Four years after it passed a law ostensibly to prevent fraudulent religious conversions, the Uttar Pradesh government has decided to get tougher. The maximum punishment for marrying a woman by deceiving her or converting her religion is now life imprisonment, instead of the earlier 10 years. Earlier, only a family member could lodge a complaint, now anybody can. Bail conditions are at par with the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
Versions of the anti-conversion law have been passed by eight Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled states where, according to Census 2011, 40.34% of our population lives. The laws require prior permission from a state official to convert. Interfaith marriages without sarkari approval are null and void. And while such marriages aren’t actually banned, conversion for marriage is now practically impossible in these states.