Anti-conversion laws in twelve states in India are being challenged by the National Council of Churches of India, which has filed a writ petition challenging the constitutionality of such legislation in the Supreme Court.
Hindu nationalists often accuse Christians of using force and surreptitious tactics in pursuing conversions, often storming into villages and leading “reconversion” ceremonies in which Christians are compelled to perform Hindu rituals.
These pressures on Christians, which also affect Muslims and other religious minorities, are part of what observers describe as a broad program for the “saffronisation” of India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, meaning an attempt to impose Hindu values and identity while squeezing out rival faiths.
Hindus make up nearly 80 percent of the country, and Christians – the majority of them Catholics – only make up 2.3 % of the nation.
“The rampant atrocities all over India against the Christian community are going unabated,” Rev. Asir Ebenezer, General Secretary of the National Council of Churches in India (NCCI) told Crux.
