Goa Anti-Conversion Bill Shelved After BJP MLAs, Legislators Oppose Introduction

BJP lawmaker Michael Lobo said the government decided against introducing the Goa Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Bill after lawmakers met Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and opposed its introduction. Lobo said the government acted in haste by clearing the bill in the Cabinet.

Following the meeting with Sawant, it was decided that the bill would not be introduced during the session. “We need to study [the bill], and everyone’s views need to be taken into account. We need to know what the bill is all about. What is happening is wrong. Every person’s religious beliefs are important. There should be respect for all religions. Sooner or later there needs to be a discussion on what is good for Goa. Things are moving in the wrong direction,” Lobo said.

Independent legislator Aleixo Lourenço said he would oppose the legislation if it were introduced, although the meeting with Sawant had already agreed that the bill would not be introduced.

Lourenço said there is no data to show a high number of religious conversions in Goa. “Our religious minority organisations are involved in helping the vulnerable sections of society. There is no evidence, nor have we heard that this has resulted in conversions.”

He also emphasised that Goa is a peace-loving state. “This is certainly not expected from the government. No doubt I supported this government, but this [bill] does not have my support,” Lourenço said. He added that the idea of having thought of such a bill for Goa is distasteful.

Christians and Muslims make up over 35% of Goa’s population. Twelve of 28 states in India have anti-conversion laws.

The Goa Cabinet cleared the anti-conversion bill last week. The proposed legislation seeks to outlaw conversion through force, coercion, undue influence, allurement or marriage and proposes imprisonment of up to 14 years. It provides for up to 10 years’ imprisonment for offenders, including religious figures such as priests, karmkandis and maulvis.

The punishment could extend to 14 years’ imprisonment if a person unlawfully converts someone with a disability or mental illness, a woman, a minor, or a member of the Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe community.

The bill also states that anyone wishing to convert must file a declaration with the district magistrate stating that the conversion is being undertaken of their own will.

In July last year, Sawant pushed for an anti-conversion law in the Assembly. He cited Uttar Pradesh’s anti-conversion law and so-called love jihad, a term used by right-wing groups to describe an alleged Muslim conspiracy to woo Hindu women. Courts and the Union government do not officially recognise the term.

The Catholic Church and Catholic Association of Goa were among the groups that protested the decision to clear the anti-conversion bill, warning that its passage would pose a grave threat to communal harmony.

The Council of Social Justice and Peace (CSJP), the social arm of the Catholic Church in Goa, said the proposed legislation risks irreparably damaging that precious inheritance by replacing mutual trust with suspicion, and social harmony with surveillance and fear.

The CSJP said Goa must not import divisive legislation merely because similar laws have been enacted in BJP-governed states. Constitutional governance cannot be reduced to political bandwagoning, it said in a statement. It also said that “its own Canon Law explicitly requires that an adult seeking baptism must do so freely and after proper instruction.”

In 2022, a Christian pastor was arrested twice in an alleged unlawful conversion case before a court quashed two cases against him and his wife after Goa Police admitted they had no evidence against them.

Neighbouring Maharashtra became the 12th state to notify an anti-conversion law. The controversial Maharashtra Freedom of Religion Act took effect after the state government published the legislation in its official gazette on July 30.

Civil rights groups have opposed anti-conversion laws as a violation of an individual’s right to freedom and personal privacy. Such laws are seen as an attempt to curb interfaith marriages, particularly instances involving a Hindu woman marrying a non-Hindu man, where conversion to the latter’s faith may take place.