Attacks and church closures have followed the passing of harsh new anti-conversion laws in northwest India’s Rajasthan state on 9 September. Civil society groups documented nine incidents of harassment, assault or police intimidation across the state in September, even though the Rajasthan Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Bill, 2025 has yet to receive the governor’s assent and take effect. (The photo shows members of ten civil society organisations meeting on 25 September to discuss strategies to fight Rajasthan’s anti-conversion bill.)
The documented incidents include two attacks in Dungarpur, one in Alwar, two in the state capital Jaipur, two cases of police harassment in Kotputli-Behror District and two incidents in Anupgarh, including a break-in at a children’s hostel and the assault of two Christian staff members.
The new legislation raises issues of fundamental rights including freedom of religion, equality and privacy, and legal experts and rights groups warn that its harsh provisions will face constitutional challenges once the laws receive gubernatorial assent and take effect.
Jaipur incidents
In the first of two incidents documented in Jaipur, on 21 September a church leader identified only as Pastor Daniel was attacked while leading Sunday worship in a private home in the Pratap Nagar area of the city. A First Information Report was only registered with police several hours after protests by the local community and no arrests have been made.
On 23 September around fifty members of the Hindutva organisation Bajrang Dal surrounded the Hindustan Bible Institute (HBI) in Pratap Nagar while two guests, HBI officials from Chennai and Banswara, were conducting a routine inspection. The Institute had operated without incident for years but the extremists accused the Christians of engaging in religious conversions.
Local police detained the two visiting HBI officials and took them to the police station for questioning, seized their mobile phones and confiscated the institute’s laptops, landline phone, flash drive and property documents.
Two local Christian families run the HBI centre in Jaipur and were present during the incident, after which a delegation of civil society members visited them. The delegation found the families shaken and fearful, and reported: “They were terrified as to what may befall them when they were doing absolute legal work under the Indian Constitution.”
Reaction
Commenting on the effects of Rajasthan’s new anti-conversion laws, Rev Rajnish Jacob, chairman of the Assemblies of God, North India told Morning Star News, “The bill’s impact has been devastating for our Christian community. Since the bill’s passage in the assembly, over forty Assemblies of God churches in Rajasthan were forced to close, and some pastors are now being pursued by police for arrest. What’s most troubling is that this enforcement is happening even before the governor has signed the legislation into law… We’re seeing church closures in Dausa and Alwar, Ajmer and other towns close to the capital city Jaipur. Pastors are being arrested and detained, while investigations target children’s homes, Bible colleges, and house churches. Even acts of Christian charity are now viewed with suspicion as potential conversion attempts, and any third party can file complaints that put the burden of proof on us.”
“Attacks on Christians have escalated dramatically following passage of Rajasthan’s anti-conversion bill, mirroring disturbing patterns we’ve witnessed in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Jharkhand after similar legislation,” Rev Vijayesh Lal, general secretary of the Evangelical Fellowship of India, told Morning Star News. “These laws consistently embolden vigilante groups who feel licensed to target Christian communities under the guise of preventing conversion.”
“Rajasthan’s bill represents a fundamental shift from protecting religious freedom to criminalising it,” A.C. Michael, coordinator of the United Christian Forum, told Morning Star News. “The burden of proof reversal, property confiscation powers, and exemption for Hindu reconversion create a two-tiered justice system that violates the constitutional principle of equality before law.”
A.C. Michael’s reference to exemption for Hindu reconversion concerns one of the most controversial provisions of the bill, which exempts “reconversion” to one’s “ancestral religion” from all penalties and procedures, in effect permitting conversion to Hinduism while criminalising conversion to Christianity or Islam.
Civil society groups condemn violence
A coalition of twelve civil society groups that came together to condemn September’s violence and demand immediate action said Rajasthan’s anti-conversion bill has created a climate of suspicion and intolerance, with Hindu extremist groups falsely framing any religious activities as attempted forcible conversion, leading to mob violence.
A joint press statement was issued by groups including the People’s Union for Civil Liberties, Jaipur Christian Fellowship, the National Federation of Indian Women, All India Democratic Women’s Association, Rajasthan Samagra Sewa Sangh, the Association for Protection of Civil Rights and several organisations representing Buddhists, Muslims and Dalits.
The day after the HBI attack a delegation from the groups met senior police officials to condemn the attacks, warning that “Until strict action is not taken, such incidents will continue.” The delegation demanded immediate release of the two detained HBI guests, return of all confiscated property, arrest of Bajrang Dal members responsible and strict measures to prevent further attacks on minorities.
(Morning Star News, Sabrang India, The Statesman)
Photo: Rahul Kashyap for Morning Star News