by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent
NEW DELHI (Worthy News) – Christians expressed concern Tuesday after Uttarakhand approved India’s most severe anti-conversion legislation, prescribing life imprisonment and steep fines for what the Hindu nationalist-ruled state calls “forced conversions.”
The Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Bill, 2025, was passed during a stormy assembly session last week, expanding the maximum punishment from 10 years in prison to 20 years or life imprisonment, along with fines of up to 1 million Indian rupees (approximately $11,500).
The law allows police to arrest suspects without a warrant, seize property, and makes offences non-bailable. Online or social media messages interpreted as promoting conversion are also punishable, raising concerns over free speech.
“These provisions, with penalties up to life imprisonment, represent some of India’s harshest anti-conversion measures and could turn ordinary conversations about belief into criminal acts,” warned the Rev. Vijayesh Lal, general secretary of the Evangelical Fellowship of India.
The law reserves harsher penalties for cases involving women, minors, tribal communities, or Dalits. Conversions linked to foreign funding will carry sentences of seven to 14 years, while those involving force, inducement, trafficking, or marriage promises may result in life sentences.
Concealing religion for marriage purposes could mean up to 10 years in prison and fines of more than $3,000.
BROADER TREND
Uttarakhand has now joined a growing number of Indian states that are tightening anti-conversion laws.
At least 10 states, including Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and Haryana, have adopted similar measures, although most carry shorter prison terms of up to 10 years.
As many as 13 states have passed such laws, although several remain inactive or are being legally challenged.
Rights advocates and Christian groups say the legislation will deepen religious polarization and restrict India’s constitutional freedoms.
Critics argue it effectively criminalizes evangelism and voluntary religious choice in the predominantly Hindu nation.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
More Worthy News
Israel expanded its military campaign against Hezbollah on Monday, striking more than 70 targets across Lebanon as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to increase pressure on the Iranian-backed terror group following a sharp rise in drone and rocket attacks on northern Israel.
A federal appeals court is weighing whether Kansas City can use its public accommodation ordinance to require Christian counselors to counsel gay married couples despite the counselors’ biblical convictions on marriage and sexuality.
Tens of thousands of evangelical Christians gathered in the Netherlands for one of Europe’s largest multi-day Christian events, with organizers and participants expressing hopes for spiritual revival in the nation and across Europe.
President Donald Trump pushed back Monday against sharp criticism from Republicans and former administration officials over a potential U.S.-Iran agreement, insisting that any final accord must prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon or it will not be signed.
President Donald Trump said Monday that countries involved in negotiations over Iran should be required to join the Abraham Accords, signaling that the White House is seeking to turn a possible Iran agreement into a wider regional realignment that includes normalization with Israel.
Tensions remained high in Serbia’s capital Belgrade on Sunday after at least tens of thousands of people demanded elections and rallied against what they view as the increasingly authoritarian rule of President Aleksandar Vučić, with violence erupting after the protest and more than 20 people arrested.
Investigations were ongoing Sunday into the killing of three senior Kuki-Thadou Christian church leaders by unidentified gunmen in India’s northeastern Manipur State, Christian investigators told Worthy News.