The Law Library of Congress, Global Legal Research Center 

(202) 707-6462 (phone) • (866) 550-0442 (fax) • law@loc.gov • http://www.law.gov

State Anti-conversion Laws in 

India

June 2017
This report is provided for reference purposes only. 

It does not constitute legal advice and does not represent the official 

opinion of the United States Government. The information provided 

reflects research undertaken as of the date of writing. 

It has not been updated.
The Law Library of Congress

State Anti-conversion Laws in India

Tariq Ahmad

Foreign Legal Specialist∗

SUMMARY India’s Freedom of Religion Acts or “anti-conversion” laws are state-level statutes 

that have been enacted to regulate religious conversions. The laws are in force in 

six out of twenty-nine states: Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, 

Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, and Himachal Pradesh. While there are some variations 

between the state laws, they are very similar in their content and structure. All of 

the laws seek to prevent any person from converting or attempting to convert, 

either directly or otherwise, any person through “forcible” or “fraudulent” means,

or by “allurement” or “inducement.” However, the anti-conversion laws in 

Rajasthan and Arunachal Pradesh appear to exclude reconversions to “native” or 

“original” faiths from their prohibitions. Penalties for breaching the laws can range 

from monetary fines to imprisonment, with punishments ranging from one to three 

years of imprisonment and fines from 5,000 to 50,000 Indian rupees (about US$74 

to $735). Some of the laws provide for stiffer penalties if women, children, or 

members of scheduled castes or schedule tribes (SC/ST), are being converted.

Despite criticism of India’s anti-conversion laws, some human rights bodies have 

acknowledged that these laws have resulted in few arrests and no convictions. 

However, some observers note that these laws create a hostile, and on occasion 

violent, environment for religious minority communities because they do not 

require any evidence to support accusations of wrongdoing.

I. History of Anti-conversion Laws

India is a nation that is home to a diversity of religious beliefs and practices. The Indian 

subcontinent is the birthplace of four major world religions—Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and 

Jainism.1 According to reported 2011 census data, 79.80% of the population of India is Hindu, 

14.23% Muslim, 2.30% Christian, 1.72% Sikh, 0.70% Buddhist, and 0.37% Jain.2

 * This report was prepared with the assistance of Law Library intern Supreetha Kumar. 

1 Religion: 2001 Census Data, OFFICE OF THE REGISTRAR GENERAL & CENSUS COMMISSIONER, INDIA, http://census 

india.gov.in/Census_And_You/religion.aspx (last visited Apr. 19, 2017), archived at https://perma.cc/ME8WUBXD. 

2 Hindu Population Reducing in India as ‘They Never Convert People’: Kiren Rijiju, DECCAN CHRONICLE (Feb. 13, 

2017; updated Feb. 14, 2017), http://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/current-affairs/130217/hindu-populationreducing-in-india-as-they-never-convert-people-kiren-rijiju.html, archived at https://perma.cc/8BUG-KQ4N; see 

also C-1 Population by Religious Community, OFFICE OF THE REGISTRAR GENERAL & CENSUS COMMISSIONER,

INDIA, http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/C-01.html (last visited Apr. 19, 2017), archived at 

https://perma.cc/Q7R7-DRRB. 
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Laws restricting religious conversions were originally introduced by Hindu princely states during 

the British Colonial period—mainly “during the latter half of the 1930s and 1940s.”3 These 

states enacted the laws “in an attempt to preserve Hindu religious identity in the face of British 

missionaries.”4

 There were “[o]ver a dozen princely states, including Kota, Bikaner, Jodhpur, 

Raigarh, Patna, Surguja, Udaipur, and Kalahandi,”5 that had such laws. Some of the laws from 

that period include the Raigarh State Conversion Act, 1936; the Surguja State Apostasy Act, 

1942; and the Udaipur State Anti-Conversion Act, 1946.

Following India’s independence, the Parliament introduced a number of anti-conversion bills, 

but none were enacted. First, the Indian Conversion (Regulation and Registration) Bill was 

introduced in 1954, “which enforced licensing of missionaries and the registration of conversion 

with government officials.”6 This bill failed to gather majority support in the lower house of 

Parliament and was rejected by its members. This was followed by the introduction of the 

Backward Communities (Religious Protection) Bill in 1960, “which aimed at checking 

conversion of Hindus to ‘non-Indian religions’ which, as per the definition in the Bill, included 

Islam, Christianity, Judaism and Zoroastrianism,”7 and the Freedom of Religion Bill in 1979, 

which sought “official curbs on inter-religious conversion.”8

 These bills were also not passed by 

Parliament due to a lack of parliamentary support. 

Ministers of the current Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government have voiced their support for 

the adoption of an anti-conversion law at the national level, which some critics see as an attack 

on the secular values of India’s Constitution.9 In 2015, “high-ranking members of the ruling BJP 

party, including the party’s president Amit Shah, called for a nationwide anti-conversion law.”10

 3 Jennifer R. Coleman, Authoring (In)Authenticity, Regulating Religious Tolerance: The Legal and Political 

Implications of Anti-Conversion Legislation for Indian Secularism 23 (Paper Presented to Penn Program on 

Democracy, Citizenship, and Constitutionalism Graduate Workshop, Sept. 13, 2007–08), 

https://www.sas.upenn.edu/dcc/sites/ www.sas.upenn.edu.dcc/files/uploads/Coleman.pdf, archived at

https://perma.cc/9WY3-DTFN. 

4 James Andrew Huff, Note, Religious Freedom in India and Analysis of the Constitutionality of Anti-Conversion 

Laws, 10(2) RUTGERS J. L. & RELIGION 1, 4 (2009), http://www.lawandreligion.com/sites/lawandreligion.com/files/ 

A10S-6Huff.pdf, archived at https://perma.cc/7Z7Y-9U8Q.

5 Laura Dudley Jenkins, Legal Limits on Religious Conversion in India, 71 LAW & CONTEMP. PROBS. 109, 113 

(2008), http://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1469&context=lcp, archived at

https://perma.cc/7BYA-UNDW.

6 DR. IQTIDAR KARAMAT CHEEMA, U.S. COMMISSION ON INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM, CONSTITUTIONAL 

AND LEGAL CHALLENGES FACED BY RELIGIOUS MINORITIES IN INDIA 4 (Feb. 2017), https://www.uscirf.gov/sites/ 

default/files/Constitutional and Legal Challenges Faced by Religious Minorities in India.pdf, archived at

https://perma.cc/KQ7P-DY7R. 

7 INDIAN LAW INSTITUTE, A STUDY OF COMPATIBILITY OF ANTI-CONVERSION LAWS WITH RIGHT TO FREEDOM OF 

RELIGION IN INDIA 31 (2007) (submitted to India’s National Commission for Minorities).

8 Id.

9 Saurav Datta, India’s Mass Conversion Problem, AL JAZEERA (Jan. 4, 2015), http://www.aljazeera.com/ 

indepth/opinion/2015/01/india-mass-conversion-problem-20151274531627294.html, archived at

https://perma.cc/4UFD-KQZ8. 

10 USCIRF ANNUAL REPORT 2016 – TIER 2 COUNTRIES – INDIA (May 2, 2016), available at http://www.refworld. 

org/docid/57307ce6c.html, archived at https://perma.cc/C78P-ZHJF; Shoaib Daniyal, As Clamour to Ban 
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Two members of the BJP, including Amit Shah, have announced that anti-conversion bills are to

be introduced in both houses of Parliament “so as to criminalise religious conversion without the 

government’s consent.”11 However, the BJP government’s plan to enact national legislation 

reportedly “hit a roadblock” with the Ministry of Law and Justice, which advised against the 

move, stating that it is “not tenable” since it is “purely a state subject”12—i.e., a matter that lies 

purely under the constitutional domain of the states under the State List in Schedule Seven of 

the Constitution.

13

At the state level, Freedom of Religion Acts have been enacted to regulate religious conversions

carried out by force, fraud, or other inducements, as discussed below.

14 

II. Overview of State Initiatives

India’s Freedom of Religion Acts or “anti-conversion laws” are state-level statutes enacted to 

regulate religious conversions that are not purely voluntary. Such laws began to be introduced in 

the 1960s after the failed attempts to enact an anti-conversion law at the Union (or central) level,

and were first enacted by Orissa and Madhya Pradesh states.15 At the present time, such laws are 

in effect in six out of twenty-nine states: Arunachal Pradesh, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, 

Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, and Himachal Pradesh.16 The law in Arunachal Pradesh has not been 

implemented due to a lack of subsidiary rules. The State of Rajasthan has passed its anticonversion bill, but it is yet to be signed by the President of India. Several other states, including 

Manipur, are reportedly “considering similar laws.”17

 

Conversion Grows, A Reminder: Five Indian States Have Already Done So, SCROLL.IN (Sept. 15, 2014), 

https://scroll.in/article/679080/as-clamour-to-ban-conversion-grows-a-reminder-five-indian-states-have-alreadydone-so, archived at https://perma.cc/3QZ6-58HS. 

11 BJP Lawmakers Plan Anti-conversion Bills in LS, RS, INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS TIMES (Nov. 9, 2015), 

http://www.ibtimes.co.in/bjp-members-introduce-bill-criminalising-religion-conversion-653925, archived at

https://perma.cc/W4AD-QSVS; Indian Parliament Will Consider Criminalizing Religious Liberty, ORGANIZATION 

FOR MINORITIES OF INDIA (Nov. 5, 2015), http://www.minoritiesofindia.org/indian-parliament-will-considercriminalizing-religious-liberty/, archived at https://perma.cc/U7SM-567E. 

12 National Anti-conversion Law Not Tenable: Law Ministry, DECCAN CHRONICLE (Apr. 15, 2015), 

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/471944/national-anti-conversion-law-not.html, archived at

https://perma.cc/D4JD-SEBB. 

13 CONSTITUTION OF INDIA, Seventh Sched., http://lawmin.nic.in/olwing/coi/coi-english/coi-4March2016.pdf, 

archived at https://perma.cc/H8TF-SAVH.

14 The status and requirements of state laws are visually represented in the maps and graphs that appear at the end of 

this report.

15 Huff, supra note 4, at 6.

16 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, BUREAU OF DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS AND LABOR, INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS 

FREEDOM REPORT FOR 2015: INDIA, https://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/religiousfreedom/index.htm?year=2015& 

dlid=256305, archived at https://perma.cc/VC7W-EKND. 

17 USCIRF, ANNUAL REPORT 2013: INDIA 4, 

https://www.uscirf.gov/sites/default/files/resources/India%202013(1).pdf, archived at https://perma.cc/2QJX-KLEB. 
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In the 1980s, the target of anti-conversion legislation was largely Muslims seeking to convert 

non-Muslims, while “Christianity has received more attention since the 1990s because of its 

association with Western-style colonialism and the role active proselytizing plays in the course 

of being a good Christian.”18

While there are some variations between the state laws, they are very similar in their content and 

structure. According to one researcher,

[t]he goal has been essentially the same in each draft bill: to constrain the ability 

of communities and individuals to convert ‘from the religion of one’s forefathers,’ 

often in the name of protecting those making up the ‘weaker’ or more easily 

‘influenced’ sectors of society—namely women, children, backward castes and 

untouchables.19

The anti-conversion laws in Rajasthan and Arunachal appear to exclude reconversions to 

“native” or “original” faiths.20

All of these laws seek to “prevent conversions ‘carried out’ by ‘forcible or ‘fraudulent’ means or 

by ‘allurement’ or ‘inducement.’ ”21 Penalties for breaching the laws can range from monetary 

fines to imprisonment; the laws impose punishments ranging from one to three years of 

imprisonment and fines of 5,000 to 50,000 Indian rupees (about US$74 to $735).22 Some of the 

laws provide for stiffer punishments if women, children, or members of scheduled castes or 

schedule tribes (SC/ST), are being converted.23

III. Examination of State-Level Legislation

A. Odisha (Formerly Orissa)

Odisha was the first state to enact anti-conversion legislation, the Orissa Freedom of Religion 

Act, 1967.24 Section 3 of that Act stipulates that “[n]o person shall convert or attempt to convert, 

 18 Coleman, supra note 3, at 26. 

19 Coleman, supra note 3, at 23. 

20 Rajshree Chandra, Converting Religion, Converting Law: Rajshree Chandra, KAFILA (Dec. 24, 2014), 

https://kafila.online/2014/12/24/converting-religion-converting-law-rajshree-chandra/, archived at

https://perma.cc/T6D2-HFAJ. 

21 BECKET FUND FOR RELIGIOUS LIBERTY, SUBMISSION ON UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL: UNIVERSAL 

PERIODIC REVIEW: INDIA 2 (Nov. 20, 2007).

22 INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM REPORT FOR 2015: INDIA, supra note 16; see also South Asia Human Rights 

Documentation Centre, Anti-Conversion Laws: Challenges to Secularism and Fundamental Rights, 43(2) ECON. &

POL. WKLY. 71 (Jan. 12, 2008), available at https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/40276904.pdf, archived at 

https://perma.cc/4HKT-85SJ. 

23 Testimony of Katrina Lantos Swett, Vice Chair USCIRF, Before the Lantos Human Rights Commission on the 

Plight of Religious Minorities in India 5 (Apr. 4, 2014), https://www.uscirf.gov/sites/default/files/India testimony 

TLHRC April 2014 FINAL.pdf, archived at https://perma.cc/GF6E-YCBK. 

24 Orissa Freedom of Religion Act, No. 2 of 1968, http://lawodisha.gov.in/files/acts/act_884132771_ 

1437987451.pdf, archived at https://perma.cc/FGQ5-WQ9L; Tahir Mahmood, Religion, Law, and Judiciary in 
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either directly or otherwise, any person from one religious faith to another by the use of force or 

by inducement or by any fraudulent means nor shall any person abet any such conversion.”25

Similar provisions appear in all current anti-conversion laws.

26 The crime of “forcible 

conversion” is punishable with imprisonment, which may extend to one year, or with fine of up 

to 5,000 rupees, or both.27 If the crime is committed against a minor, a woman, or a person 

belonging to an SC/ST, the term of imprisonment may be increased to a maximum of two years

and the fine increased to 10,000 rupees.28

The Act defines conversion as “renouncing one religion and adopting another.”29 It further

defines “force” to “include a show of force or a threat of injury of any kind, including the threat 

of divine displeasure or social excommunication.”30 Under the Act, “inducement” includes “the 

offer of any gift or gratification, either in cash or in kind, and shall also include the grant of any 

benefit, either pecuniary or otherwise,”31 and “fraud” is defined to include “misrepresentation or 

any other fraudulent contrivance.”32

Crimes under the Act are cognizable offenses,33 meaning an investigation or an arrest can be 

made without a warrant or authorization of a court. However, an investigation can only be made 

by an officer not below the rank of an Inspector of Police.34

In 1989, the Orissa Freedom of Religion Rules35 were issued, which “required the priest 

performing the ceremony of conversion to ‘intimate the date, time[,] and place of the ceremony . 

. . along with the names and addresses of the persons to be converted to the concerned District 

Magistrate before fifteen days of the said ceremony.’ ”36 Failure to do so would result in a fine 

of 1,000 rupees.37

 

Modern India, BYU L. REV. 761 (Sept. 12, 2006), https://ael.eui.eu/wp-content/uploads/sites/28/2014/05/Evans-19-

Background-Mahmood.pdf, archived at https://perma.cc/9Y9F-M22E. 

25 Orissa Freedom of Religion Act § 3.

26 South Asia Human Rights Documentation Centre, supra note 22, at 64. 

27 Orissa Freedom of Religion Act § 4. 

28 Id.

29 Id. § 2(a).

30 Id. § 2(b).

31 Id. § 2(d).

32 Id. § 2(c).

33 Id. § 5.

34 Id.

35 Orissa Freedom of Religion Rules, 1989, available at http://www.kandhamal.net/DownloadMat/Orissa_ 

Freedom_of_Religion_Rules.pdf, archived at https://perma.cc/EAZ9-FC8A. 

36 AMERICAN CENTER FOR LAW AND JUSTICE, “RELIGIOUS FREEDOM ACTS”: ANTI-CONVERSION LAWS IN INDIA 2 

(June 26, 2009), http://media.aclj.org/pdf/freedom_of_religion_acts.pdf, archived at https://perma.cc/QFM3-TU24. 

37 Orissa Freedom of Religion Rules, 1989, Rule 8. 
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In 1973, the High Court of Orissa declared that the Orissa Freedom of Religion Act, 1967 is 

“ultra vires the Constitution.”38 The Court held in its conclusions that article 25(1) of the 

Constitution “guarantees propagation of religion and conversion is a part of the Christian 

religion,” that “the term ‘inducement’ is vague and many proselytizing activities may be covered 

by the definition and the restriction in Article 25(1) cannot be said to cover the wide definition,” 

and that the state legislature lacked the competence or jurisdiction to make the law in question on 

the topic of “religion” under the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution.

39 However, this decision 

was overturned by the Supreme Court of India in Rev. Stainislaus v. State of Madhya Pradesh, 

which is discussed in more detail below.

B. Madhya Pradesh

The State of Madhya Pradesh was the second state to enact an anti-conversion law, the Madhya 

Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, 1968.

40 Instead of using the term “inducement,” the Act uses 

the term “allurement,” which is defined under section 2(a) as an “offer of any temptation in the 

form of (i) any gift or gratification, either in cash or kind; (ii) grant of any material benefit, either 

monetary or otherwise.”41 Section 3 of the Act states that “[n]o person shall convert or attempt 

to convert, either directly or otherwise, any person from one religious faith to another by the use 

[of] force or by allurement or by any fraudulent means nor shall any person abet any such 

conversion.”42 The crime is punishable with imprisonment, which may extend to one year, a fine 

of up to 5,000 rupees, or both.43 If the crime is committed against a minor, woman, or person 

belonging to an SC/ST, the term of imprisonment is up to two years and the fine may be up to 

10,000 rupees.

44 Under section 5 of the Act, notice of the conversion must be given to the 

District Magistrate by the religious priest or the person who converts any person45 “within seven 

days after the date of such ceremony.”46

Unlike the Orissa High Court, in 1977 the Madya Pradesh High Court upheld the Madhya 

Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, 1968, holding that the relevant sections “establish the equality 

of religious freedom for all citizens by prohibiting conversion by objectionable activities such, as 

conversion by force, fraud and by allurement.”47

 38 Yulitha Hyde & Ors. v. State of Orissa & Ors., A.I.R. 1973 116 (Ori), ¶ 12.

39 Id.

40 Madhya Pradesh Dharm a Swatantrya Adhiniyam [Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act], 1968, available at 

http://www.kandhamal.net/DownloadMat/Madhya_Pradesh_Freedom_of_Religion_Act.pdf, archived at

https://perma.cc/7H96-2Y5A; Madhya Pradesh Dharma Swatantrya [Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act] 

Rules, 1969, http://www.kandhamal.net/DownloadMat/Madhya_Pradesh_Freedom_of_Religion_Rules.pdf, 

archived at https://perma.cc/L6UG-7SZ3. 

41 Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act § 2(a).

42 Id. § 3.

43 Id. § 4. 

44 Id. 

45 Id. § 5.

46 Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act Rules, 1969, Rule 3(1).

47 Rev. Stainislaus v. State of Madhya Pradesh & Ors., 1977 A.I.R. 908 (citing High Court of Madhya Pradesh).
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Madhya Pradesh unsuccessfully sought to enact amending legislation in 2006 that would have 

required the priest to also provide notice to the District Magistrate one month prior to such 

conversion, giving “details of the related religion’s purification ceremony in which such 

conversion takes place along with the date, time, place and the name and address of the person 

whose religion is going to be changed.”48 Failure to do so would have been punishable by up to 

one year in prison, a fine of up to 5,000 rupees, or both.49 In addition, the amendment would 

have required the person who desired to convert to another religion to declare his or her intent to 

change religions “in front of [a] District Magistrate or in front of the Executive Magistrate 

specially authorized by [the] District Magistrate of [a] related District, that he wishes to change 

his religion on his own and at his will and pleasure.”50 Failure to declare would have been 

punishable by a fine of 1,000 rupees.51 After receiving the information, the District Magistrate 

was to provide the details to the Police Superintendent, who in turn would have investigated the 

matter to ensure there were no objections to the conversion52 and reported his or her findings 

back to the District Magistrate.53 However, the Madhya Pradesh Governor Balram Jakhar 

referred the amending bill to the President who refused to grant it assent because he felt it 

“violated the freedom of religion guaranteed in the Constitution because it insists on 

prior permission.”54

The Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly approved a similar amendment to the state’s 1968 

anti-conversion law in August 2013 “that would make the law more stringent.”55 According to a 

news report, the 2013 amendment would enhance jail terms and fines for forced conversions (up 

to three years and the fine of up to 50,000 rupees, and in the case of a minor, a woman, or a

person belonging to an SC/ST up to four years and a fine of up to 100,000 rupees) and make it

compulsory for the priest to request prior permission for the proposed conversion before 

conversion, and the person who has converted would be required to inform authorities within a 

stipulated period of time.

56 However, the state’s governor has yet to grant assent to the law.57

 48 Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Act, 2006 (adding revised ¶ II and new § 5(2)), available at

http://www.kandhamal.net/DownloadMat/Madhya_Pradesh_Freedom_of_Religion_Act_amendment.pdf, archived 

at https://perma.cc/XQ8D-THVL. 

49 Id. § 5(5). 

50 Id. § 5(1).

51 Id. § 5(4).

52 Id. § 5(3).

53 Id.

54 MP Govt Moves Bill to Make Anti-conversion Law Stringent, THE INDIAN EXPRESS (July 10, 2013), 

http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/mp-govt--moves-bill-to-make-anti-conversion-law-stringent/1139927/, 

archived at https://perma.cc/49Z2-UGUV. 

55 Testimony of Katrina Lantos Swett, supra note 23, at 5.

56 MP Govt Moves Bill to Make Anti-conversion Law Stringent, supra note 54; Anti-conversion Law Being Misused 

in MP: Archbishop, THE INDIAN EXPRESS (Jan. 24, 2016), http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-newsindia/archbishop-says-anti-conversion-law-misused-in-madhya-pradesh/, archived at https://perma.cc/NC37-E3Z5. 

57 Testimony of Katrina Lantos Swett, supra note 23, at 5.
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C. Arunachal Pradesh

Following the High Court cases in Orissa and Madhya Pradesh, anti-conversion legislation was 

implemented in the states of Andra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Arunachal Pradesh in 1978. The 

State of Arunachal Pradesh’s anti-conversion provisions are contained in the Arunachal Pradesh 

Freedom of Religion Act, 1978, and are along similar lines to those enacted in Orissa and 

Madhya Pradesh.

58 The law was passed “[i]n view of the perceived threat to indigenous 

religions.”59 It received presidential assent on October 25, 1978. Section 3 of the Act stipulates 

that “[n]o person shall convert or attempt to convert, either directly or otherwise, any person 

from one religious faith to any other religious faith by the use of force or by inducement or by 

any fraudulent means nor shall any person abet any such conversion.”60 Conversion “means 

renouncing one religious faith and adopting another religious faith, and ‘convert’ shall be 

construed accordingly.”61 Under the law religious faith includes indigenous faith, which is 

defined as

religions, beliefs and practices including rites, rituals, festivals, observances, 

performances, abstinence, customs as have been found sanctioned, approved, 

performed by the indigenous communities of Arunachal Pradesh from the time 

these communities have been known and includes Buddhism as prevalent among 

Monpas, Menbas, Sherdukpens, Khambas, Khamtis and Singaphoos, 

Vaishnavism as practised by Noctes, Akas, and Nature worships including 

worships of Donyi-Polo, as prevalent among other indigenous communities of 

Arunachal Pradesh.62

Some reports appear to construe the law’s definition of “conversion” in a manner that excludes

reconversions to native faiths,

63 but it is unclear if this is a mistake or as a result of some 

amendment that could not be located. Some human rights organizations and legal scholars have 

criticized this aspect of the law since its real intent is to prevent or regulate conversions to faiths 

such as Christianity and Islam, and exempt “reconversions,”64 raising the issue of equal 

protection and treatment under the law.65

 58 Arunachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, 1978, http://acts.gov.in/AR/2897.pdf, archived at

https://perma.cc/9THA-9M2C. 

59 CHRISTIANITY AND CHANGE IN NORTHEAST INDIA 234 (Tanka Bahadur Subba et al. eds., 2016).

60 Arunachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act § 3.

61 Id. § 2(b).

62 Id. § 2(c).

63 See, e.g., South Asia Human Rights Documentation Centre, supra note 22, at 64. 

64 Tehmina Arora, International Institute for Religious Freedom, India’s Defiance of Religious Freedom: A Briefing 

on ‘Anti-Conversion’ Laws, 1(2) IIRF REPORTS 5 (Feb. 2012), http://www.iirf.eu/fileadmin/user_upload/IIRF_ 

Reports/iirf_rep_2_1_india.pdf, archived at https://perma.cc/4SWA-R4WX.

65 WEN-CHEN CHANG ET AL., CONSTITUTIONALISM IN ASIA: CASES AND MATERIALS 816 (2014).
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The term “force” in the law includes a “show of force or a threat of injury of any kind including 

threat of divine displeasure or social excommunication.”66 The term “fraud” is defined to 

include “misrepresentation or any other fraudulent contrivance,”67 and “inducement” means “the 

offer of any gift or gratification, either cash or in kind and shall also include the grant of any 

benefit, either pecuniary or otherwise.”68 The crime of forcible conversion is punishable with 

imprisonment of up to two years and fine of up to 10,000 rupees.69 Section 5 of the Act requires 

notice of a conversion by the priest or “[w]hoever converts any person” within a prescribed 

period to be established by subsidiary rules.70

However, the law does not appear to be enforced because the government has yet to frame the 

rules needed to implement it.

71

D. Chhattisgarh

The State of Chhattisgarh was established in November 2000 as a result of the partitioning of the 

southeastern districts of Madhya Pradesh. Chhattisgarh reportedly retained the anti-conversion 

law of Madhya Pradesh and adopted it under the title Chhattisgarh Freedom of Religion 

Act, 1968.72 The subsidiary rules for implementation of the Act were also retained.73

The rise of Hindu Nationalism and the BJP party in Chhattisgarh since the 1990s has led to the 

passage of a number of anti-conversion laws between 2000 and 2010.

74 Moreover, attempts 

were made during this period to make pre-existing laws more stringent. 

In 2006, the state legislature, in which the BJP held a majority, passed an amendment to the 1968 

Act to make it more stringent, but the measure is still awaiting assent. The amendment would 

redefine “conversion” to provide that “the return in ancestor’s original religion or his own 

original religion by any person shall not be construed as ‘conversion’.”75 The measure would 

also increase the punishment and fines for forced conversion,

76 require prior permission from a 

district magistrate before a conversion takes place, stipulate that notice must be given to the 

 66 Arunachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act § 2(d).

67 Id. § 2(e).

68 Id. § 2(f).

69 Id. § 4.

70 Id. § 5.

71 INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM REPORT FOR 2015: INDIA, supra note 16.

72 Chhattisgarh Passes Anti-conversion Bill, GULF NEWS (Aug. 4, 2006 ), http://gulfnews.com/news/asia/india/ 

chhattisgarh-passes-anti-conversion-bill-1.248514, archived at https://perma.cc/9RK6-6XZ4; Saadiya Suleman, 

Note, Freedom of Religion and Anti Conversion Laws in India: An Overview, 1(1) ILI L. REV. 106, 118 (Feb. 1, 

2010), https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1597854, archived at https://perma.cc/9WMZ-UZ69. 

73 South Asia Human Rights Documentation Centre, supra note 22, at 63. 

74 GOLDIE OSURI, RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN INDIA: SOVEREIGNTY AND (ANTI) CONVERSION 2 (2013)

75 Chhattisgarh Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Act, No. 18 of 2006, § 2.

76 Id. § 3. 
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magistrate thirty days prior to the conversion, and authorize the magistrate after an inquiry order 

to “permit or refuse to permit any person to convert, any person, from one religious faith to 

another and such permission shall be valid for two months from the date of its order.”77 This 

order would only be appealable to a district judge “whose decision shall be final.”78 The bill 

states that anyone found guilty of converting any person in contravention of the district 

magistrate’s order commits a cognizable offense punishable by imprisonment for up to three 

years and a fine of up to 20,000 rupees.79 

According to an Indian Express article published in late 2014, the bill is being reviewed by the 

Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) after previous governors of Chhattisgarh refused to give 

their assent.80

E. Gujarat

The anti-conversion law in the state of Gujarat was enacted as the Gujarat Freedom of Religion 

Act, 2003.81 The purpose of the Act is to prohibit conversions from one religion to another by 

use of force, allurement, or fraudulent means. 

Section 3 of the Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act, 2003 prohibits forcible conversion and states 

that “[n]o person shall convert or attempt to convert, either directly or otherwise, any person 

from one religion to another by use of force or by allurement or by any fraudulent means nor 

shall any person abet such conversion.”82 Unlike the legislation of other states, however, the 

wording of the definition of “convert” is slightly different, and means “to make one person to 

renounce one religion and adopt another religion.”83 Any person who contravenes section 3 is 

punishable by imprisonment for up to three years and is also liable to a fine up to 50,000

rupees.

84 If the crime is committed against a minor, woman, or person belonging to an SC/ST, it 

is “punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to four years and also 

be liable to fine which may extend to [Rs. 100,000].”85

Unlike the other state acts where only prior or subsequent notice is required, under section 5 of 

the Gujarat Act, a person wanting to convert must seek prior permission from the District 

 77 Id. § 4.

78 Id.

79 Id.

80 Vijaita Singh, MHA Examining Chhattisgarh’s Anti-conversion Bill, INDIAN EXPRESS (Dec. 22, 2014),

http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/mha-examining-chhattisgarhs-anti-conversion-bill/, archived at

https://perma.cc/98H5-TBDJ. 

81 Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act, 2003, available at https://home.gujarat.gov.in/Upload/Gujarat Freedom of 

Religion Act2003_new_home_1_1_221015.pdf, archived at https://perma.cc/7VBX-BGTP.

82 Id. § 3.

83 Id. § 2(b).

84 Id. § 4.

85 Id.
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Magistrate with respect to the conversion.86 The section also requires the person who is 

converted to send a notice to the District Magistrate of the “[district] concerned in which the 

ceremony has taken place of the fact of such conversion within such period and in such form as 

may be prescribed by rules.”87 The Gujarat Freedom of Religion Rules 2008 stipulate that such 

a notice should be given “within ten days from the date of such conversion ceremony.” Failure 

to comply with these permission or notice provisions is punishable by imprisonment for up to 

one year or a fine of up to 1,000 rupees, or both.88

On July 21, 2006, an amendment bill known as the Gujarat Freedom of Religion (Amendment) 

Act, 2006, was passed by the BJP state-level government.

89 The bill’s aim was to replace 

section 2(b) of the original Act, which defined the word “convert,” and to provide clarifying 

explanations. The amendment sought to clarify that the provisions of the Act “shall not apply to 

inter-denomination conversion of the same religion.”90 The substitute language for section 2(b) 

read as follows:

(b) “Convert” means to make one person to renounce one religion and adopt 

another religion; but does not include to make one person to renounce 

one denomination and adopt another denomination of the same religion. 

Explanation: For removal of doubt, it is hereby illustrated that for the purpose of 

this Act: 

(i) Jain and Buddhist shall be construed as denominations of Hindu 

religion; 

(ii) Shia and Sunni shall be construed as denominations of Muslim religion; 

and 

(iii) Catholic and Protestant shall be construed as denominations of 

Christian religion.91

Buddhist and Jain communities, however, raised objection to being subsumed as a denomination 

of the Hindu religion when the bill was introduced in 2006.92 The state government withdrew

the bill after the governor returned it for reconsideration.93 According to the South Asia Human 

Rights Documentation Centre,

 86 Id. § 5.

87 Id. § 5(2).

88 Id. § 5(3).

89 Gujarat Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Bill, 2006, http://www.kandhamal.net/DownloadMat/Gujarat_ 

Freedom_of_Religion_Act_amendment.pdf, archived at https://perma.cc/F2C8-QQYT. 

90 Id. Statement of Objects & Reasons. 

91 Id. § 2.

92 Gujarat Withdraws Freedom of Religion Amendment Bill, THE INDIAN EXPRESS (Mar. 11, 2008), http://archive. 

indianexpress.com/news/gujarat-withdraws-freedom-of-religion-amendment-bill/282818/, archived at 

https://perma.cc/K77H-J859. 

93 Id.
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[w]hile returning the amendment bill to the legislature, the governor stated that 

the explanations it contained “stipulating that the Jains and Buddhists . . . be 

construed as denominations of the Hindu religion, Shias and Sunnis of the 

Muslim religion and Catholics and Protestants of the Christian religion” were 

particularly objectionable. The Jain community had been especially vociferous in 

protesting against the amendment.94

F. Himachal Pradesh

The Himachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, 200695 is “modelled on existing anticonversion laws in other Indian states” and came into effect on February 18, 2007.96 According 

to the South Asia Human Rights Documentation Centre, “[i]ts adoption is particularly ironic in 

view of the fact that the state government is led by the Congress Party, which has consistently 

sought to highlight its ‘secular’ credentials.”97

Section 3 of the Act prohibits conversion “by the use of force or by inducement or by any other 

fraudulent means.”98 One important difference, however, is that “[t]he proviso to the prohibition 

clause of the Himachal Pradesh Act further goes on to declare that ‘any person who has been 

converted from one religion to another, in contravention of the provisions of this section, shall be 

deemed not to have been converted.’ ”99 The Himachal Pradesh Act also uses the term 

“inducement” instead of “allurement.”100

Section 4(1) of the Act requires any person wishing to convert to another religion to give at least 

thirty days’ prior notice to district authorities. However, “no notice shall be required if a person 

reverts back to his original religion.”101 Notice of a conversion must be made to the Deputy 

Commissioner;102 failure to do so is subject to punishment.103 According to section 5, an offense 

under section 3 is punishable with imprisonment for up to two years, a fine of up to 25,000 

 94 South Asia Human Rights Documentation Centre, supra note 22, at 64.

95 The text of the Himachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, 2006, could not be located but is believed to be 

identical to the original bill text. See Himachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Bill, No. 31 of 2006,

http://www.kandhamal.net/ DownloadMat/Himachal_ Pradesh_Freedom_of_Religion-Act.pdf, archived at 

https://perma.cc/34KX-64D8.

96 South Asia Human Rights Documentation Centre, supra note 22, at 64. 

97 Id.

98 Himachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Bill § 2.

99 Suleman, supra note 72, at 120; see also Himachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Bill § 3.

100 Himachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Bill § 2(d). 

101 Id. § 4(1). 

102 Id.

103 Id. § 4(2).
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rupees, or both.

104 In the case of the conversion of a minor, woman, or SC/ST, the term of 

imprisonment may extend to three years and the fine may be increased to 50,000 rupees.105

In a landmark decision, the Himachal Pradesh High Court struck down section 4 of the Act and 

Rules 3 and 5 of the Himachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Rules 2007.

106 The Court held that 

these provisions were in violation of article 14 of the Constitution, and that “a person not only 

has a right of conscience, the right of belief, the right to change his belief, but also has the right 

to keep his beliefs secret.”107 The Court, after examining the anti-conversion laws in Madhya 

Pradesh and Orissa, came to the conclusion “that the Himachal Act had gone beyond the other 

two Acts and had infringed on the fundamental rights of the convertees,”108 according to a 

news report.

109

G. Rajasthan

Rajasthan State’s Parliament also passed an anti-conversion bill in 2006,

110 but it was never 

given assent by the state’s governor.

111 According to one report, the governor “did not sign the 

bill because of complaints by religious minorities.”112 Under the bill, “conversion” was defined 

as “renouncing one’s own religion and adopting another,” and “own religion” was described as 

“[the] religion of one’s forefathers.”113 Punishment for conversion is two years’ imprisonment, 

which may extend to five years, and fines of up to fifty thousand rupees.114 The offense is 

“cognizable and non-bailable and shall not be investigated by an officer below the rank of 

Deputy Superintendent of Police.”115

 104 Id. § 5.

105 Id. § 5.

106 Himachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Rules, 2007, http://www.olir.it/ricerca/getdocumentopdf.php?lang= 

ita&Form_object_id=5901, archived at https://perma.cc/AS8H-M9NN. 

107 Ravinder Makhaik, HC Partially Strikes Down Himachal’s Anti-conversion Law, TIMES OF INDIA (Aug. 31, 

2012), http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/HC-partially-strikes-down-Himachals-anti-conversionlaw/articleshow/16036603.cms, archived at https://perma.cc/DQS6-PWPB.

108 Id.

109 Id.

110 Rajasthan Freedom of Religion Bill, No. 12 of 2006, http://www.kandhamal.net/DownloadMat/Rajasthan_ 

Freedom_of_Religion_Bill.pdf, archived at https://perma.cc/FPY9-ZDS2. 

111 Cable 64917: Rajasthan Governor Refuses to Sign Anti-conversion Bill, THE HINDU (Apr. 21, 2011; updated

Sept. 27, 2016), http://www.thehindu.com/news/the-india-cables/the-cables/64917-Rajasthan-governor-refuses-tosign-anti-conversion-bill/article14690462.ece, archived at https://perma.cc/GYS9-7Q8W. 

112 Rajasthan Religion Bill Rejected, BBC NEWS, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4996708.stm (last updated 

May, 19, 2006), archived at https://perma.cc/6P9E-KQKA. 

113 Rajasthan Freedom of Religion Bill § 2(c).

114 Id. § 4.

115 Id. § 5.
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H. Tamil Nadu

The Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Forcible Conversion of Religion Ordinance 2002116 was issued 

but was subsequently replaced by the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Forcible Conversion of 

Religion Act 2002117 in the same year. The Act, now repealed, was passed under the initiative of 

the right-wing government under former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, the late Jayaram 

Jayalalithaa. The Act adhered to the general framework as laid down in the Orissa Freedom of 

Religion Act 1967. Section 3 stated that “[n]o person shall convert or attempt to convert directly 

or otherwise any person from one religion to another either by use of force or by allurement or 

by any fraudulent means.”118 Anyone who “converts any person from one religion to another 

either by performing any ceremony by himself for such conversion as a religious priest or by 

taking part directly or indirectly in such ceremony shall” be required to send notice to the District 

Magistrate within the prescribed period.119 The Act imposed a fine of up to 50,000 rupees and 

three years of imprisonment on anyone found guilty of coercing religious conversions.120 If the 

conversions involved women, minors, or members of the SC/ST, a fine of 1,000,000 rupees and 

four years of imprisonment were imposed.121

Thousands of Dalits converted to Christianity and Buddhism without approval from the local 

magistrate in protest of the new anti-conversion laws.122 On May 21, 2004, due to electoral 

implications and representation from minorities against the anti-conversion provisions,123 the 

Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Forcible Conversion of Religion Act was repealed by the 

state government.124

 116 The Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Forcible Conversion of Religion Ordinance, BERKLEY CENTER FOR RELIGION,

PEACE, AND WORLD AFFAIRS (Jan. 1, 2002), https://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/quotes/the-tamil-naduprohibition-of-forcible-conversion-of-religion-ordinance, archived at https://perma.cc/P4L3-K7UK. 

117 Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Forcible Conversion of Religion Act, No. 56 of 2002, available at

http://www.lawsofindia.org/pdf/tamil_nadu/2002/2002TN56.pdf, archived at https://perma.cc/6X4B-8YRS.

118 Id. § 3.

119 Id. § 5(1).

120 Id. § 4.

121 Id.

122 Crackdown over India Mass Baptism, BBC NEWS (Dec. 6, 2002), http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/ 

2548471.stm, archived at https://perma.cc/NN75-3L5K.

123 Government Announces Anti-Conversion Law Not in Force in Tamil Nadu, India, CHRISTIAN TODAY (May 25, 

2005), http://www.christiantoday.com/article/government.announces.anti.conversion.law.not.in.force.in. 

tamil.nadu.india/2969.htm, archived at https://perma.cc/4T4K-9U8N.

124 Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Forcible Conversion of Religion (Repeal) Act, 2006, GOVERNMENT GAZETTE 

EXTRAORDINARY, June 7, 2006, http://cms.tn.gov.in/sites/default/files/acts/ACT_10to12_131_07JUN06_0.pdf,

archived at https://perma.cc/5TL5-C554; 
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IV. Treatment by the Supreme Court

The Constitution of India guarantees the freedom to profess, practice, and propagate one’s 

religion under article 25. The Supreme Court in the case of Ratilal Panachand Gandhi v. State 

of Bombay clarified this provision by holding that 

every person has a fundamental right under our Constitution not merely to 

entertain such religious belief as may be approved of by his judgment or 

conscience but to exhibit his belief and ideas in such overt acts as are enjoined or 

sanctioned by his religion and further to propagate his religious views for 

edification of others.125

The Supreme Court in Rev Stainislaus v. State of Madhya Pradesh126 examined whether the right 

to practice and propagate one’s religion also included the right to convert. The Court upheld the 

validity of the earliest anti-conversion statutes: the Madhya Pradesh Dharma Swatantraya 

Adhiniyam, 1968, and the Orissa Freedom of Religion Act, 1967. As summarized by Professor 

Laura Jenkins, the Court found that “restrictions on efforts to convert are constitutional because 

such efforts impinge on ‘freedom of conscience’ and ‘public order’.”127 In one of its conclusions 

the Court held that propagation only indicated persuasion/exposition without coercion and that 

the right to propagate did not include the right to convert any person. This holding was summed 

up by the Court as follows:

It has to be remembered that Article 25(1) guarantees “freedom of conscience” to 

every citizen, and not merely to the followers of one particular religion, and that, 

in turn, postulates that there is no fundamental right to convert another person to 

one’s own religion because if a person purposely undertakes the conversion of 

another person to his religion, as distinguished from his effort to transmit or 

spread the tenets of his religion, that would impinge on the “freedom of 

conscience” guaranteed to all the citizens of the country alike.

. . . 

It has to be appreciated that the freedom of religion enshrined in the Article [25] 

is not guaranteed in respect of one religion only, but covers all religions alike, and 

it can be properly enjoyed by a person if he exercises his right in a manner 

commensurate with the like freedom of persons following the other religions. 

What is freedom for one, is freedom for the other, in equal measure, and there can 

 125 Ratilal Panachand Gandhi v. State of Bombay, 1954 S.C.R. 1035, 1063, http://judis.nic.in/supremecourt/ 

imgs1.aspx?filename=949, archived at https://perma.cc/TNT3-EKTK.

126 Rev. Stainislaus v. State of Madhya Pradesh, (1977) 1 SCC 677 (Online).

127 Laura Dudley Jenkins, Legal Limits on Religious Conversion in India, 71 LAW & CONTEMP. PROBS. 109, 115 

(2008), http://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1469&context=lcp, archived at 

https://perma.cc/MM8W-K64C.
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therefore be no such thing as a fundamental right to convert any person to one’s 

own religion.128

Since article 25(1) stipulates that the right is subject to “public order,” the Court also found that 

the Acts “clearly provide for the maintenance of public order for, if forcible conversion had not 

been prohibited, that would have created public disorder in the States,” and that “the expression 

‘Public order’ is of wide connotation.”129 On the question of competency, the Court found that 

the Acts fall within the purview of the states pursuant to Entry I (“Public Order”) of List II of the 

Seventh Schedule and are not regulated as a subject of religion, which is under the residuary 

jurisdiction of the central legislature.130

V. Implementation and Enforcement

Human rights organizations and institutions have expressed concerns over the years about the 

rights implications of, and lack of equitable treatment under, these laws. According to the US 

Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), “[t]hese laws, based on concerns 

about unethical conversion tactics, generally require government officials to assess the legality of 

conversions out of Hinduism only, and provide for fines and imprisonment for anyone who uses 

force, fraud, or ‘inducement’ to convert another.”131

A report released by the USCIRF stated that although India emphasizes “complete legal 

equality” and prohibits faith-based discrimination, “there are constitutional provisions, State and 

national laws that do not comply with international standards of freedom of religion or belief, 

including Article 18 of the UN Declaration of Human Rights and Article 18 of the International 

Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.”132 The report also stated that “the anti-conversion laws 

both by their design and implementation infringe upon the individual’s right to convert, favor 

Hinduism over minority religions, and represent a significant challenge to Indian secularism.”133

In addition, “these laws have resulted in inequitable practices against minorities.”134

On the other hand, a Hindu advocacy group in the United States, the Hindu American 

Foundation, has claimed that 

Freedom of Religion laws were primarily formulated to prevent vulnerable 

populations or populations without power, such as children and those that are 

poor, uneducated, and illiterate from being preyed upon and falling victim to 

 128 Rev. Stainislaus v. State of Madhya Pradesh, supra note 126, ¶ 21.

129 Id. ¶ 24.

130 Id. ¶ 25.

131 USCIRF, ANNUAL REPORT 2016: INDIA 162, http://www.uscirf.gov/sites/default/files/USCIRF 2016 Annual 

Report.pdf, archived at https://perma.cc/A5NM-947L. 

132 KARAMAT CHEEMA, USCIRF, supra note 6, at 11.

133 Id. at 3.

134 Id. at 2.
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predatory efforts seeking religious conversion in exchange for or with the 

allurement of medical and humanitarian aid, education, or employment.135

Proponents view the laws as a restriction on conversion, “so as to preserve peace and harmony in 

plural India.”136

Despite criticism of India’s anti-conversion laws, some human rights bodies, including the 

USCIRF, have acknowledged that “these laws have resulted in few arrests and 

no convictions.”137

The US State Department’s International Religious Freedom reports published in 2010 and 2011

have also noted few arrests and no convictions under various anti-conversion laws during the 

respective reporting periods.138 According to the 2008 State Department report, “[t]here were 14 

reported arrests in 4 separate incidents under the Madhya Pradesh ‘anti-conversion’ law, 

compared with 11 arrested during the previous reporting period.”139 In March 2011, twelve 

members of a tribal community were arrested for converting to Christianity without a permit.140

The 2013 State Department report stated as follows:

In January NGOs reported that the Odisha police arrested two Christians, Bahadur 

Murmu and Rama Soreng, under the provisions of the state anti-conversion law in 

Dubia village of Baripada district after a group of Hindu nationalists accused the 

two of forcible conversions. Both were released on bail on January 20.

In July Gujarat Police filed charges against Maulvi Yusuf Khan Pathan and Altaf 

Mirza, who were arrested in 2011 under Gujarat’s anti-conversion law, for not 

seeking government permission to convert a Hindu woman to Islam before her 

marriage in 2010 to Mirza. Both Pathan and Mirza were out on bail at the end of 

the year. In 2009, civil rights groups brought a constitutional challenge to the 

Gujarat anti-conversion laws, but the Gujarat High Court has yet to hear the case.

 135 USCIRF Hearing – March 10, 2011, HINDU AMERICAN FOUNDATION, https://www.hafsite.org/media/pr/uscirfhearing-testimony, archived at https://perma.cc/3ZVM-6B32. 

136 Preethi Maria Correa, Anti-Conversion Laws in India and Their Conflict with Freedom of Religion (UNILU 

Center for Comparative Constitutional Law and Religion, Working Paper 01/13, 2013), https://www.unilu.ch/ 

fileadmin/fakultaeten/rf/institute/zrv/dok/wp01-13-correa.pdf, archived at https://perma.cc/DV9Z-DU5A. 

137 USCIRF ANNUAL REPORT 2014, Tier 2: India, at 122 (Apr. 30, 2014), http://www.uscirf.gov/sites/default/ 

files/USCIRF 2014 Annual Report PDF.pdf, https://perma.cc/B7VS-A53V.

138 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE: BUREAU OF DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS, AND LABOR, INTERNATIONAL 

RELIGIOUS FREEDOM 2010: INDIA (Nov. 17, 2010), http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/2010/148792.htm, archived at

https://perma.cc/8LFV-4UWK. 

139 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE: BUREAU OF DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS, AND LABOR, INTERNATIONAL 

RELIGIOUS FREEDOM 2008: INDIA (2008), https://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/2008/108500.htm, archived at

https://perma.cc/G979-LFU4. 

140 European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ), Universal Periodic Review: Religions Freedom in India (May–June 

2012), https://7676076fde29cb34e26d-759f611b127203e9f2a0021aa1b7da05.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com/eclj/ECLJ-UPRIndia-November-2011.pdf, archived at https://perma.cc/F2HE-RN9C.
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On October 13, approximately 60,000 Dalits and other lower-caste Hindus 

converted to Buddhism in a mass ceremony near Junagadh, Gujarat. The Gujarat 

government ordered an investigation to see if the converts followed the law, 

which requires government permission to perform conversions. The organizers 

stated they obtained necessary government permission, but media quoted the 

District Collector, who needed to approve the conversions, as saying the group 

had only secured permission to assemble, but not to perform religious 

conversions.141

Nevertheless, according to the USCIRF, some observers note that

these laws create a hostile, and on occasion violent, environment for religious 

minority communities because they do not require any evidence to support 

accusations of wrongdoing. For example, in January 2016, police detained 15 

Christians in Karnataka state after members of two Hindu nationalists groups, 

Bajrang Sal and VHP, alleged that the church leaders were forcibly converting 

Hindus; they were released later without charge. In December 2015, eight 

Christians were acquitted of forced conversion in Puttar town, in Dakshina 

Kannada district, Karnataka state. They originally were charged in 2007, and 

were released until the hearing.142

There have been increasing reports of “reconversion” ceremonies of non-Hindus to Hinduism

conducted by hardline Hindu nationalist groups. A report published by the USCIRF observed 

that the “reconversion” to Hinduism under the term Ghar Wapsi (returning home) has not been 

included in the purview of any anti-conversion law. According to the report, “[s]uch exclusion 

of reconversion from the purview of the freedom of religion acts unavoidably suggests 

reconversion by use of force, fraud, or allurement is not punishable under the provisions of these 

acts.”143 In December 2014, “Hindu nationalist groups announced plans to ‘reconvert’ thousands 

of Christian and Muslims families to Hinduism as part of a so-called Ghar Wapsi (returning 

home) program.”144

 141 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE: BUREAU OF DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS, AND LABOR, INTERNATIONAL 

RELIGIOUS FREEDOM 2013: INDIA (July 28, 2014), https://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/2013/sca/222329.htm, archived 

at https://perma.cc/7S9S-Z2GQ. 

142 USCIRF ANNUAL REPORT 2016, Tier 2 Countries – India, supra note 10. 

143 KARAMAT CHEEMA, USCIRF, supra note 6, at 2.

144 USCIRF ANNUAL REPORT 2016, Tier 2 Countries – India, supra note 10.
The Law Library of Congress 19

Table: Elements of State Anti-conversion Laws

State In Force?

(Y/N)

Rules?

(Y/N)

Repealed?

(Y/N)

Reconversion 

Excluded?

(Y/N)

Prior 

Permission?

(Y/N)

Notice by 

Priest/Other 

Person 

Performing 

Conversion?

(Y/N)

Notice by 

Convert?

(Y/N)

General Penalties

Enhanced Penalties 

where Convert is 

Woman, Minor, SC/ST

Arunachal 

Pradesh

Y N N Y* N Y N 2 yrs. / Rs. 10,000 None

Chhattisgarh Y Y N N** N Y N 1 yr. / Rs. 5,000 2 yrs. / Rs. 10,000

Gujarat Y Y N N Y N Y 3 yrs. / Rs. 50,000 4 yrs. / Rs. 100,000

Himachal 

Pradesh

Y Y N N*** N N Y 2 yrs. / Rs. 25,000 3 yrs. / Rs. 50,000

Madhya 

Pradesh

Y Y N N N Y N 1 yr. / Rs. 5,000 2 yrs. / Rs. 10,000

Odisha Y Y N N N Y N 1 yr. / Rs. 5,000 2 yrs. / Rs. 10,000

Rajasthan N N N Y N N N 2 yrs. / Rs. 50,000 None

Tamil Nadu N N Y N N Y N 3 yrs. / Rs. 50,000 4 yrs. / Rs. 100,000

Source: Prepared by author based on information provided in this report.

 * Some reports appear to construe the law’s definition of “conversion” in a manner that excludes reconversions to native faiths, but this does not appear to be the case under a plain reading of the law.

** An amendment was passed which would redefine “conversion” to provide that “the return in ancestor’s original religion or his own original religion by any person shall not be construed as ‘conversion’” but it has 

yet to receive assent.

*** Though the law does not explicitly exclude reconversions from punishment it does stipulate that “no notice shall be required if a person reverts back to his original religion.”
The Law Library of Congress 20

Source: Created by the Law Library of Congress based on information contained in this report.

Source: Created by the Law Library of Congress based on information contained in this report.

0 1 2 3 4 5

Chhattisgarh

Madhya Pradesh

Odisha

Arunachal Pradesh

Himachal Pradesh

Rajasthan

Gujarat

Tamil Nadu

Figure 1: General and Enhanced Prison Terms for

Anti-conversion Violations

General Term in Years

Applicable Term where

Convert is Woman, Minor, or

SC/ST

0

10,00020,00030,00040,00050,00060,00070,00080,00090,000

100,000

Gujarat

Rajasthan

Tamil Nadu

Himachal

Pradesh

Arunachal

Pradesh

Chhattisgar

h

Madhya

Pradesh

Odisha

Figure 2: General and Enhanced Fines for 

Anti-conversion Violations

General Fine in Rupees

Applicable Fine where Convert is

Woman, Minor, or SC/ST
Jammu and

Kashmir

Uttarakhand

Bihar

Gujarat

Tamil

Nadu

Delhi

Arunachal

Pradesh

Tripura

Mizoram

Chhattisgarh

Andaman

and Nicobar

Islands

Lakshadweep

Puducherry

(Pondicherry)

Chandigarh

Rajasthan

Madhya

Pradesh

Daman

and Diu

Goa

Dadra and

Nagar

Haveli

Jharkhand

Telangana

Andhra

Pradesh

Himachal

Pradesh

Punjab

Haryana

Uttar

Pradesh

Maharashtra

Odisha

Karnataka

Meghalaya

Nagaland

Kerala

Sikkim

West

Bengal

Assam

Manipur

Status of State Anti-conversion Laws

Law currently in force with implementing rules

Law currently in force, but no implementing rules

Law passed but did not receive assent

Prior law repealed

No current or prior law identified

Source: Created by the Law Library of Congress based on information provided in this report.

State Anti-conversion Laws in India

The Law Library of Congress 21

Map 1
Jammu and

Kashmir

Uttarakhand

Bihar

Gujarat

Tamil

Nadu

Delhi

Arunachal

Pradesh

Tripura

Mizoram

Chhattisgarh

Andaman

and Nicobar

Islands

Lakshadweep

Puducherry

(Pondicherry)

Chandigarh

Rajasthan

Madhya

Pradesh

Daman

and Diu

Goa

Dadra and

Nagar

Haveli

Jharkhand

Telangana

Andhra

Pradesh

Himachal

Pradesh

Punjab

Haryana

Uttar

Pradesh

Maharashtra

Odisha

Karnataka

Meghalaya

Nagaland

Kerala

Sikkim

West

Bengal

Assam

Manipur

State Law Treatment of Re-Conversions

Re-conversions excluded from punishment

Re-conversions not excluded from punishment

No current or prior law identified

Source: Created by the Law Library of Congress based on information provided in this report.

State Anti-conversion Laws in India

The Law Library of Congress 22

Map 2
Jammu and

Kashmir

Uttarakhand

Bihar

Gujarat

Tamil

Nadu

Delhi

Arunachal

Pradesh

Tripura

Mizoram

Chhattisgarh

Andaman

and Nicobar

Islands

Lakshadweep

Puducherry

(Pondicherry)

Chandigarh

Rajasthan

Madhya

Pradesh

Daman

and Diu

Goa

Dadra and

Nagar

Haveli

Jharkhand

Telangana

Andhra

Pradesh

Himachal

Pradesh

Punjab

Haryana

Uttar

Pradesh

Maharashtra

Odisha

Karnataka

Meghalaya

Nagaland

Kerala

Sikkim

West

Bengal

Assam

Manipur

Conversion Permission and Notice Requirements

Prior permission and notice by convert

Notice by priest/other person

Notice by convert

No permission or notice required

No current or prior law identified

Source: Created by the Law Library of Congress based on information provided in this report.

The Law Library of Congress 23

State Anti-conversion Laws in India

Map 3