The Catholic Archbishop of Bangalore, Archbishop Peter Machado, has taken a stance against India's anti-conversion laws, just as the country's Supreme Court is getting ready to weigh in on the matter during two necessary hearings this month.
Concern Over False Conversion Accusations Against Christians
A report from The Christian Post stated that Archbishop Machado had petitioned the Supreme Court for a judgment requiring the publication of information on religious infractions that occurred in states with anti-conversion laws. Thus, on Friday, Apr. 21, the highest court in India will hold a hearing to consider his case.
Moreover, the Chief Executive Officer of Open Doors, Henrietta Blyth, stated that there is no evidence to substantiate the charges of "forced conversion" or "fraudulent conversion." It is reportedly a myth that religious nationalists have fabricated for political gain. It has the effect of causing whole towns and families to become estranged from one another.
Additionally, Voa News reported that as the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom has expressed concerns and called for the revocation of the controversial anti-conversion laws that have been enacted in some states of India, leaders of Indian minority communities have stated that the controversial anti-conversion laws are aimed at persecuting and harassing Christian and Muslim minorities.
Christian missionaries are accused by Hindu organizations and politicians of India's ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party of converting people across India through fraudulent tactics, coercion, and allurement. In recent years, they have also asserted that Muslims are converting people to Islam in unethical ways.
Christians' Stance on Anti-Conversion Law
According to Crux, Christians in India claimed that a new anti-conversion law passed on Sept. 16, 2022, in the state of Karnataka would violate the freedom of religion granted by the constitution of India.
In December of 2021, the Karnataka Legislative Assembly voted to approve the "Protection of Right to Freedom of Religion Bill, 2021," commonly called the "anti-conversion bill." However, the bill was not presented to the upper chamber Council, where the ruling Brahminical Jyotirao Paksha (BJP) had a majority at the time, this year after the party obtained 40 of the Council's 75 members.
As mentioned, the Hindu nationalist BJP party, which also holds power at the national level, has been passing anti-conversion bills in state legislatures it controls, intending to persecute the country's Muslim and Christian minorities.
In December 2022, Open Doors reported that Christians in India had issued a request to other Christian communities worldwide, urging them to join them in praying in opposition to the passage of a national anti-conversion law in their country. There is concern that this new law if it were to be introduced and tabled during this winter, would result in increased attacks against Christians and other minority groups during the Christmas season.
Since the Indian Supreme Court accepted and heard a petition about "religious conversion by force and allurement" and determined that it was a grave threat to national security, there has been an increase in the level of concern regarding the possibility of the Indian government passing a national anti-conversion law.
The Supreme Court also stated that the national government should intervene in this matter, which they did by holding a hearing that concluded that the right to religious freedom does not include the right to convert. The hearing concluded that the right to religious freedom does not include the right to convert.
Related Article: Church Leaders in India Complained to Stage Play Depicting Convents as Slave-Like Centers
