Jharkhand to Become Sixth State to Ban Religious Conversion, Christians Concern

Wikipedia

Jharkhand has become the sixth to ban religious conversion with a penalty of three years imprisonment and fine of Rs 50,000 for those who violate the ban.

Christian groups are expressing concerns that the Christian minority in the Hindu majority country will be unjustly under attack.

The state government has approved the draft of Jharkhand Religious Independence Bill this week. The Bill will ban religious conversion by force or allurement.

The Bill comes down even strongly if the forced conversions involve minor girls and women from scheduled tribes. According to the Bill, any conversions involving a minor, woman or person from SC/ST then the penalty will be up to four years and rupees one lakh fine.

Over a quarter of Jharkhand's population is considered tribal, and Christians make up about 15 percent of the state's tribal population.

According to Crux, the bill will be debated in parliament from August 8 onwards.

Church leaders have declared that they have maintained clean records of conversions and no fraudulent conversions have ever happened under their leadership.

"Over the decades, we have been running many schools and colleges, healthcare facilities and hospitals all over the state, serving the poor, the downtrodden and the forgotten," said Cardinal Telesphore Toppo, according to the Premier.

"None of the millions of people whom we have served have been converted to Christianity," he added.

Since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) governance in 2014, religious minorities have complained about increased harassment. Vandalizing the places of worship, abuses and detaining or arresting Christians for "attempted conversion" have increased over the last seven months.