the authorities in at least one district ordered a “door-to-door” inspection in early October to find “Hindus who have converted to Christianity”.
According to The Quint, the order of a Tehsildar says the district collector in Chitradurga has sanctioned a deeply intrusive check to probe individual homes to find “converts from Hinduism to Christianity”.
The state which is currently being governed by Bharatiya Janata Party has recently taken a sharp right-wing turn with a rise in communal incidents where emboldened Hindutva supporters target Muslims and Christians. A number of incidents of mobs stopping prayer in churches with police failing to offer security have surfaced.
According to The Quint report, the order by the Tehsildar is third such directive that has come to light where government conducted “survey” or probe on Christain community including a survey of churches ordered by the minority welfare department and an intelligence probe.
The Tehslildar’s order called for finding out all converts from Hinduism to Christianity and not just probe the “illegal” conversions.
Hindutva groups have been making allegations that Christian missionaries indulge in “illegal” practices in the state to convert Hindus to Christainity and have demanded a law to ban conversions. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said earlier this month that his government will bring an anti-conversion law in the state in the next session of Assembly starting on December 13. This has sparked worry among minority right activists who say that such a move would violate the right of people to practice and propagate religion as enshrined in the Constitution.
BJP MLA Gulihatti Shekhar had raised concerns alleging “Christian missionaries throughout the taluk are luring Hindus and converting them to Christianity” which led the authorities to order a probe into private homes.
Further explaining the reason behind the probe, the order also states that “the news which is being propagated through WhatsApp and Facebook about the extent of conversions in some villages… should be checked”.
The order dubs the matter of “utter importance” and asks the subordinate officials to submit a report on conversions and then initiate an action. Any negligence or non-compliance would lead to disciplinary action, the order warns the officials.
