India’s Right to Propagate Religion

Constitutional Provision regarding the Right to Propagate

• Article 25 guarantees every individual the right to freely profess, practice, and propagate religion, subject to public order, morality, health, and other fundamental rights provisions.
  • Freedom of Conscience: The inner freedom of an individual to shape their relationship with God or other entities as they choose.
  • Right to Profess: The open and free declaration of one’s religious beliefs and faith.
  • Right to Practice: The performance of religious worship, ceremonies, and the exhibition of beliefs and ideas.
  • Right to Propagate: The transmission and dissemination of one’s religious beliefs to others or the exposition of the tenets of one’s religion.
• Article 25 covers both religious beliefs and rituals, applicable to both citizens and non-citizens.

Conflicting Provisions of the Right to Propagate

• Courts have often placed judicial limits on the right to propagate, distinguishing it from the right to convert others. For instance, the Allahabad High Court’s ruling in 2023 against Shriniwas Rav Nayak emphasized that the right to propagate does not extend to collective proselytizing.
• States like Madhya Pradesh have anti-conversion laws, particularly targeting forced or induced conversions. The case of Rev. Stanislaus v. State of Madhya Pradesh (1977) upheld state laws restricting conversions, stating that the Constitution guarantees the right to propagate religion but not to convert others.
• Cases like Pastor Brian Tiwari’s legal troubles for propagating his Christian faith highlight the disparity between constitutional guarantees and actual enforcement.
• Propagation efforts often encounter resistance due to public order concerns, reflecting societal tensions regarding religious conversions. The S.R. Bommai case (1994) discussed the constitutional protection of the right to propagate while noting that states can impose restrictions for maintaining public order.
• Increasing violence against Christians, as reported by Human Rights Watch, creates a climate of fear for those wishing to propagate their religion.

Way Forward

• Revisit Rev. Stanislaus v. State of Madhya Pradesh (1977): Ensure a consistent interpretation of Article 25 and address any judicial inconsistencies regarding religious propagation.
• Re-examine and amend state laws: For instance, the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Act, 2021, may need to be reviewed to ensure it aligns with the constitutional right to propagate.
• Establish specialized legal aid cells and awareness campaigns: Support individuals facing harassment or legal action for religious propagation, similar to the support provided by the Legal Aid Society.