Seven Christians from India’s Madhya Pradesh state have been sentenced after a court found them guilty of forceful conversions during a birthday party.

The convictions, which follow a legal battle that’s lasted since April 2024, are the latest example of the growing persecution and opposition that Christians face across several states where the anti-conversion laws are prevalent. Anti-conversion laws are increasingly being used to target Christians for simply attending private family functions, worship services, or prayer meetings.

Chronology

On April 27, 2024, a mob of 100 to 150 Hindu nationalists surrounded the home of a Christian family gathered with friends and relatives for a birthday celebration in a village in Dindori district.

The mob, led by a neighbor, trapped the guests inside, shouted threats and accused the believers of conducting forced religious conversions under the guise of a birthday party.

The host, Suday Singh Maravi, called the police for protection against the mob, but the police officers took a selective approach to justice.

While the extremists were eventually dispersed without charge, the police arrested seven Christian men, some of whom are pastors: Amit Kumar, Chhot Singh Dhurve, Jeet Singh Dhurve, Karan Singh Maravi, Pramod, Sanjay Markam, and Santosh Paraste.

Despite the host’s explicit appeal that the event was purely a birthday celebration, the men were charged under the state’s restrictive anti-conversion laws, marking the start of a grueling two-year legal struggle.

Court Disregards Defense Statement

During the hearing, Maravi, the host, maintained that the men were guests and that no religious conversion had occurred. He noted that the disruption was actually instigated by an uninvited neighbor, Angad Singh, who leveled the accusations to weaponize local tensions.

However, the prosecution leaned on allegations of financial allurement, claiming the men attempted to persuade attendees to convert to Christianity with cash offers.

Ultimately, the court disregarded the host’s defense and the lack of coercive evidence, handing down the maximum penalty permitted under the law. Each of the seven men was sentenced to five years of rigorous imprisonment — carrying the additional burden of hard labor — and a fine of INR 100,000, or more than $1,000.

The Legislative Landscape

The strategic implications of this case are rooted in the “Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act,” which incidentally was one of the earliest such laws to be enacted in the country, dating back to 1968.

Human rights advocates are increasingly critical of such laws for shifting the onus of proof onto the accused.

Under these broad definitions, the simple act of gathering either for a family function or a prayer meeting carries the inherent risk of being legally reclassified as a criminal conversion activity.

Silenced Churches

The incarceration of these seven men has caused immediate, devastating ripple effects across the Dindori district.

The pastors served congregations in six different villages, all of which have now been forced to shut down, leaving local believers without spiritual leadership or community support.

The socioeconomic effect on the families is equally profound. These seven men were the primary breadwinners for their wives and children, who are now left in a state of financial precariousness.

The path to legal relief remains barred by poverty; the total cost of obtaining bail for the group is estimated at approximately INR 600,000, or $6,300.

For these impoverished rural families, such a sum is an insurmountable barrier, ensuring that these men remain behind bars while their appeals move slowly through the higher courts.

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