3/13/2025 India (International Christian Concern) — The chief minister of Madhya Pradesh recently declared during a public meeting that he plans to seek the death penalty for those who engage in forced or fraudulent religious conversions.
Mohan Yadav made the statement on March 8 at the state capital Bhopal, claiming the state has the legal right to punish those engaged in forced religious conversions in the same way it punishes those who rape minors: with the death penalty.
“Religious conversion will not be tolerated,” Yadav said to applause.
Jerry Paul, national president of the Sarva Isai Mahasabha (All Christian Federation) in Bhopal, said Yadav’s comments make it more dangerous to be a Christian in a Hindu-nationalist state known for anti-Christian violence.
“It is like adding fuel to the fire,” Paul said, adding that Hindu activists who support the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), “have been unleashing a wave of targeted attacks against our people and our institutions alleging religious conversion.”
Paul added that Yadav’s remarks will only embolden Hindu nationalists to attack Christians.
Madhya Pradesh is one of 11 Indian states where anti-conversion laws have criminalized religious conversion through allurement or coercion. In 2021, the state amended its anti-conversion law by adding harsher punishments, including jail sentences of up to 10 years for violations.
Christians make up .27% of more than 72 million people, and the majority, 80%, are Hindu, including 21% of indigenous people who generally follow animist religions.
Daniel John, a Catholic leader based in Bhopal, said the Indian constitution guarantees the freedom for all citizens to choose a religion, practice it, and propagate it.
For Christians, he said, “There is nothing called forced conversion because conversion happens in the heart … the allegation of forced religious conversion is a creation of Hindu hardliners to target the minorities.”
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