by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – In a move that appears to violate India’s constitutionally protected right to freedom of religion, the Hindu-nationalist-led state of Rajasthan has approved an anti-conversion law that provides prison terms for anyone who “unduly influences” a person to change their religion and requires citizens who want to change their faith to inform authorities 60 days in advance, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports.
Rajasthan will become India’s 12th state to have anti-conversion legislation if the bill is passed by the state legislature during the winter assembly session. Notably, such laws in other Indian states have been abused to severely harass and persecute Christians.
Titled the Rajasthan Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Bill 2024, the anti-conversion law provides that people found to have suffered unlawful conversions can be compensated up to 500,000 Indian rupees (about $590), while offenders may be imprisoned for up to 10 years, ICC explains in its report.
“It also stipulates that any individual who wishes to convert to another religion must notify the district authority at least 60 days in advance. Then, a notice of 30 days must be given for any ceremony for the conversion. Then again, after the conversion, the person concerned must inform the collector through an affidavit within 60 days,” ICC reports.
“These three layers of the conversion process make it formidable and controversial and could also likely contradict the country’s constitutional right to freedom of religion,” ICC notes.
The Indian states that already have anti-conversion laws in place are Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh.
Ruled by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party since 2014, India ranks 11 on the Open Doors World Watch List 2024 of the top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted.
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
More Worthy News
In a major victory for religious liberty and parental rights, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday reversed a lower court ruling that had upheld New York State’s strict vaccine mandates for schoolchildren, directing the appeals court to reconsider the case under newly strengthened constitutional protections.
A Hindu nonprofit organization is moving forward with plans to construct a massive 155-foot Hindu idol of Lord Murugan in rural Chatham County—an enormous structure that, once completed, would stand taller than the Statue of Liberty’s figure.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched a series of airstrikes in southern Lebanon late Monday targeting Hezbollah infrastructure, including a training site used by the group’s elite Radwan Force, the military said in a statement Tuesday.
Archaeologists have uncovered one of the longest and best-preserved sections of Jerusalem’s Hasmonean-period city wall, a massive fortification dating to the Maccabean era, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced Monday.
President Donald Trump on Monday unveiled a $12 billion bailout package aimed at supporting U.S. farmers who have absorbed the brunt of global market disruptions and retaliatory tariffs stemming from the administration’s ongoing trade war with China.
Federal agencies have canceled or significantly scaled back 43 wasteful government contracts worth a combined ceiling value of $3.5 billion, saving taxpayers $222 million, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) announced in a Dec. 6 post on X.
Following the assassination of Charlie Kirk, half of the nation’s college students report feeling less comfortable attending controversial public events on campus and nearly half are less comfortable voicing opinions on controversial subjects in class.