(LifeSiteNews) —— In India, not only can converting Christianity be considered a criminal offense, evangelizing others could soon be interpreted as a crime punishable by death.
In a speech on March 8, Mohan Yadav, chief minister of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, admitted during a public meeting in the state capital of Bhopal that he intends to change the state’s current anti-conversion laws to capitally punish those engaging in so-called “forced” or “fraudulent” religious conversions, according to a report by UCA News.
“Religious conversion will not be tolerated,” Yadav declared amid loud applause.
Simply put, the proposed amendment to Madhya Pradesh’s present anti-conversion laws would permit capital punishment for anyone convicted of forcibly converting another person, especially women, to religions like Christianity.
The Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, 2021, outlaws “unlawful religious conversions through misrepresentation, force, undue influence, coercion, or fraudulent means,” the Times of India reported, adding that the law “prescribes strict penalties including imprisonment and fines, for those found guilty of violating its provisions.”
According to Catholic News Agency, since 2021, Madhya Pradesh’s anti-conversion laws have given rise to jail sentences of 10 years for violators.
Notably, Madhya Pradesh’s anti-conversion laws, together with similar laws in other Indian states, have resulted in widespread arrests and violence against Christians, who represent just 2 percent of a population that is 80% Hindu and 14% Muslim.
Skeptics have contended that the definitions of terms like “forced” and “fraudulent” are ambiguous and subject to various interpretations and abuse. As a consequence, Congress leader Arif Masood has called for a clarification as to what “forced conversion” would mean.
John Dayal, a Catholic columnist and social activist, stated that Indian leaders’ call for the death penalty for conversions “exposes the cavalier, and cynical, manner in which [Hindu nationalists] have crafted this political strategy to criminalize Christian presence and community growth in the state.”
“The Christian community, and civil society too, must challenge anti-conversion laws in India as a travesty to human rights and a fraud on the constitution of democratic India,” Dayal declared.
The past few years have witnessed Madhya Pradesh becoming a “seedbed” for anti-Christian violence and harassment. Strikingly, there has been a rise in assault cases on Christians and Christian institutions across the Indian state, with incidents reported in districts such as Jhabua, Satna, Vidisha, and Datia. Attacks entailed church vandalism, physical assaults, disruptions of prayer meetings, as well as legal harassment.
In 2004, there was a major episode of violence in the Jhabua district of Madhya Pradesh. During this outbreak, attackers razed Christian homes and attacked people after a rape and murder crime took place at a Christian school.
Christian leaders and organizations have decried how local authorities and police are either slow to act or, in some cases, complicit in anti-Christian harassment. Although authorities often gloss over or dismiss complaints filed by Christians about anti-Christian violence, they typically pursue allegations against Christians for purported “forced” conversions.
