By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
NEW DELHI (Worthy News) – Christians have appealed for prayers after the chief minister of India’s central state of Madhya Pradesh announced plans to impose the death penalty on those convicted “of forced or fraudulent religious conversions.”
Devoted Christians fear they could be targeted for sharing their faith with non-Christians in the mainly Hindu nation.
In a recent public meeting for International Women’s Day on March 8, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav equated such conversions with child molestation, adding that “both crimes warrant the imposition of capital punishment.”
“Our government will not tolerate conversion and misconduct. For criminals or those who are involved in religious conversion, we will ensure that they get the death penalty,” he said.
The state’s Religious Freedom Act, enacted in 2021, is intended “to protect” people from being “forcefully or fraudulently” converted from one religion to another.
ANTI-CONVERSION LAWS
Similar anti-conversion laws are also presently being enforced within ten other states throughout India, Worthy News learned. “Unfortunately, such laws have been widely abused,” cautioned Voice Of the Martyrs Canada (VOMC), which supports Christians facing persecution.
“Militant groups have stirred up violent mob attacks against Christians, falsely claiming that the believers were involved in bribery and other ways of tricking people into converting,” the group added.
VOMC said it was among Christians to “Pray that this intended change to Madhya Pradesh’s legislation will not be instituted and that followers of Jesus will no longer be falsely accused under India’s anti-conversion laws.”
Those identifying as Christians comprise just over two percent of India’s mainly Hindu population of roughly 1.4 billion people, according to official estimates.
Yet the Christian faith is spreading in India, prompting Hindu-led authorities to try to stop the trend with stricter anti-conversion laws in several states, Christian research suggests.
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.