Ban And Delegitimise All Conversions

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 23 July 2025 In a startling crackdown under 'Operation Asmita', Agra Police has busted a religious conversion syndicate allegedly operating on an ISIS-style jihadist pattern, targeting minor girls for conversion through radicalisation and coercion. The case came to light in March 2025 when a missing persons report for two sisters was lodged at Agra's Sadar Bazar police station. The investigation unearthed links to a network with suspected Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) funding routed through the UAE, Canada, London, and the US. In this particular case, the elder sister, an M. Phil in Zoology pursuing her Ph.D., first came in contact with a Kashmiri woman named Saima during coaching classes in Agra. Saima allegedly convinced her to visit Kashmir in 2021, sparking her conversion. Despite being traced and brought back then, she disappeared again in March 2025, this time with her 19-year-old younger sister. Both were found in Kolkata days later. The family told India Today TV that their elder daughter had turned hostile to Hindu beliefs, abandoned family rituals, and started advocating purdah and hijab after her first disappearance. They claimed the sisters shared a room, which made the younger one vulnerable to the elder's influence. One wonders how can an 'educated' young woman, an M Phil in Zoology pursuing her Ph.D, be so naive as to relinquish her Hinduism and embrace an equally dubious religion? This is what we call religious indoctrination which is so overwhelming that it casts its spell on the victim. Agreed, there's no such thing as magic, miracle or a magical spell, but religion is still no less than a miracle or magic for those who're unevolved and gullible. Human brain functions in a very strange, rather illogical, manner. A person can solve a technical problem using the rules of Math and Physics without invoking god. Then he can go to a temple and pray for his child’s good health without invoking the logic of Math. If you're disenchanted with the faith you were born into, leave it. It's so simple. Why should you make the same mistake by accepting some other equally useless faith however exalted it may sound or appear? All man-made faiths are execrable and egregious. So are their gods and deities. It's like jumping from a frying pan into the fire. Aasmaan Se Gire, Khajoor Pe Atke. We say in Persian, Ghooz e Bala Ghooz (hump on top of a hump) or Az Mast Ke Bar Mast (It's from us that it's on us). The religiously masochistic humans love to be tormented by one or the other religion. Humans perennially suffer from psychological self-flagellation. That said, conversion syndicates are rampant in India. This case adds to a growing list of alleged forced conversion syndicates exposed in Uttar Pradesh since 2021. Earlier, Maulana Umar Gautam and Maulana Kaleem Siddiqi's networks were busted, followed by the recent Balrampur syndicate of Chhangur Baba,alias Jamaluddin. The Govt. of India or the Apex Court must pass an order, delegitimising and banning all conversions in the country. ----- A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including Persian. URL: https://www.newageislam.com/current-affairs/ban-delegitimise-conversions/d/136258 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism