Nepalese minorities must 'reconsider their faith'

By Joseph DeCaro, Worthy News Correspondent

KATHMANDU, NEPAL (Worthy News)– The Nepali government just announced that though all its citizens will be provided with national identity cards, members of religious minorities must submit to greater scrutiny to get their IDs, according to AsiaNews.

Government forms will force Christians, Muslims and converts from Hinduism to “reconsider their faith” before submitting their paperwork. In fact, members of all religious minorities will be required to restate their beliefs before registering for their IDs. And if no religious affiliation is submitted, the applicant will be registered by default as a Hindu!

The new procedure comes after thousands of Hindus have converted to Christianity.

“By discriminating on the basis of the national identity card, the government is trying to discourage us and those who wish to convert,” said rights activist C.B. Gahatraj. “This is against the law, democracy and civil rights …”

According to Rev. Isu Karki, no one should offend the faith of others. Instead, the government should provide all minorities with the same national identity card through the same paperwork.

All Nepalese citizens are equal and there is no place for biases based on religion, he said.