India anticonversion laws

The Archbishop of Nagpur highlighted this point to AsiaNews after Indian President Murmu signed the bill. The state government is now awaiting notification of the date when it will enter into force. Under the new legislation, offences are cognisable and non-bailable. Thus, the very essence of freedom and independence envisioned by India’s founding fathers is at risk.

The 2021 legislation, which imposes up to 10 years for converting to another faith, has come under scrutiny. Some of the law’s provisions violate personal rights and privacy. For the bishop of Lucknow, the rulings are a “welcome relief and a sign of hope for the Christian community”, but all "unconstitutional" provisions must be struck down.

Seven Protestants accused of 'forced conversions' at a house celebration. The Bishop of Lucknow: 'Even obtaining bail is difficult. Nearly 700 incidents of violence against Christians already reported in 2024'. Fr Mathew: "In Chattisgarh, Christians evicted from their villages will spend Christmas Eve without a roof over their heads".

India’s Home Affair Minister Amit Shah announced the policy presenting his party’s election manifesto for the 20 November state election. Currently, 10 out of 36 Indian states and territories have such a draconian law on the books, which is used to intimidate Christians. “No government can come into my soul,” says the archbishop of Bombay. “Freedom of religion and conversion is a human right,” he adds.

Yesterday the prime minister received a delegation led by the president of the Bishops' Conference (Cbci). In the letter, besides the ritual congratulations for the new mandate, all the concerns for Christians from the attacks in Manipur to the quota issue. Among the topics also Pope Francis' visit to India.

An evangelical community that prayed in a private home battered and detained after Hindu extremists accused them of 'forced conversions'. In the district of Jabalpur, an investigation into book prices inflated by a publisher sent to prison only the leaders of the most renowned Christian schools, including a Protestant bishop and a Catholic priest.

This was stipulated in a Sonbhadra court ruling granting freedom on bail. They were part of a group of 42 people arrested Nov. 29 on charges of converting the poor by fraudulent means. Fr. Anand Mathew: ongoing "severe persecution" characterized by "false narratives" in media and social media.

A month after defeating the BJP, the new INC-led state government announced plans to scrap the anti-conversion law imposed by Hindu nationalists. Similar legislation remains in force in nine Indian states. Archbishop Machado hopes “other states will also follow suit and scrap their laws.”

After Sister Bibha Kerketta, of the Daughters of St. Anne of Ranchi returned to her village for the first since her profession, she celebrated the event with a Mass for friends and relatives. Hindu radicals have accused her of discrediting other religions. She is now in jail with her mother and three other people.

Undisturbed, the chairman of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights continues his campaign of persecution against Christian educational establishments. After threatening to arrest the bishop of Jabalpur, he recently targeted a children’s centre in Katni. The BJP-ruled state goes to the polls in November and now children are used as a political pawn by those who should instead protect them.

Child protection agencies target another Christian welfare institution, the St Francis Orphanage in Sagar. Founded more than 150 years ago, it serves orphaned and special needs kids. During the raid, its church was desecrated, documents destroyed and mobile phones and computers seized. For the past three years, orphanage administrators have been trying to renew their licence to operate. Court orders upholding the status quo have been ignored.