Gandhinagar: The Gujarat government issued a circular clarifying that Buddhism is a separate religion from Hinduism and that for converting from Hinduism to Buddhism, any individual has to adhere to the procedure laid down for conversion to any other religion as per Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act, 2003.
The circular, dated April 8, said that the law and the rules under it are being arbitrarily interpreted across district magistrate offices and it has been noted that proper procedure is not being followed in case of permitting conversion from Hinduism to Buddhism.
At times the applicants as well as autonomous organisations also argue that no permission is needed for such conversion, the circular stated, adding that in some cases the applicants mention in their application that since India’s Constitution, in Article 25 (2), includes Sikhism, Buddhism and Jainism in Hindu religion, the applicant need not seek any permission to convert.
The circular reiterated that Buddhism has to be considered as a separate religion and anyone converting from Hinduism to Sikhism, Buddhism or Jainism will have to obtain prior permission from the district magistrate. The magistrate will have to consider the legal provisions and government directives issued from time to time before responding to any application seeking permission for conversion, it said.
Gujarat Freedom Of Religion Act, 2003, states, “No person shall convert or attempt to convert, either directly or otherwise, any person from one religion to another by use of force or by allurement or by any fraudulent means nor shall any person abet such conversion.”
