90% applications for religious conversion from Hindus: Gujarat govt

Among other districts, Surendranagar saw 55 such applications and Junagadh 26 applications. There was no request from Chota Udepur, Mahisagar, Tapi, Navsari, Patan, Dang, Gir Somnath and Narmada. The highest number of applications from Muslims came from Rajkot (7) and from Christians from Vadodara (4). The lone request from a Sikh came from Bharuch. Under the Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act, it is mandatory for a person who desires to convert to take prior permission of the concerned district magistrate. The state government had introduced the Act in 2003, but it came into force since April 2008. The government stated that a total of 167 individuals were permitted by the state to change their religion, which is about 38 per cent of the total applications received in the last two years ending December 31, 2017. Surendranagar saw the highest number such permissions (55), followed by Junagadh (24).

The Indian Express had earlier reported that in the five years between April 2010 and March 2015, the state government had received 1,838 applications (1,735 from Hindus, 57 from Muslims, 42 from Christians and four from Parsis) for conversion. Out of them, 878 applications got nod during this time period, the government stated.