ICC Note:

12 people have been arrested and sent to jail after being accused of illegally converting to Christianity from Hinduism in India’s Madhya Pradesh state. In Madhya Pradesh, it is illegal to convert from one religion to another without permission from the state government. It is also illegal for an individual to convert another using force, allurement, or fraud. These laws restricting religious freedom are often used by Hindu radicals to harass and falsely implicate Christian pastors and missionaries in illegal conversions. Also, these laws are used to limit people’s ability to convert to a faith they freely choose without undue pressure or influence.  

1/18/2016 India (UCAN) – Twelve people were arrested and jailed, accused of violating a law restricting religious conversions in central Indian Madhya Pradesh state.

They were arrested late Jan. 14 in Dahar village of the state’s Dhar district and sent to jail the next day.

Those imprisoned included a blind man, and a mother with her 3-year-old child. Seven people were released on bail Jan. 17, according to Janu Bai, 35, one of the arrested.

“We did not know why we were arrested and sent to jail,” Bai told ucanews.com after being released from the jail.

She said the group follows the teachings of Jesus but have not converted to Christianity and had gathered at the home of Shankar Singh to celebrate the Hindu harvest festival of Makarsankrati.

Singh said he suspects a “conspiracy” to trap him and his friends who came there by invitation. “There was no conversion activity and no attempt to convert anyone,” Singh said.

Madhya Pradesh state law restricts religious conversions and makes it a criminal offense for anyone to change religion through force, allurement or through fraudulent means. Changing one’s religion without informing the government is also a punishable offense, according to the law.

Singh said he does not belong to any Christian denomination. Yet Hindu activists gathered outside his house, accusing him of conversion. “They also informed the police, who arrived and booked us,” Singh said.

“I have faith in Jesus and regularly pray to him,” Singh told ucanews.com, explaining that he led an unhappy and alcoholic life “before experiencing the love of God” through the help of some ministers. “Later I began to follow Jesus but am not a member of any church,” he said.

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