Dhami tightens conversion laws amid natural calamities

If the government continues with its present model of ‘development’, it seems unlikely that we will be able to ride over this present calamity

- RASHME SEHGAL

Uttarakhand has been battling its worst floods in a century. Tuesday morning saw its capital city, Dehradun, being battered by a cloudburst that has left over 18 dead and several missing.

It has destroyed key roads and bridges, including the crucial link road to Mussorie, Maldevta, and Rishikesh, and floodwater and debris have subsumed several homes and business complexes. On Thursday morning, the district of Uttarkashi was hit by yet another cloudburst, destroying key assets in Chamoli.

Dharali, Harsil, and Tharali are just a few townships that stand destroyed. Its rivers are in spate, and electricity and water connections stand destroyed across this hill state. With roads destroyed, provisions are running low in several towns. Flooding of rivers is especially ominous because in Dehradun, to cite one example, 70 per cent of its residents have built illegal homes on these riverbeds.

One would imagine Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has his hands full, given that his state stands bruised by a string of deadly calamities during the last few months. But right in the middle of this devastation and misery, Dhami announces a string of legislations, which were completely uncalled for. The first relates to making the anti-conversion law more stringent. The Uttarakhand Freedom of Religion Act was introduced in 2018 and then amended in 2022 to make the punishments more stringent. Forceful conversion was made a cognisable and non-bailable offence with a jail term of five years and a fine of Rs 50,000.