Gujarat Freedom of Religion Bill
Encyclopedia
The Gujurat Freedom of Religion Bill is a bill concerning religious conversions in Gujurat, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

.

Gujarat Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Bill 2006

In order to regulate religious conversions, the Gujarat government is proposing an amendment that will group Jainism
Jainism
Jainism is an Indian religion that prescribes a path of non-violence towards all living beings. Its philosophy and practice emphasize the necessity of self-effort to move the soul towards divine consciousness and liberation. Any soul that has conquered its own inner enemies and achieved the state...

 and Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...

 along with Hinduism
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...

, and thus the adoption of any faith within the group will not be considered a conversion. The bill passed by voice vote in the Gujarat assembly on September 29, 2006.

All India Digambar Jain Mahasabha
Digambar Jain Mahasabha
Digambara Jaina Mahasabha is the oldest organization of lay Jains in India.-History:It was founded in 1894 in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh. Its first president was Seth Laxmandas Tongya of Mathura. It is considered a traditionalist organization...

 led by NK Jain opposed the move on September 20, 2006. He stated, "Any government, as per their convenience and agenda cannot afford to curb our right of a religious identity"

Bhartiya Dharma Rakshak Sena (BDRS), a small organisation said to be run by Jains, maintains that all religions in India are a part of Hinduism, "which is not a religion but a culture." In a press release, on September 22, 2006, Jasmin Shah, Piyush Jain and Abhay Shah of BDRS stated that the controversy is being promoted by forces who want to weaken Hinduism by creating minorities. They state that "Jainism is independent of Vedic religion, known as 'Hinduism'". The BDRS members claimed that there four sub-sects in Jainism, out of which one, the Digambara
Digambara
Digambara "sky-clad" is one of the two main sects of Jainism. "Sky-clad" has many different meaning and associations throughout Indian religions. Many representations of deities within these traditions are depicted as sky-clad, e.g. Samantabhadra/Samantabhadrī in Yab-Yum...

 sect, is demanding a minority status.

On October 3, 2006 the predominant Jain sect in Gujarat, the Shwetambar Murtipujak Jain Sangh, held a meeting with state’s solicitor-general to assert that Jainism is a distinct religion and not a Hindu denomination. Shrenik Shah, Gujarat’s leading industrialist and president of the All India Shwetambar Murtipujak Jain Sangh, said that they had held a meeting with Gujarat’s solicitor-general and expressed their view to recognise Jainism as distinct religion. "We are not primarily concerned with the conversion aspect of the bill. But we have asserted our view that Jainism is a distinct religion," said Shah

Supreme Court of India's Opinion

In 2005 the Supreme Court of India
Supreme Court of India
The Supreme Court of India is the highest judicial forum and final court of appeal as established by Part V, Chapter IV of the Constitution of India...

 declined to issue a writ of mandamus to grant Jains the status of a religious minority throughout India, and left it to the individual states to decide on the minority status of the Jain religion.

However, the Supreme Court had recently observed that "The Jain Religion is indisputably not a part of Hindu Religion".

See also

Main lists: List of basic law topics and List of legal topics

External links

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