Abstract

The judgment of the Supreme Court in the case of Rev. Stainislaus v. State of Madhya Pradesh, had set the precedent for interpretation of the ‘right to propagate religion’ vis-a-vis the anti-conversion laws in India. The precedent has seen as the guiding light on deciding the constitutional validity of such laws. A reality check is also to be conducted to accept the fact that the anti-conversion laws in India do not confer unbridled restriction on the freedom of religion. An empirical study utilizing the data collected by Pew Research Centre is conducted to find whether the anti-conversion laws restrict freedom to propagate religion in India. The author analyses the said data and also gives certain suggestions to regulate coerced religious conversions, based on the outcome of the analysis.

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