J&K Forced Conversion Allegation: The Administration Must Tread Carefully
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
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By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2021-06-28 16:15:05
About the Author
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
View all posts by this Author
Sikh groups have alleged that two Sikh girls were kidnapped, converted to another religion and then married to elderly persons in J&K. The state police have handed over one girl to her parents and arrested the man accused of kidnapping her. But the girl, in her statement recorded before a magistrate, said that she married the man out of her own free will. Sikh groups say that the girl's statement was influenced as her family was not allowed to be present when it was recorded. But as per law, no one, including the police or the family of the person making the statement can be present during the deposition.
The crisis has blown up in a big way. On Sunday, Shiromani Akali Dal leader Manjit Singh Bisra, who is also the president of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC), led a protest in Srinagar and a DSGMC delegation met Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha. They demanded stern action against the perpetrators and a stop to the practice of religious conversions in the valley. They also demanded an anti-conversion law in J&K and the permission of parents before any such marriage.
The matter is serious but care must be taken not to treat it as something which is going on as a matter of rule in the valley. Forced conversions do take place but must be tackled as and when the cases come up. There is no evidence of a planned or concerted way in which this is being done, otherwise there would have been reports of many more such cases. Hence the administration must tread carefully and in doing all that needs to be done, must ensure that communities are not pitched against each other.
As Omar Abdullah, the former chief minister of J&K has said "any move to drive a wedge between Sikhs & Muslims in Kashmir will cause irreparable harm to J&K... I hope the authorities will move quickly to investigate the recent cause of tension and if anyone has broken the law the case should be prosecuted and necessary punishment handed out."
Bringing out the truth and punishing the guilty fast is the best way to ease tensions and prevent mistrust from building up.
