A 22-year-old student from Delhi remembered what she felt when she travelled to a nearby government gazette office to declare her conversion to Islam. She was nervous about how fellow passengers on the Delhi metro would react to her burqa, but her appearance did not raise eyebrows. It was when she arrived at her destination and the government officials read out her Hindu name that she received startled looks. The officials asked her probing and irrelevant questions, including whether she was converting to Islam for a Muslim man. She said the officials at the Delhi gazette office were visibly reluctant to register her change in faith. (Questions sent to the Delhi-based Department of Publication did not receive a response.)
Before becoming a Muslim, the student practised Christianity for a few years. She said she believes that if she had converted from Christianity to Islam, she would not have received such negative reactions. The fact that she was converting from India’s majority religion, Hinduism, seemed to upset people more.
A former resident of the bustling Delhi neighbourhood of Karol Bagh, the student had struggled to connect with other residents, especially about her newfound faith. She found more support online, browsing through Instagram and YouTube and joining WhatsApp groups for recent converts. She said she preferred these spaces as members of these groups did not judge her. It was these groups that finally gave her the information she needed in order to officially register her conversion to Islam, as those looking to do so often struggle to find guidance. She discovered that she needed a conversion certificate, which in turn required the presence of a priest and witnesses. The imam who officiated her conversion looked scared and she felt as if they were on a “secret mission” doing something unlawful, she reflected.
Through this experience, the student discovered that most lawyers charge high prices for registering conversions and consider it high-risk. She learnt there were many who were reluctant to take on such cases. This meant that often only converts with financial means are able to register their new faith. The student lamented that most former Hindus who have converted to Islam remained hidden, with the majority continuing to use their Hindu names to avoid backlash from society. “I say this from experience,” she said. “I come from a Hindu family and hid my faith for years.” She asked to remain anonymous for fear of inviting future trouble.