The Punjab Bachao Andolan on Nov. 12 announced plans to pursue legal measures against large-scale “illegal” conversions using “miracle cures” being done by Christian missionaries in the northern state of Punjab, India. 

According to media reports, the Punjab Bachao Andolan (PBA) or Save Punjab Movement, a newly formed organization in the state, alleged that authorities are not enforcing existing laws regarding “miracle cures” and missionary visas, and therefore, there is a need for an anti-conversion law in Punjab. 

Addressing the media, Tejasvi Minhas, the head of PBA, alleged that around 65,000 pastors are involved in conversions in the state of Punjab and claimed that the Christian population has increased significantly. 

Punjab has been in the news for the past few years after the media published reports of a massive surge in the number of Christians. They also published photos and videos of huge gatherings of Christians during worship and prayer meetings across the state. 

This had alarmed radical Hindu organizations that had increased the rhetoric against the Christians. But unlike many north Indian states, Punjab is one of the few where the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which also rules at the federal level, does not have a government. 

Consequently, although almost all of the BJP-ruled states in North India have promulgated stringent anti-conversion laws that are used to intimidate and curtail the practice and propagation of Christianity, Punjab does not have any such laws. 

The anti-conversion laws effective in nearly 12 states have been questioned by civil rights groups and many advocacy groups, as India is a secular democracy with Article 25 of the Constitution of India giving individuals the right to practice a religion of their choice or not to practice any religion. 

Meanwhile, the PBA claimed that the pastors who are operating in the state engage in conversions through enticement, coercion, and fake miracle cures in violation of the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954, and several sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), formerly the Indian Penal Code. 

“The 2011 Census recorded the Christian population at 1.26%, which has risen to nearly 15%, pointing to large-scale conversions in the last decade,” the PBA alleged. 

Foreign nationals visiting India on tourist or work visas were also involved in conversions, though the law mandates a missionary visa for such activities, the PBA said. 

Minhas said his organization would soon submit memorandums to the chief minister, the governor, and the chief justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, and file PILs on the issue. 

PBA representatives raised concerns over the diversion of agricultural land for building temporary Christian worship centers known as “deras” and the use of loudspeakers and advertisements, which disturb the peace and religious sentiments of others. 

The organization also demanded an updated religious census, the withdrawal of reservation benefits for Christian converts, and an investigation into alleged foreign funding of such religious groups. 

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