To justify their actions, the extremists told the police that Pastor Massih was conducting forced conversions. However, Uttar Pradesh has not enacted an anti-conversion law, so the police charged Pastor Massih with committing blasphemy under IPC Section 295-A instead. Pastor Massih then spent the next 18 days in jail and was released on bail on August 27.
“They accused that I was involved in forcible conversions,” Pastor Massih explained to ICC. “However, the IPC sections that I was charged under do not correspond.”
Pastor Massih leads a small Christian congregation of 50 Christians in Ghaziabad. To support his ministry, he also works as a part-time rickshaw puller.
In the past three months, ICC has documented 29 incidents of religious violence against Christians in Uttar Pradesh alone. Similar to Pastor Massih, false allegations of forced conversions have been used by radicals to justify physical assaults, the closure of churches, and the general harassment of Christian leaders.
On September 1, Pastor Balram was similarly attacked by radicals in Gyanpur, located in the Kheri district of Uttar Pradesh. While leading Sunday worship, Pastor Balram was dragged out of the church, had his shirt torn open, and was beaten ruthlessly by radicals in the presence of police.
Pastor Balram and two other church members were then taken into police custody after they were accused of engaging in forced conversions. Similar to Pastor Massih’s case, police charged the Christians with blasphemy under IPC Section 295-A.
The news that the BJP-led government intends to propose a national anti-conversion law and the violence that has followed has many Christians across India concerned. Radical Hindu nationalists frequently use the specter of mass religious conversions to pass laws and regulations that limit religious freedom. According to these nationalists, Indian Christians are accused of converting poor Hindus to Christianity in mass by fraudulent means.
However, India’s own population data does not support this conspiracy of mass conversions to Christianity. In 1951, the first census after independence, Christians made up 2.3% of India’s population. According to the 2011 census, the most recent census data available, Christians still make up 2.3% of the population.
While many Christians have been accused of engaging in forced conversions, no one has been convicted of forced conversions in India. This is in spite of the fact that some of the anti-conversion laws have been on the books since 1967.
For interviews, please contact Olivia Miller, Communications Coordinator: press@persecution.org