India: Rajasthan State Considering Implementation of Anti-Conversion Law
by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – Lawmakers in India’s Rajasthan state are considering approving the type of anti-conversion law that has led to the intense persecution of Christians and other non-Hindus in Indian states that already have such legislation.
Hindu nationalists have used their state’s anti-conversion laws to abuse, intimidate, and persecute Christians whom they claim are forcing Indians to leave Hinduism to follow Christ. Christians in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhatisgarh states have been particularly severely affected. Eleven of India’s 28 states now have anti-conversion laws.
The state of Rajasthan is now considering a proposal for legislation that would involve taking “stringent steps to control fraudulent religious conversion and religious conversion by intimidation, threatening, deceivingly luring through gifts and monetary benefits,” ICC said.
“Most anti-conversion laws target Christian missionaries and churches that attract people who want to convert from other faiths due to personal convictions or miracles and healings, which can happen after they believe in Jesus Christ,” ICC said in its report.
“Right-wing fanatical groups and other anti-Christian organizations that claim these conversions are false or forced put pressure on governments to enact anti-conversion laws in states that do not yet have them,” ICC notes.
International Christian Concern (ICC) reports. Ruled by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party for nearly 10 years, India now ranks 11 on the Open Doors World Watch List 2024 of the top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted.
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