All India Sunni Ulema Council to draft code of conduct for clerics on religious conversion laws
The move comes in the wake of the arrest of Balrampur-based Jalaluddin Shah alias Chhangur Baba, the kingpin of an illegal religious conversion racket, and his associates.
The arrest put a renewed focus on conversion practices and the legal sensitivities surrounding them.
The All India Sunni Ulema Council, which had earlier supported the legislation on triple talaq, has convened a state-level meeting in August where this issue will be a central point of discussion.
Speaking to the press, Council's national general secretary Haji Mohammad Salees stated that the issue of religious conversion is 'highly sensitive' and there is a pressing need to educate clerics—especially those operating at the local mosque level—about the boundaries set by law and Islamic teachings.
'After the Chhangur Baba case, there is a strong realisation that those involved in religious matters and conversions must know what they are permitted to do and what they must refrain from,' Salees said.
He emphasised that offering inducements for conversion is not only illegal under Indian law but also un-Islamic.
The Council said several amendments have been made to the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021, which now includes provisions for imprisonment and stringent penalties.
The August meeting will span two days and aim to produce a draft code of conduct through detailed deliberations. Once consensus is reached, the draft will be disseminated to clerics at the micro level.
The Council is also considering strategies to improve awareness and compliance. The steps may include organising legal workshops and distributing explanatory literature in simplified language to help clerics better understand their legal and ethical responsibilities.
'This is a matter that requires both clarity and caution,' Salees said.
'We aim to ensure that our clerics are not only law-abiding but also uphold the spirit of Islam.'
'Just as we had led a movement in support of the legislation on triple talaq, a similar campaign will now be undertaken on this issue,' he added.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
18 minutes ago
- First Post
'Heinous crimes with utter impunity': India flags Pakistan's sexual violence in 1971 at UNSC
India has flagged Pakistani Army's organised sexual violence against women in East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh) in 1971 at a discussion at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on conflict-related sexual violence. Eldos Mathew Punnoose, the Indian Chargé d'Affaires at the Permanent Mission to the United Nations (UN), speaks at a discussion on conflict-related sexual violence at the UN Security Council on Tuesday, August 19, 2025. (Credit: Permanent Mission of India to the UN) India has flagged Pakistan's organised sexual violence against women in East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh) in 1971 and over the decades in its own country at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). The UNSC held an open debate on conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) on Tuesday. Pramila Patten, the Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, briefed the UNSC and presented the Secretary-General's annual report on conflict-related sexual violence. Eldos Mathew Punnoose, the Indian Chargé d'Affaires at the UN, flagged the 'utter impunity with which Pakistan Army perpetrated heinous crimes of gross sexual violence against hundreds of thousands of women in erstwhile East Pakistan in 1971'. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Punnoose further flagged Pakistan's use of violence against women as a weapon of persecution against minorities. 'As a matter of \ful record, this deplorable pattern continues unabated and with impunity to this day. Rampant abduction, trafficking, early and forced marriages, and domestic servitude, sexual violence and forced religious conversions of thousands of vulnerable women and girls as weapons of persecution towards religious and ethnic minority communities are reported and chronicled, including in the recent OHCHR reports. These reports highlight that the while acts by Pakistan are also validated by its judiciary,' said Punnoose. Punnoose spoke about Pakistan's record after Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, Pakistan's Permanent Representative to the UN, mentioned alleged sexual violence and forced disappearances in Jammu and Kashmir and accused the Indian government of being involved in these alleged instances. Punnoose further said, 'It is ironical that those who perpetrate these crimes are now masquerading as champions of justice. The duplicity and hypocrisy is self-evident. Mr. President, as I conclude, allow me to once again reaffirm India's unwavering commitment to root out sexual violence in armed conflict and support and assist survivors of such heinous crimes.' In the Bangladesh liberation movement, the Pakistani military systematically used sexual violence against women, including rape, as a weapon. Estimates suggest that Pakistani forces raped between 200,000 and 400,000 ethnic Bengali women and girls in 1971. Several thousands of women died by suicides after being assaulted. The Pakistani military also ran rape camps where women were held hostage for soldiers to assault them. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD General Tikka Khan of the Pakistani Army, infamous as the 'Butcher of Bengal', was the architect of the campaign that was formally called 'Operation Searchlight'. The campaign has been dubbed as a genocide as he and his successor, Lieutenant General AAK Niazi, clearly stated that they wanted to exterminate ethnic Bengalis, particularly non-Muslims, in East Pakistan. Conflict-related sexual violence on the rise The conflict-related sexual violence worsened last year as 25 per cent more cases were reported last year, according to the report presented at the UNSC by Patten. There were 4,600 reported cases of conflict-related sexual violence in 2024, marking a 25 per cent increase from the previous year, the report found. Patten stressed that this was a 'chronic undercount' as these were only the cases that the UN could confirm. Among verified cases, sexual violence against children rose by 35 per cent, with victims being as young as one-year-old, the report found. There were 21 areas in which verified cases of conflict-related sexual violence were confirmed, with highest cases recorded in the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Haiti, Somalia and South Sudan, as per the report. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD New areas in which conflict-related sexual violence was reported include DRC, Libya, and Israel-occupied Palestinian territories.
Hindustan Times
18 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
India-China to begin delimitation exercise for demarcation of final border
India and China have recorded a significant forward movement on boundary resolution with both sides ready to begin work on delimiting the less contentious past of the border and work towards permanent demarcation of the India-China border. The two sides agreed to the Indian proposal during the 24th round of India-China Special Representative talks between National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and his visiting counterpart Wang Yi on Tuesday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks with Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi on Tuesday. While both sides are tight-lipped about the specific movement forward, NSA Doval and Foreign Minister Wang Yi have identified the less contentious areas: the three sectors of the border for delimitation and then demarcation of the border. First step towards this will be setting up of a technical expert group under the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border affairs (WMCC), headed by a MEA joint secretary. Second step will be identifying pieces of land on the border where there is minimum friction from both sides. Third step will be the delimitation of these tracts of land on the border. Final step will be demarcation of the border with placement of pillars for the international boundary. Simply put, both India and China have decided to resolve the border through a piece-meal approach rather than a broad resolution so that early harvest adds to confidence building between the two Asian giants. New Delhi, Aug 19 (ANI): National Security Advisor Ajit Doval holds the 24th round of border talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on Tuesday. (ANI Video Grab) (ANI Video Grab) India and China have also moved towards next steps after disengagement is complete in the Eastern Sector after the May 2020 skirmishes. While the issue of buffer zones in contested areas is still to be resolved, both sides have agreed to work towards a direction of non-offensive posture by the two armies in East Ladakh and other areas of the border. The step towards non-offensive posture will be achieved through mutual sensitivity and autonomously so that there is no military threat to the other side in future. This is the first step towards de-escalation and involves pulling back of tanks, rockets and artillery from the Ladakh LAC to a non-threatening posture keeping in mind the geographies on both sides of the border. While the Indian Ladakh sector has formidable mountains and passes, the Chinese side has flat Tibet mountain plateau as a result of which the PLA can move much faster than the Indian Army in response. As both sides have agreed to maintain peace and tranquility on the boundary for times to come, India and China are rapidly moving towards normalization of ties to the April 2020 era. While India understands the Chinese deep penetration into Pakistan and in the Indian sub-continent, the decision to move towards normalcy flows out of the October 23, 2024 meeting between PM Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping. With the two leaders set to meet again on August 31 at the SCO summit in Tianjin, stage is set for both countries to move towards closer yet practical engagement, keeping mutual interests in mind.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
18 minutes ago
- Business Standard
Export curbs ease positive, India must cut reliance amid $100 bn gap: GTRI
China's decision to ease restrictions on exports of rare-earth minerals and fertilisers to India is a positive signal, but India must work to reduce its dependence on the neighbouring country, with which it runs an alarming $100 billion trade deficit, economic think tank GTRI said on Wednesday. It said that between 2014 and 2024, China's dominance over India's import landscape only widened. Its share in India's telecom and electronics imports reached 57.2 per cent, while machinery and hardware accounted for 44 per cent. Chemicals and pharmaceuticals followed closely at 28.3 per cent, it said. For India, the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said, the only real safeguard is to build strength at home by cutting dependence, investing in deep manufacturing, and becoming a true product nation. "A stronger, more self-reliant India will be better placed to engage China on equal terms, while keeping relations steady and pragmatic rather than hostage to sudden shifts," GTRI Founder Ajay Srivastava said. India's trade deficit with China, which hit a record $100 billion in FY2025, is not just alarming in scale but also in structure, it said. "What makes it more serious is that China now dominates India's import baskets across virtually every industrial category -- from pharmaceuticals and electronics to construction materials, renewable energy, and consumer goods," it added. Citing examples, the think tank said in antibiotics like erythromycin, China supplies 97.7 per cent of India's needs; in electronics, it controls 96.8 per cent of silicon wafers and 86 per cent of flat panel displays; in renewable energy, 82.7 per cent of solar cells and 75.2 per cent of lithium-ion batteries come from China. Everyday products such as laptops (80.5 per cent share), embroidery machinery (91.4 per cent), and viscose yarn (98.9 per cent) are sourced from China. Srivastava said this overwhelming dominance gives Beijing potential leverage against India, turning supply chains into a tool of pressure in times of political tension. "The imbalance is deepening as India's exports to China continue to decline, reducing India's share in bilateral trade to just 11.2 per cent today from 42.3 per cent two decades ago. Such structural dependence exposes India to serious geopolitical risks and highlights the urgent need for domestic production capacity and resilient supply chains," he added. According to the GTRI, China now dominates Indian import baskets across virtually every industrial category -- from pharmaceuticals and electronics to construction materials and consumer goods. In the pharmaceutical sector, India imported USD 166.3 million worth of erythromycin from China, accounting for 97.7 per cent of its global imports of that antibiotic, it said, adding China supplied 88.1 per cent of India's total antibiotic imports, forming the backbone of India's pharmaceutical ingredient supply. In electronics and semiconductors, India imported USD 151.6 million worth of silicon wafers from China (96.8 per cent share), and USD 1.06 billion in flat panel display modules (86 per cent). Similarly, it said, computer monitors (USD 376.5 million) also saw a 66.8 per cent Chinese share. Imports of printed circuit boards (USD 612.2 million), memory chips (USD 1.75 billion), and microprocessors (USD 1.65 billion) were also heavily reliant on China, with shares between 37 per cent and 40.5 per cent. In consumer electronics, laptops and tablets topped the list with USD 4.45 billion in imports, 80.5 per cent of which came from China. "Smartphones accounted for USD 259.7 million (58.8 per cent), while smartphone components and parts stood at USD 763.8 million (55.4 per cent) and USD 7.15 billion (51.7 per cent) respectively," it said, adding imports from China in low-tech consumer goods -- ceramic tiles, plastic furniture, lighting products, even headgear -- rose over 150 per cent in the same period. These goods not only undermine Indian MSMEs but also reflect a widespread erosion of domestic industrial depth, Srivastava said. "The data signals a clear imbalance. India is structurally dependent on China, while gaining little market access in return. Without urgent policy intervention, this economic asymmetry will only worsen," he added. To reduce India's trade deficit with China from $100 billion to $50 billion within five years, he suggested steps such as reverse engineering for rapid substitution and building deep-tech manufacturing. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
