Fourth state in India enacts ‘anti-conversion’ law

SHIMLA, India — The Congress Party government in Himachal Pradesh state, India, has brought into force its “anti-conversion” law six months after the governor gave assent to the controversial bill regulating religious conversions. The move brings the number of states with anti-conversion laws in India to four: Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Orissa and Himachal Pradesh, although in Chhattisgarh the governor is seeking the opinion of the attorney general of India on the legislation.

Lansinglu Rongmei of the Christian Legal Association said her organization would challenge the constitutional validity of the law in Himachal Pradesh, which requires any person wishing to convert to give a prior notice of at least 30 days and prohibits conversion by “force or by inducement or by any other fraudulent means.” Rongmei said the law “paves the way for extremists to indulge in ‘re-conversion’ programs with impunity.” Rongmei also warned about the terms used in the law.

“The terms ‘force,’ ‘inducement’ and ‘fraudulent means’ have not been defined properly, and the vagueness can allow anti-Christian forces to file false complaints against Christian workers with ease.”