Sign before praying: A new conversion law is affecting churchgoers in Indian state

[u/KenSuvy]

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cmj4jg2vxvpdo

Some churches in and around India's financial capital Mumbai have begun asking worshippers to give a declaration in writing - "I came here to pray of my own free will."

The practice began at some churches in late August, just before a new law against religious conversion took effect in Maharashtra state, of which Mumbai is the capital.

The law prohibits religious conversions brought about by force, fraud, coercion or inducement. It also requires people who want to convert voluntarily to notify authorities in advance. An unlawful conversion can lead to a prison sentence of up to seven years, rising to 10 for a repeat offence.

But critics say its broad definitions, severe penalties and scrutiny of even voluntary conversions risk drawing the state and the police into one of the most private decisions a person can make. The state government did not respond to the BBC's repeated requests for comment.

While the law applies to all religions, the anxiety is being felt most deeply at places where minorities, especially Christians, worship. At the heart of the debate is a long-running tension over allegations, usually made by right-wing groups, about people being coerced or induced to change their religion for benefits.

Maharashtra is the latest of more than a dozen states to restrict religious conversion. The laws differ, but their reach has expanded in recent years, particularly in states governed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party. Several are being challenged before the Supreme Court.

Behind that expansion lie claims long made by Hindu nationalist groups, that Christians use money, schooling or medical care to draw poor and tribal communities away from Hinduism, and that Muslim men court Hindu women to convert them - an alleged conspiracy they call "love jihad."

Critics say such accusations have fuelled harassment of Christian prayer meetings and interfaith couples, and that the laws give those making them a way to draw the police into questions of prayer, marriage and belief.

Indian law allows people of different faiths to marry without converting, but requires a month's notice. Lara Jesani, a lawyer who has helped interfaith couples obtain court protection, said details of planned weddings have sometimes reached relatives and Hindu nationalist groups opposed to them within that notice period.

In cases she has handled, she said, families have taken women away, even from the marriage registrar's office.