As Indians we are proud about our democracy and hard-fought freedom won from the British. But even after sixty years, India is still not free from corruption, racism, etc.. And the recent incident in Kashmir makes me to add "Freedom of Religion" to that list.
Indian Constitution clearly states that
"all persons are equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the right freely to profess, practice and propagate religion."
- Claiming that I am a Christian
- Proclaiming that Jesus is the way and the truth and the life (From the Bible).
- My Belief that "Choice of Religion" should be also decided by market forces. And people should have access to all information and have 'real' freedom of choice
But regularly i do fear. And the recent arrest of Pastor Khanna - based on a youtube video of a few baptisms (Video does not have any information about where & who took baptisms), only increases that fear. A lot of times, these incidents are shoved under the carpet and are ignored by the media. Thankfully, this time around - Times of India gives voice in its opinion article today - Break Those Walls -
Worries about conversion pass over the individual's right to religious freedom, guaranteed by the Constitution
This is not the first time that such arrests of Christian ministers happen over "forced conversions". And I am not naive enough to believe this would be the last time. My only hope is that there is an increased awareness among the common man about these incidents.
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