Rajasthan State to Introduce Anti-Conversion Legislation

Rajasthan State to Introduce Anti-Conversion Legislation

A man is sitting with his Bible open. He is speaking to a group of people.
Photo: VOMC
 

In an affidavit filed earlier this month before India's Supreme Court, officials from the Indian state of Rajasthan announced their plans to introduce legislation that would ban so-called forced religious conversions. The proposal comes after the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) took control of the state following elections in late November, unseating the more centrist Indian National Congress.

If implemented, Rajasthan would become the 11th of the country's 28 states to implement such legislation. A lawyer representing the state claims that the government intends to take "stringent steps to control fraudulent religious conversion and religious conversion by intimidation, threatening, and deceivingly luring through gifts and monetary benefits." Unfortunately, such laws have shown to be overbroad and frequently abused by militant Hindus in order to specifically target Christians.

After state elections last year in Karnataka, the victory of the Indian National Congress party resulted in the repeal of similar legislation in June 2023, only a year after it had been passed. For more details, see this report. To access previously published reports describing how Christians in India have been affected by anti-conversion laws, go to our country profile.

Pray for guidance on behalf of Christians in Rajasthan and the country's other states where the widely abused anti-conversion laws have already been enacted. May our Indian brothers and sisters in Christ receive greatly needed wisdom, discernment and courage, especially as they endeavour to share the message of the Gospel to the spiritually impoverished all around them, so that multitudes more will come to faith in Jesus. Further, pray that as the anti-conversion laws are being debated, God will sovereignly guide the legislative decisions of the country's governing leaders – resulting in religious freedom and the protection of human rights for all citizens.

India Information

  • Current Ministry Projects

    VOMC assists persecuted Christians with legal support and rehabilitation assistance, and cares for children of martyrs by providing them with a safe place to be nurtured physical and spiritually. VOMC also partners to equip Christians in India with Biblical training and works to strengthen and support marginalized and persecuted Christian women. Additionally, VOMC helps to provide medical assistance to believers who have faced injuries after being attacked.”

    Project Funds: Families of Martyrs, Equipping the Saints, Legal Defense, Relief and Development, Women’s Ministry, Medical Fund

  • Country Information

    Population
    1,399,179,585 (2023 est.)

    Ethnicity (%)
    Indo-Aryan (72), Dravidian (25), other (3)

    Religion (%)
    Hinduism (79.8), Muslim (14.2), Christianity (2.3), Sikh (1.7), other (2)

    Leader
    President Droupadi Murmu (2022)

    Government type
    Federal parliamentary republic

    Legal system
    Based on English common law; separate personal law codes apply to Christians, Hindus and Muslims.

    Source: CIA World Factbook

  • Pray for India

    Despite the intimidation and violence that have taken place in many of India's states, may Christians wisely yet unashamedly preach the Gospel. Pray that indigenous Christians and foreign missionaries will minister in ways that do not hint at fraudulent conversions, unmasking the intentions behind the anti-conversion legislation. Intercede for India's leaders, that they may reign with justice and righteousness.

India News

  • Supreme Court to Review Anti-Conversion Laws
    The India Supreme Court building is surrounded by trees.
    The Supreme Court of India.
    Photo: Wikimedia / Subhashish Panigrahi (cc)

    The Supreme Court of India has agreed to hear a series of petitions challenging the constitutionality of anti-conversion laws enacted by several of the country's states. On September 16th, the court issued notices to the respective state governments, requesting their formal responses within four weeks. The case is scheduled to be heard in six weeks, and the judges have indicated that they may consider ordering the states to pause the enforcement of their existing laws until a decision is made.

  • New Policies Further Restrict Religious Freedom
    A brightly lit church building is filled with people.
    A church in India.
    Photo: Flickr / Ashish Kumar Milap (cc)

    Recent developments in two Indian states have raised serious concerns for Christians, particularly in relation to the newly heightened restrictions on religious conversions. In the first incident, police in Chhattisgarh notified more than 200 house churches around the state capital city of Raipur that worship gatherings within private homes are no longer permitted.

  • Pastors Arrested and Assaulted
    A crowd is gathered around a church building.
    A screenshot of people disrupting the service in Bhilai.
    Photo: Morning Star News

    On July 20th, six pastors were arrested after a mob disrupted a church service in Bhilai, a city located within the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. The assailants chanted Hindu slogans and accused the pastors of engaging in forcible conversions. As the mob grew increasingly vocal, shouting obscenities and threatening violence, Pastor Baksh locked the church doors to protect his congregation members.

  • Severe Restrictions Accompany Anti-Conversion Legislation
    A church congregation is gathered during a service.
    A church in India.
    Photo: World Watch Monitor

    In early July, the Maharashtra state government announced plans to introduce stringent anti-conversion legislation. The new laws, which are expected to be the most severe of their kind in the country, are particularly aimed at preventing religious conversions within tribal communities. While the stated intent is to prevent incidents of coercion, legislators have used language demonstrating a broader aim to restrict religious conversions of any sort. During the announcement, the state's revenue minister, Chandrashekhar Bawankule, declared that the law would be so strict "no one will dare to undertake religious conversion."