India's Parliament Given Proposal To End "Bigamy Through Conversion To Islam"

According to DNA, last Thursday the Law Commission of India forwarded to Parliament its August 2009 report titled Preventing Bigamy via Conversion to Islam – A Proposal for Giving Statutory Effect to Supreme Court Rulings. The report suggests amending the Hindu Marriage Act of 1955 and various other marriage statutes to bar a person who was married as a non-Muslim from marrying again even after converting to Islam, unless the first marriage is dissolved or declared null and void. Muslim and Christian groups are both critical of the proposal. They oppose government interference of any kind in a person's right to choose his or her religion.