New Delhi, October 12, 2025
In the shadow of India's deepening Hindu nationalist fervor, a wave of violence and harassment against Christians has intensified this year, fueled by stringent anti-conversion laws enacted in BJP-ruled states. Rights groups report at least 334 documented incidents of targeted attacks between January and July alone, a stark escalation that critics say weaponizes vague legislation to stifle religious freedom and embolden vigilante mobs.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which governs 18 states and has dominated national politics since 2014, justifies these laws—often dubbed "Freedom of Religion Acts"—as essential safeguards against "forced" or "fraudulent" conversions allegedly orchestrated by Christian missionaries and foreign-funded NGOs. Proponents argue the measures protect vulnerable Hindu tribals and Dalits from allurement through aid, jobs, or marriage, preserving India's cultural fabric amid what they describe as aggressive proselytization by "Abrahamic" faiths. In Chhattisgarh, for instance, Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai defended recent police actions, stating simply that "the law is doing its job."
Yet, human rights advocates and church leaders contend the laws create a chilling effect, criminalizing everyday expressions of faith—from prayer meetings to social media posts about Christianity. "These laws consistently embolden vigilante groups who feel licensed to target Christian communities under the guise of preventing forced or fraudulent conversion," said Rev. Vijayesh Lal, general secretary of the Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI). The legislation, now in force in 12 states, prohibits conversions via coercion, inducement, or interfaith unions, with penalties ranging from fines to life imprisonment in severe cases. Terms like "allurement" remain broadly interpreted, allowing anonymous complaints to trigger raids and arrests, often without evidence.
Rajasthan's recent enactment of the Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Bill 2025 on September 9 has ignited a fresh outbreak of assaults, even before the governor's formal assent. Civil society monitors documented nine harassment cases in the state last month alone, including the siege of a Bible institute in Jaipur's Pratap Nagar by 50 Bajrang Dal activists on September 23. The mob accused two visiting officials—one from Chennai—of plotting conversions during a routine inspection, leading to their detention, phone seizures, and confiscation of institute documents. Families running the facility were left traumatized, with church closures now rippling through nearby towns like Dausa, Alwar, and Ajmer. "Pastors are being arrested and detained, while investigations target children’s homes, Bible colleges, and house churches," lamented Rev. Rajnish Jacob, chairman of the Assemblies of God, North India. "Even acts of Christian charity are now viewed with suspicion."
Similar patterns have emerged elsewhere. In Chhattisgarh, two Kerala-based Catholic nuns, Vandana Francis and Preethy Mary, were arrested on July 25 at Durg railway station alongside a tribal man on baseless charges of human trafficking and forced conversion, prompted by a Bajrang Dal tip-off. The women were released on bail amid protests, but the incident underscores how such laws facilitate 54% of 2025's attacks in Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh combined. Maharashtra, with its newly toughened anti-conversion statute, has seen threats against 14 Christian families in a remote village, alongside BJP legislators' inflammatory speeches offering bounties for harming alleged converters. In Uttarakhand, amendments equate online faith-sharing with coercion, risking up to life terms.
The United Christian Forum tallied 834 attacks nationwide in 2024, up from 734 the prior year, with disruptions often timed for Sunday services to maximize intimidation. Experts like John Pudaite of Bibles For The World warn that the laws, while not nationwide—despite earlier rumors—provide de facto impunity for Hindutva groups like the RSS and Bajrang Dal, who view Christians as a "foreign race" encroaching on Hindu primacy. Release International CEO Paul Robinson decried the "disturbing trend," urging global prayers for India's beleaguered believers.
A rare judicial reprieve came in July when India's Supreme Court paused controversial provisions in one state's law, acknowledging Christian claims of misuse. Still, with BJP allies eyeing expansions in Gujarat and Arunachal Pradesh—where 200,000 Christians protested a proposed bill in March—fears mount of a homogenized "Hindu Rashtra." As one EFI report notes, these measures not only erode constitutional rights but also fracture social cohesion in a nation where Christians form just 2.3% of the 1.4 billion population.
For India's minority faithful, defiance persists amid the dread. "We must continue sharing the good news of Jesus Christ," Pudaite affirmed, even as the line between worship and peril blurs.
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