Release International

Release International is warning that legal pressure in India to outlaw religious conversions could lead to further violence. A new anti-conversion law is being proposed by ultra-nationalists who fear a decline of Hinduism in India.

A Bill proposing a national ban on conversions from Hinduism could soon be brought before India's parliament. The Bill in the Upper House would propose a ten-year jail sentence for evangelists.

Two members of the ruling nationalist BJP party plan to introduce Private Member's Bills in both houses that would outlaw conversion from Hinduism across the country.

'Ultra-nationalists in India are creating a climate of intolerance that will lead to increased religious violence,' warns Paul Robinson, the Chief Executive of Release International, which supports persecuted Christians around the world.

'This Bill would outlaw evangelism and stir up further violence against India's religious minorities,' he adds. 'Release is concerned this could incite more extremist attacks against Christians. In the interests of religious freedom, moves to outlaw conversion and criminalise evangelists must be dropped.'

The right-wing BJP party has links to Hindu nationalists and embraces the philosophy of Hindutva. This is the belief that the Indian subcontinent is the homeland of Hindus, and to be Indian is to be Hindu.

Extreme supporters of Hindutva regard Christians and Muslims as invaders. This belief is used to justify attacks against religious minorities and is driving the moves to outlaw religious conversion from Hinduism. The Bill would target those of other religions who are encouraging Hindus to change their faith.

The MP advocating the anti-conversion Bill in the Lower House is Yogi Adityanath. He is the head priest at a prominent Hindu temple.

And in the Upper House MP Tarun Vijay has reportedly said the Bill would propose a ten-year jail sentence for any 'person found engaged in the act [of conversion]'.

Quoted in the Indian Tribune newspaper, the MP accused foreign influences of targeting India's poor and vulnerable. He said: 'It is very important to keep the Hindus in majority in the country.'

Many religious conversions in India are among the Dalits, the underclass sometimes referred to as the 'untouchables'.

Dalit means 'oppressed' or 'broken'. The Dalits are considered beneath the Hindu caste system and face extreme poverty and widespread discrimination. Many Dalits are converting to other faiths.

The anti-conversion legislation follows a religious census that revealed the predominance of Hindus in India has now dropped to below 80 per cent.

The aggressive backlash from Hindu nationalism has put Christian pastors in some rural areas under intense pressure. Madhya Pradesh is a particular flashpoint.

Pastor Ajmer Singh Damor of Shalom Church in Fattiguda, was reportedly beaten unconscious and left badly injured when Hindu extremists raided a Christian prayer meeting last month.

His wife, Runita, and another church member were also beaten. Police responded to the attacks by arresting Christians. They detained at least 19 Christians in the state last month after three separate incidents where Hindu extremists threatened or attacked them.

Another state, Maharashtra, is now debating the introduction of its own 'anti-conversion law'. If it adopts the legislation, it will be the sixth Indian state to do so.

'If India bans religious freedom, it will be a dark day for human rights in that country,' says Paul Robinson of Release.