Religion, Secularism and Conversion in India : A Documentation

Contents: Acknowledgements. Prologue. Annexures to prologue. Documents: 1. Letter to the Prime Minister on taking urgent measures for peace in Kandhamal. 2. Interim report of concerned citizens\' independent fact-finding mission to Kandhamal (Orissa). 3. Rethinking religious conversion secularism in Peril. 4. Stop the violence against Christians. 5. Freedom of religion - propagation and conversion by A.K. Dasgupta. 6. Secularism by Eric S. Waterhouse. 7. The Constitution of India. 8. Tryst with destiny by Jawaharlal Nehru. 9. The other side of \'Conversion\' by B.K. Boy Burman. 10. Constituent assembly debates on freedom of religion and conversion. 11. Anti-conversion laws: challenges to secularism and fundamental rights. 12. Gandhiji on conversion (Excerpts from his writings, speeches, letters, etc.). Further readings on conversion. Epilogue by Arun Ghosh.

"The publication Religion, Secularism and Conversion in India : A Documentation, was provoked by the atrocities perpetrated on Christians in Orissa and elsewhere. As the title suggests, it is a collection of essays and comments on the three inter related issues "Religion" "Secularism" and "Conversion". Since freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Constitution of India, relevant excerpts from the constituent Assembly Debates have also been reproduced in the volume. It also deals with the freedom of religion laws passed in the several states, and subsequent judicial interventions. There is not a great deal of agreement on just what "Secularism" is. The concept "Secularism" a term coined by George Jacob Halyoake (1813-1906) has been explained using his writings. Several selected writings on the three inter-related issues have also been included. Gandhiji consistently opposed all kinds of conversion. Selected excerpts from the Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi (CWMG) have been reproduced. A \'Prologue\' puts the issues in proper perspectives. An \'Epilogue\' makes some concluding comments. Finally, a list of \'Further Readings\' dealing with "Conversion" has been given. The documentation would be a handy reference tool for librarians, social science researchers and other interested individuals." (jacket)