Listeners:
Top listeners:
-
play_arrow
Uttarakhand Passes India’s Harshest Anti-Conversion Law
by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent
NEW DELHI (Worthy News) – Christians expressed concern Tuesday after Uttarakhand approved India’s most severe anti-conversion legislation, prescribing life imprisonment and steep fines for what the Hindu nationalist-ruled state calls “forced conversions.”
The Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Bill, 2025, was passed during a stormy assembly session last week, expanding the maximum punishment from 10 years in prison to 20 years or life imprisonment, along with fines of up to 1 million Indian rupees (approximately $11,500).
The law allows police to arrest suspects without a warrant, seize property, and makes offences non-bailable. Online or social media messages interpreted as promoting conversion are also punishable, raising concerns over free speech.
“These provisions, with penalties up to life imprisonment, represent some of India’s harshest anti-conversion measures and could turn ordinary conversations about belief into criminal acts,” warned the Rev. Vijayesh Lal, general secretary of the Evangelical Fellowship of India.
The law reserves harsher penalties for cases involving women, minors, tribal communities, or Dalits. Conversions linked to foreign funding will carry sentences of seven to 14 years, while those involving force, inducement, trafficking, or marriage promises may result in life sentences.
Concealing religion for marriage purposes could mean up to 10 years in prison and fines of more than $3,000.
BROADER TREND
Uttarakhand has now joined a growing number of Indian states that are tightening anti-conversion laws.
At least 10 states, including Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and Haryana, have adopted similar measures, although most carry shorter prison terms of up to 10 years.
As many as 13 states have passed such laws, although several remain inactive or are being legally challenged.
Rights advocates and Christian groups say the legislation will deepen religious polarization and restrict India’s constitutional freedoms.
Critics argue it effectively criminalizes evangelism and voluntary religious choice in the predominantly Hindu nation.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
Investigations continued Friday after a suspected Islamist gunman opened fire in a classroom at Old Dominion University in the U.S. state of Virginia on Thursday, killing a Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) instructor and wounding two others before he was subdued by students and died, officials said.
All six crew members aboard a U.S. refueling aircraft have died after the plane crashed over western Iraq, the U.S. military confirmed Friday, as fighting between the United States, Israel, and Iran continued to intensify.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Friday that Iran’s newly installed supreme leader is likely wounded, disfigured, and hiding underground as the Islamic Republic reels from the opening blows of the war with the United States and Israel.
Bible sales in Britain have surged to their highest levels since records began, reflecting a growing spiritual interest across the nation—particularly among younger generations.
A damaged Russian gas tanker is drifting unmanned through the Mediterranean Sea, prompting Malta to prepare emergency measures while tensions linked to the war in Ukraine spill into Europe’s energy and security landscape.
Iran launched a new wave of drone and missile attacks on Gulf countries Thursday, the 13th day of the United States-Israel war against Tehran, with strikes reported in Bahrain and other states, sending oil prices sharply higher and raising concerns among foreign workers, including Christians.
Nearly 25,000 Christians, many of them impoverished sanitation workers and day laborers, face possible eviction from their homes in Pakistan’s capital after authorities ordered them to vacate two settlements within days, Christians familiar with the situation confirmed Thursday.
WHO WE ARE
The Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs encapsulate the beauty, wisdom, and eternal truths found in the Bible, creating an immersive experience that resonates with believers and seekers alike.
CONTACT
- +1 908 280-4246
- Essex County, USA
- info@tnjrfm.com