PETER FERNANDES
What do humans truly desire? This question is paramount for all those in power to understand in its full gravity and to act pru dently, in order to establish a peaceful and happy society for all. Human history records nu merous forms of government that have governed human society, and contemporary society is no different in that regard. Humans are endowed with freedom by their Creator to pursue truth and happiness. Indeed, freedom defines and celebrates human nature. Yet, it is sad but true that humans are often their own greatest ene my, and this emanates from the false desire to possess and exer cise power. Truly and ultimate ly, power and authority belong to the Creator. Nevertheless, for the sake of the common good, power and authority are en trusted to leaders through the sharing of the common will, which ought to be respected and honoured at all times. Great minds have understood that the deepest human desire is to know the truth—the truth that sets us free. Because this desire emanates from human nature itself, it cannot be suppressed.
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The discovery of truth is each individual’s journey, and each individual ought to undertake it in freedom. Knowing the truth fulfils human desires and liber ates individuals from bondage, leading them towards peace and happiness. Therefore, the role of government is to facil itate and encourage citizens to pursue truth and justice for their own sake and for the sake of peaceful existence. It is im perative, therefore, that those in power embody freedom in order to become true custodi ans of freedom, truth, and jus tice. Ironically, those in power are often fearful of freedom, which explains why they prefer to live within fortified towers. This has been the history of humankind, and it continues in our time.
The fear of leaders is reflected in the kinds of laws they enact to subjugate citizens and take their freedom away. An anti-conversion law is anti-freedom; it denigrates human nature and suppresses the desire to know the truth; therefore, it is a draconian law that ought to be discarded altogether. Exploring truth and the very nature of that truth is a journey from the unknown to the known, and ultimately from the known to another unknown; yet the pilgrims continue their journey. It is therefore significant that the international community has recognised religious freedom as a fundamental human right and upheld it in Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Inter national Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
The Indian Constitution, through Articles 25 to 28, likewise recognises and guarantees the right to freedom of religion as a funda mental right. It grants all per son’s freedom of conscience and the right freely to profess, practice, and propagate their chosen religion. Why, then, do the two most populous coun tries in the world face such deeply troubling issues con cerning freedom of religion or belief? China’s atrocious record of dictating the beliefs and practices of its people is well known, but the record of India—the world’s largest de mocracy—is less widely recog nised, and it is getting worse. It is not difficult to decipher the situation in China, where Communist ideology remains the principal force behind the repression. In India, however, the RSS and the Hindutva brigade have emerged as opponents of human rights and religious freedom. By subjugating the masses belonging to the low er strata of Hindu society in order to preserve Brahminical hegemony, they pursue what appears to be their ultimate objective. Anti-conversion laws are intended to restrict religious conversion through cer tain means such as deceit or coercion.
Why is religious freedom so often frowned upon by the rul ing dispensation? Where ex actly does the faultline lie? The Bible records similar atrocities inflicted upon minorities by ruling dispensations. The Is raelites, throughout their his tory, endured religious perse cution, and their allegiance to the covenantal God came to be understood as salvation histo ry. Yet the chosen people, who had encountered the truth and entered into a covenant with the living God, often failed to live up to their calling. They were entrusted with a mission to be a light to the nations by becoming an inclusive com munity; instead, they became increasingly exclusive, there by betraying their mission and the trust of the Almighty. Needless to say, Islam, particu larly where Sharia law is im posed as state law, can become extremely restrictive of reli gious freedom. When the light of truth ought to shine for all to behold in freedom, people who seek religious freedom in some Islamic countries contin ue to live under fear and trem bling, sometimes facing severe persecution. The new people of God, the Church, is called to be a light to the nations and leaven in the world by becom ing a servant community—lov ing and serving people of all nations. However, Inquisitions by Catholic Church in the past was scandalous.
Therefore, it is not right for the Church to assume earthly power and seek to rule the nations; rather, it is called to guide the nations through the light of truth, love, and justice. Hence, forceful conversion of another person would be an antithesis to reli gious freedom. A noble Indian tradition, which holds that the deepest desire of every individual is a relentless search for truth, has always accommodated the existence of many gods and religions. Why, then, is there a need for an anti-conversion law when such a noble tradi tion encourages every individ ual to seek truth in freedom? The reason is not difficult to discern. The present dispen sation has failed on many counts to provide good gov ernance and alleviate the pain and suffering of the masses. India is reeling under an in creasingly oppressive system of governance that has failed to provide adequate employ ment, quality education and healthcare, a clean environ ment, and safety, especially for women and children. Farmers continue to struggle; inflation remains a serious burden; gas prices have skyrocketed; and the dollar continues to laugh at the rupee. Corruption is perceived to be at an all-time high; democratic institutions are being weakened; elections increasingly appear to have become a spectacle; and much of the media seems more in terested in singing lullabies than holding power account able.
The anti-conversion law, therefore, appears to reflect a deeper fear—the fear of losing power. Perhaps those advocat ing such laws fail to recognise that restricting the freedom of conscience reduces human beings to something less than fully free citizens. When fun damental freedoms are taken away, humans are reduced to the level of animals, which per haps explains why, in India, an imals are sometimes accorded greater protection and honour than human beings. Consider the Maharashtra Freedom of Religion Act, with its stringent provisions requiring advance notices and self-declarations. Individuals are no longer en tirely free to follow the dic tates of their conscience; instead, even their deepest spiritual choices are subjected to the scrutiny and permission of the state. Goa, known not only for its beautiful beaches but also for its rich religious heritage has also expressed its intention to follow the same path with an anti-conversion law. Anti-conversion laws are, at their core, anti-human laws, because human beings seek truth in freedom and desire to worship that truth in free dom.
Therefore, a society that claims to honour truth must first honour the freedom of every human being to seek it. When governments attempt to control the gods, ominous signs seem to appear every where. But when individuals freely surrender themselves before the almighty, goodness, grace and hope begin to flour ish everywhere. (The author is a Priest based at Pilar, Goa)
