Click to play videoNew Delhi: It is in Daang, the conversion battleground in Gujarat and in Orissa, that the change of religion debate has been raging since 1999.
Three years after the Gujarat government banned conversion, it has allowed some relaxation in the Freedom of Religion Bill amended on Tuesday.
Hindus can convert to Jainism and Buddhism, while Shias can become Sunnis, Protestants Catholics and vice versa.
"In order to define the term conversion more accurately, it was necessary to define religions and the denominations and this has been done keeping in mind the constitution provisions," said the Gujarat Law Minister, Ashok Bhatt.
This is almost intra-religious conversion and in effect it implies that Jainism and Buddhism have been accepted as part of Hinduism.
The Freedom of Religion Bill makes it mandatory for a verification by the District Magistrate in case a person converts from one religion to another and conversion by coercion or by providing favours is banned.
Gujarat elections are due in 2007, and predictably, this relaxation is being described by the Congress as a pre-poll move by the BJP government.
"The Constitution of India counts Jainism and Buddhism as independent religions but the BJP does not think so. This is a move that has been taken with the elections in mind," said Leader of Opposition, Gujarat Assembly, Arjun Modhvadia.
But the history of religious conversion has been different countrywide. While the BJP-ruled states of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhatisgarh and Orissa have banned conversion, Jharkhand had a change of government and the new regime is against banning change of religion.
In Tamil Nadu, Jayalalitha's anti-conversion act was scrapped immediately after the Karunanidhi government came to power earlier this year.
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