Citizens for Justice and Peace
CJP in 2021: New milestones achieved A look back at some of CJP’s most unique achievements
22-Dec-2021
We entered 2021 knowing fully well that there would be aftershocks from 2020, especially when it came to challenges posed by Covid-19. But despite the second wave and related hurdles, CJP did manage to overcome several hurdles and achieve some truly unique milestones along the way. Here’s a look at the year gone by. Helping…
Karnataka’s Anti-Conversion Bill most stringent yet The Bill was torn to pieces by the Opposition
22-Dec-2021
The buzz was around for a few months that Karnataka is set to pass an anti-conversion law in line with other Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ruled states which already have such a law in place. The Karnataka Protection of Right to Freedom of Religion Bill, 2021 was tabled on December 21 by Karnataka home minister Araga Jnanendra,…
Christian nuns, congregation attacked in UP: CJP approaches NCM Right-wing mob falsely accuses them of religious conversion
14-Oct-2021
Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) has written to the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) over widespread reports of right-wing vigilante mobs that have been out on the streets in Mau, Uttar Pradesh, allegedly disturbing peaceful prayers and mistreating nuns by handing them over to the police, after falsely accusing them of carrying out religious…
Ordinances that mocked the Constitution Were they promulgated as per prescribed procedure?
15-Feb-2021
In Indian Constitution, the power to enact laws has been primarily given to Parliament and state legislatures as they enjoy the mandate of the public vote in their respective territories. At the same time, to meet the extraordinary situations demanding immediate enactment of laws, the Constitution empowers the President and Governors to enact laws in…
“Love Jihad” laws curb individual and collective freedoms A comparative table of Anti-Conversion laws of four Indian states
18-Jan-2021
As the courts of law gear up to hear petitions against new anti-conversion laws of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, the States of Himachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh have also formulated their anti-conversion or ‘love-jihad’ laws. While the common thread in these four laws is that they make religious conversion by marriage to be illegal, there…
क्या संवैधानिक कसौटी पर खरा उतर पाएगा यूपी का ‘लव जिहाद’ विरोधी कानून? अध्यादेश व्यक्ति की आज़ादी, स्वायत्तता, निजता और पसंद के अधिकार के खिलाफ
15-Jan-2021
यूपी का ग़ैरक़ानूनी धर्मांतरण प्रतिबंध अध्यादेश, 2020 को नवंबर के आखिर में गवर्नर ने मंजूरी दे दी है. कानून बनने के बाद इसके तहत अब तक दो लोगों के खिलाफ मुकदमे दर्ज हो चुके हैं यूपी के बाद उसी तर्ज़ पर अब मध्य प्रदेश, हरियाणा, कर्नाटक और असम भी ऐसे ही ‘लव जिहाद विरोधी’ कानून…
“Be Wise and in Love” – The Sovereign An assessment of Laws on Interfaith Marital Unions and Freedom of Marriage in India 2020
06-Jan-2021
Abstract: The present paper aims to understand the legal jurisprudence around interfaith marriages in India by analysing recent legislations passed by several States. It further discusses the roots of such legislations, ideology behind them and what purpose they seek to achieve viś-a-viś the secular Special Marriage Act which is already in effect. The author tries…
Love Jihad: The Ordinance and Constitutionality A detailed analysis of a deeply communal and sexist law
17-Dec-2020
Tracing the history of anti-conversion laws from the 1960s to the enactments to ‘prevent love jihad’ legislation, Senior Advocate and Human Rights Defender Desai argues how these laws, seen historically, are a transformation from a hesitant Hindu right wing nationalism to a highly bellicose- no holds barred avatar evidenced at present; all in all, a litmus…
‘लव जेहाद’ का शोर मचा कर कुचली जा रही है महिलाओं की आज़ादी और गरिमा प्रजावाणी
12-Dec-2020
अफ़ग़ानिस्तान में बामियान के बुद्ध को तालेबान की ओर से डाइनामाइट से उड़ा देने के ठीक दो साल पांच महीने पहले यानी 6 अक्टूबर 1998 को मैंने गुजरात के डीजीपी सी. पी. सिंह का इंटरव्यू लिया था. 2001 में काबुल से 130 किलोमीटर उत्तर-पश्चिम में स्थापित गांधार शैली में बनी बुद्ध की यह मूर्ति तालेबान…
UP’s Anti-Love Jihad law: Is it Constitutional? Ordinance contravenes freedom of liberty, autonomy, privacy and choice
05-Dec-2020
The new Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance 2020, that received the Governor’s assent late November, has already led to two people being booked under it. After Uttar Pradesh, States like Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Karnataka, Assam are planning to come up with similar ‘anti-Love Jihad’ laws to criminalise religious conversions by marriage. An…