India, Oct. 13 -- India takes pride in being the world's largest democracy, upholding its secular credentials, where every citizen is guaranteed the right to religious freedom. The founding fathers of the Indian Constitution, conscious of India's pluralism, enshrined in Article 25 the fundamental right to "profess, practice and propagate" one's religion freely in accordance with one's conscience, subject only to public order, morality and health.

Article 19(1)(a) safeguards freedom of speech and expression, which would include the right to share one's beliefs. At the same time, Article 21 protects the right to life and personal liberty, encompassing the freedom to choose one's own belief system or to reject it. Together, these provisions...