India: Reinforcing Anti-Conversion Measures

In Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state, 28 Christians are currently languishing in prison for alleged violations of the anti-conversion law. An unfortunate number that is likely to rise, since the local government—led by a religious member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Hindu nationalist party in power—recently reinforced legislation that Christian leaders believe “violates the provisions of the Indian Constitution,” according to AsiaNews.

In 2019, France Culture, a division of Radio France, wrote: “Targeted attacks, groundless imprisonment, inter-religious riots: in Uttar Pradesh, the new Hindu nationalist power dares to use political recipes that are, to say the least, violent.” It is therefore not without reason that Le Monde had this headline in 2020: “Uttar Pradesh, Laboratory of Hindu Extremism.”

The Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion (Amendment) Bill was approved by the Hindu nationalists by a large majority on July 30, 2024. The text provides for some of the harshest penalties, including life imprisonment, for alleged fraudulent or forced conversions.

The National Council of Churches in India (NCCI)—which brings together representative of different Christian minorities—was quick to take a stand against the new law: “We object to this law in so far as it violates the provisions of the Indian Constitution.

“Conversion itself is not an offence unless induced by undue influence, misrepresentation, or coercion, which only the victim can claim,” the NCCI explains in a statement published in early August.

The NCCI also points out that the legislation gives broad power to officials—mostly in the hands of the BJP—”which could be misused to target specific individuals or communities” on the basis of their affiliation with a religious minority.

In the eyes of the NCCI, the new law lays the foundation for an “heightened harassment and criminalization of peaceful religious practices, including baptism in Christianity.” Hence the call of the Christian minority to the local government to “rethink this law,” expressing the need to “uphold the values of freedom, equality, and respect for all individuals, regardless of their religious affiliations.”

Fr. Anand Mathew, a Catholic priest in Varanasi, the beating heart of Uttar Pradesh, does not hide his fears: “This is very disturbing. In the previous bill only the victim or his/her relatives could file a police complaint. Now anyone can file a false complaint and get any Christian put behind bars, for life.”

After the partial setback inflicted by voters on the BJP, many were hoping for a shift in the authoritarian and radial policy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The signals sent by the latter since his reelection show, on the contrary, that he shows no desire to appease religious minorities.