India is a democracy with a constitution that defines the country as secular and specifically guarantees the freedom of religion. But Todd Nettleton of Voice of the Martyrs (VOM) says radical Hindus have found a way to get around that.
“This is a part of the Hindu nationalist movement. They have been unable to get a national anti-conversion law because it is clearly against the constitution. However, they have gone sort of state by state passing these laws,” Nettleton states.
According to Mission Network News, the state of Chhattisgarh has passed an anti-conversion bill. It is so strict that a simple statement of Christian belief, church music or a pro-Christian post online could be an offense.
Nettleton calls the bill shocking.
“It makes changing your religion or encouraging someone to change their religion a no bail offense. So even an accusation gets somebody locked up, and they don't have the option of being out on bail until the case is decided,” Nettleton says.
According to VOM’s Prayer Guide, India is labeled as a restricted nation, meaning that they have anti-Christian laws, among other things, that lead to Christians being “harassed, imprisoned, killed or deprived of possession of liberties because of their witness.”
The punishment for the new law is severe, and at first glance, it appears that the law is aimed at Billy Graham-type evangelists. However, he says any Christian is a potential target.
“You could face life in prison for what they call a mass conversion event,” Nettleton says. “And they define that as two or more people.”
Hinduism is the only religion exempted from Chhattisgarh's new anti-conversion law.
Around 80% of Indians are Hindus with over 10% Muslim. The Indian government doesn’t provide an accurate statistic in regard to the number of Christians in the country, but it is estimated to be about 30 to 70 million, making it the third largest religion.
India recently passed China to become the world's most populous country with almost a billion and a half people.
