The Law Library of Congress, Global Legal Research Center 

(202) 707-5080 (phone) • (866) 550-0442 (fax) • law@loc.gov • http://www.law.gov

State Anti-conversion Laws in 

India

Updated October 2018
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.
Contents

I. History of Anti-conversion Laws ................................................................................................1 

II. Overview of State Initiatives .......................................................................................................3 

III. Examination of State-Level Legislation ....................................................................................4 

A. Odisha (Formerly Orissa).....................................................................................................4 

B. Madhya Pradesh ...................................................................................................................6 

C. Arunachal Pradesh................................................................................................................8 

D. Chhattisgarh .......................................................................................................................10 

E. Gujarat ................................................................................................................................11 

F. Himachal Pradesh ...............................................................................................................12 

G. Rajasthan .............................................................................................................................14 

H. Tamil Nadu ........................................................................................................................14 

I. Jharkhand .............................................................................................................................15 

J. Uttarakhand ........................................................................................................................16 

IV. Treatment by the Supreme Court ............................................................................................18 

V. Implementation and Enforcement ............................................................................................20 

A. Human Rights Concerns ....................................................................................................20 

B. Arrests and Convictions ....................................................................................................21 

Table: Elements of State Anti-conversion Laws ............................................................................23

Maps: 

1: Status of State Anti-Conversion Laws in India ...................................................................26 

2: State Law Treatment of Re-Conversions in India ...............................................................27 

3: Conversion Permission and Notice Requirements .............................................................28
The Law Library of Congress 1 

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 

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

Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Uttarakhand. 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, another person through “forcible” or 

“fraudulent” means, or by “allurement” or “inducement.” However, the anticonversion 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 the 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 

* The original 2017 version of 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. 
State Anti-conversion Laws in India 

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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 sought to enforce “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 Two 

 

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 

Conversion Grows, A Reminder: Five Indian States Have Already Done So, SCROLL.IN (Sept. 15, 2014), 
State Anti-conversion Laws in India 

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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 eight out of twenty-nine states: Arunachal Pradesh, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, 

Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Uttarakhand.16 The law in Arunachal 

Pradesh has not been implemented due to a lack of subsidiary rules. The State of Rajasthan has 

passed an anti-conversion bill, but it has yet to be signed by the President of India. Several other 

states, including Manipur, are reportedly “considering similar laws.”17 

In the 1980s, the target of anti-conversion legislation was largely Muslims seeking to convert nonMuslims, while “Christianity has received more attention since the 1990s because of its association 

 

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.dec 

canherald.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 Meghan G. Fischer, Anti-Conversion Laws and the International Response, 6 PENN. ST. J. L. & INT’L AFF. 1, 14 

(2018), https://elibrary.law.psu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1175&context=jlia, archived at

https://perma.cc/HUP5-6QNW. 

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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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 do not address 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$70 to $70422).23 Some of the 

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

schedule tribes (SC/ST) are being converted.24

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,

1967.25 Section 3 of that Act stipulates that “[n]o person shall convert or attempt to convert, either 

18 Coleman, supra note 3, at 26. 

19 Id. 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 One US dollar is currently equivalent to 71.02 Indian rupees. 

23 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. 

24 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. 

25 Orissa Freedom of Religion Act, No. 2 of 1968, http://lawodisha.gov.in/files/acts/act_884132771_ 1437 

987451.pdf, archived at https://perma.cc/FGQ5-WQ9L; Tahir Mahmood, Religion, Law, and Judiciary in 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. 
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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.”26 Similar 

provisions appear in all current anti-conversion laws.27 The crime of “forcible conversion” is 

punishable with imprisonment of up to one year, a fine of up to 5,000 rupees, or both.28 If the 

crime is committed against a minor, woman, or 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.29

The Act defines “conversion” as “renouncing one religion and adopting another.”30 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.”31 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,”32 and “fraud” is defined to include “misrepresentation or any other 

fraudulent contrivance.”33

Crimes under the Act are cognizable offenses,34 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.35

In 1989, the Orissa Freedom of Religion Rules36 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.’ ”37 Failure to do so would result in a fine of 

1,000 rupees.38 

 

26 Orissa Freedom of Religion Act § 3. 

27 South Asia Human Rights Documentation Centre, supra note 23, at 64. 

28 Orissa Freedom of Religion Act § 4. 

29 Id. 

30 Id. § 2(a). 

31 Id. § 2(b). 

32 Id. § 2(d). 

33 Id. § 2(c).

34 Id. § 5. 

35 Id. 

36 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. 

37 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. 

38 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.”39 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.40 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, 1968.41 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.”42 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.”43 The crime is punishable with imprisonment of up to one year, a fine of up to 5,000 

rupees, or both.44 If the crime is committed against a minor, woman, or person belonging to an 

SC/ST, the term of imprisonment may be increased to a maximum of two years and the fine up to 

10,000 rupees.45 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 person46 “within seven days after 

the date of such ceremony.”47

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 

 

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

40 Id. 

41 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. 

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

43 Id. § 3. 

44 Id. § 4. 

45 Id. 

46 Id. § 5. 

47 Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act Rules, 1969, Rule 3(1). 
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religious freedom for all citizens by prohibiting conversion by objectionable activities such, as 

conversion by force, fraud and by allurement.”48

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.”49 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.50 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.”51 Failure to declare would have been punishable by a 

fine of 1,000 rupees.52 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 conversion53 and reported his or her findings back to the District 

Magistrate.54 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.”55

The Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly approved a similar amendment to the state’s 1968 anticonversion law in August 2013 “that would make the law more stringent.”56 According to a news 

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

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

an SC/ST up to four years and a fine of up to 100,000 rupees), make it compulsory for the priest 

to request prior permission for the proposed conversion before conversion, and require the person 

48 Rev. Stainislaus v. State of Madhya Pradesh & Ors., 1977 A.I.R. 908 (citing High Court of Madhya Pradesh). 

49 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. 

50 Id. § 5(5). 

51 Id. § 5(1). 

52 Id. § 5(4). 

53 Id. § 5(3). 

54 Id. 

55 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. 

56 Testimony of Katrina Lantos Swett, supra note 23, at 5. 
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who has converted to inform authorities within a stipulated period of time.57 However, the state’s 

Governor has yet to grant assent to the law.58

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.59 The law, which was passed “[i]n view of the perceived threat to indigenous religions,”60

received presidential assent on October 25, 1978. However, it does not appear to be enforced 

because the government has yet to frame the rules needed to implement it. 

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.”61 

Conversion “means renouncing one religious faith and adopting another religious faith, and 

‘convert’ shall be construed accordingly.”62 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.63

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

reconversions to native faiths,64 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 

 

57 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. 

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

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

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

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

61 Arunachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act § 3. 

62 Id. § 2(b). 

63 Id. § 2(c). 

64 See, e.g., South Asia Human Rights Documentation Centre, supra note 23, at 64. 
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such as Christianity and Islam, and exempt “reconversions,”65 raising the issue of equal protection 

and treatment under the law.66 

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.”67 The term “fraud” is defined to include 

“misrepresentation or any other fraudulent contrivance,”68 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.”69 The crime of forcible conversion is punishable with imprisonment of 

up to two years and fine of up to 10,000 rupees.70 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.71

While enforcement of the law is lacking, the government of Arunachal Pradesh has reportedly 

announced that it plans to repeal the law.72 The announcement was made by the Chief Minister of 

Arunachal Pradesh in a function organized by the Arunachal Pradesh Catholic Association. The 

Chief Minister reasoned that the current Anti-conversion Law demoralizes people, targets only 

Christians, and will be “misused in the future by irresponsible officials.” He further stated that the 

misuse of this law will lead officials to torture people and spread violence, which will in turn 

“break Arunachal Pradesh into pieces.”73 Some commentators argue that there may be political 

motives behind such an action taken by the BJP party in advance of the 2019 elections. As 32% of 

the state population is Christian, the BJP party would benefit from support of the Christians in this 

state.74 However, the Arunachal Christian Forum has responded to these allegations by saying that 

there are no politics behind this action and that the history of past elections has proven this.75 

65 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. 

66 WEN-CHEN CHANG ET AL., CONSTITUTIONALISM IN ASIA: CASES AND MATERIALS 816 (2014). 

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

68 Id. § 2(e). 

69 Id. § 2(f). 

70 Id. § 4. 

71 Id. § 5. 

72 Arunachal Pradesh Govt Plans to Repeal Anti-conversion Law ahead of 2019 Polls; Tribal Leaders Oppose 

Move, FIRST POST (July 3, 2018), https://www.firstpost.com/india/arunachal-pradesh-govt-plans-to-repeal-anticonversion-law-ahead-of-2019-polls-tribal-leaders-oppose-move-4639461.html, archived at https://perma.cc/PXY9-

LSJ5. 

73 Utpal Parashar, BJP Government in Arunachal Pradesh Plans to Repeal Anti-conversion Law, HINDUSTAN TIMES

(June 30, 2018), https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/bjp-government-in-arunachal-pradesh-plans-to-repealanti-conversion-law/story-aLzsWx8ZNyTnxTHxgqFIZK.html, archived at https://perma.cc/E68H-MAUQ 

74 Prasanta Mazumdar, Christians Elated as Arunachal Mulls Scrapping Anti-conversion Law, THE NEW INDIAN

EXPRESS (June 30, 2018), http://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2018/jun/30/christians-elated-as-arunachalmulls-scrapping-anti-conversion-law-1836173.html, archived at https://perma.cc/5SCD-TN8K. 

75 Id. 
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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, 1968.76 The subsidiary rules for implementation of the Act were also retained.77 

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

of a number of anti-conversion laws between 2000 and 2010.78 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’.”79 The measure would also increase 

the punishment and fines for forced conversion,80 require prior permission from a district 

magistrate before a conversion takes place, stipulate that notice must be given to the 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.”81 This order would only be 

appealable to a district judge “whose decision shall be final.”82 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.83 

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.84

 

76 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. 

77 South Asia Human Rights Documentation Centre, supra note 23, at 63. 

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

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

80 Id. § 3. 

81 Id. § 4. 

82 Id. 

83 Id. 

84 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. 
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E. Gujarat 

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

Act, 2003.85 The purpose of the Act is to prohibit conversions from one religion to another by the 

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.”86 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.”87 Any person who contravenes section 3 is punishable by 

imprisonment for up to three years and is also liable to a fine of up to 50,000 rupees.88 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 . . . [a] fine which may extend to 

[100,000 rupees].”89

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 Magistrate 

with respect to the conversion.90 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.”91 

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.92

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.93 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-

 

85 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. 

86 Id. § 3. 

87 Id. § 2(b). 

88 Id. § 4. 

89 Id. 

90 Id. § 5. 

91 Id. § 5(2). 

92 Id. § 5(3). 

93 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. 
State Anti-conversion Laws in India 

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denomination conversion of the same religion.”94 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.95

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

of the Hindu religion when the bill was introduced in 2006.96 The state government withdrew the 

bill after the governor returned it for reconsideration.97 According to the South Asia Human Rights 

Documentation Centre, 

[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.98 

F. Himachal Pradesh

The Himachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, 200699 is “modelled on existing anti-conversion 

laws in other Indian states” and came into effect on February 18, 2007.100 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.”101

 

94 Id. Statement of Objects & Reasons. 

95 Id. § 2. 

96 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. 

97 Id. 

98 South Asia Human Rights Documentation Centre, supra note 23, at 64. 

99 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. 

100 South Asia Human Rights Documentation Centre, supra note 23, at 64. 

101 Id. 
State Anti-conversion Laws in India 

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

fraudulent means.”102 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.’ ”103 The Himachal Pradesh Act also uses the term 

“inducement” instead of “allurement.”104

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.”105 Notice of a conversion must be made to the District 

Magistrate who can order an enquiry;106 failure to do so is subject to punishment.107 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 rupees, or both.108 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.109

In a landmark 2007 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, which implement 

the Act.110 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.”111 The Court, after examining the anticonversion 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,”112 according to a news report.113 

102 Himachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Bill § 2. 

103 Suleman, supra note 76, at 120; see also Himachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Bill § 3. 

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

105 Id. § 4(1). 

106 Id. 

107 Id. § 4(2). 

108 Id. § 5. 

109 Id. § 5. 

110 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. 

111 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. 

112 Id. 

113 Id. 
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G. Rajasthan 

Rajasthan State’s Parliament also passed an anti-conversion bill in 2006,114 but it was never given 

assent by the state’s governor.115 According to one report, the governor “did not sign the bill 

because of complaints by religious minorities.”116 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.”117 Punishment for conversion is two years’ imprisonment, which 

may extend to five years, and fines of up to fifty thousand rupees.118 The offense is “cognizable 

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

Superintendent of Police.”119

H. Tamil Nadu 

The Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Forcible Conversion of Religion Ordinance 2002120 was issued, 

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

Act 2002121 in the same year. The Act, now repealed, was passed under the initiative of the rightwing government led by 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.”122 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” was required to send notice to the District Magistrate within the 

prescribed period.123 The Act imposed a fine of up to 50,000 rupees and three years of 

imprisonment on anyone found guilty of coercing religious conversions.124 If the conversions 

 

114 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. 

115 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. 

116 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. 

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

118 Id. § 4. 

119 Id. § 5. 

120 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. 

121 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. 

122 Id. § 3. 

123 Id. § 5(1). 

124 Id. § 4. 
State Anti-conversion Laws in India 

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

imprisonment were imposed.125 

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

magistrate in protest of the new anti-conversion laws.126 On May 21, 2004, due to electoral 

implications and representation from minorities against the anti-conversion provisions,127 the 

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

state government.128 

I. Jharkhand 

Jharkhand, a northern Indian state, enacted an anti-conversion law on August 12, 2017. The BJP, 

the governing party in Jharkhand, held a state-level executive meeting on May 1, 2017, where they 

“adopted a resolution proposing a law to end religious conversion activities in the state.”129 According 

to news reports, J.B. Dubit, the state’s BJP spokesperson, said that “[t]he resolution asks the state 

government to formulate a law that will make all conversions done through allurement or force illegal 

and punishable.”130 The BJP and other Hindu nationalist groups in the state “maintain that Christian 

missionaries’ service in the fields of education and health are a cover to attract poor tribal and Dalit 

people in the villages.”131 The state government is reported to have studied the draft bills of other 

states such as Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and other states before making a final decision.132 

The Jharkhand Vidhan Sabha (Legislative Assembly) passed the Jharkhand Dharm Swatantra Bill, 

2017 (also known as the Jharkhand Freedom of Religion Bill, 2017) on August 12, 2017.133 News 

reports indicate that on September 5, 2017, Jharkhand Governor Draupadi Murmu gave her assent 

 

125 Id. 

126 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. 

127 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. 

128 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; 

129 Saji Thomas, India: Hindu Party Pushes Anti-Conversion Law in Jharkhand, EURASIA REVIEW (May 5, 2017), 

https://www.eurasiareview.com/05052017-india-hindu-party-pushes-anti-conversion-law-in-jharkhand/, archived at

https://perma.cc/YYK8-7Z8L. 

130 Id. 

131 Id. 

132 Jharkhand Likely to Move Anti-conversion Bill in Monsoon Session, FIRSTPOST (July 10, 2017), 

https://www.firstpost.com/india/jharkhand-likely-to-move-anti-conversion-bill-in-monsoon-session-3796191.html, 

archived at https://perma.cc/T4K4-DE3W. 

133 Prashant Pandey, Jharkhand Passes Anti-conversion Bill, Govt Rejects Demand for More Scrutiny, INDIAN 

EXPRESS (Aug. 13, 2017), http://indianexpress.com/article/india/jharkhand-passes-anti-conversion-bill-govt-rejectsdemand-for-more-scrutiny-4794360, archived at https://perma.cc/A4UC-PG2M. 
State Anti-conversion Laws in India 

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to the Bill, although the Act itself states that the governor approved the Bill on September 

6, 2017.134 

According to section 4, the contravention of section 3 (“Prohibition of forcible conversion”) is a 

cognizable and nonbailable offense punishable with imprisonment for up to three years, a fine of 

up to 50,000 rupees, or both.135 In the case of the conversion of a minor, woman, or SC/ST, the 

term of imprisonment may extend to four years and the fine may be increased to 100,000 rupees. 

Section 5 requires that a person wanting to convert must seek prior permission from the District 

Magistrate with respect to the conversion. The Act also requires that the person who is converted 

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.”136 

Section 1(3) of the Act stipulates that “[i]t shall come into force from the date of its issuance,” 

which is September 11, 2017. However, though the law appears to be in force, certain sections of 

the law—namely, sections 5(1) and 5(2) (“Prior permission for conversion”)—require certain 

prescribed rules to be issued in order for the provisions to be implemented. Section 8 of the Act 

authorizes the state government to make rules for the purpose of carrying out the Act. No 

information was located, official or otherwise, indicating whether such rules have been issued. On 

February 21, 2018, a news report with the title “Conversion Rules” indicated that the district 

administration has published a form that a “religious head needs to fill up if he or she intends to 

convert someone and asked religious bodies under its domain to furnish details of their conversionrelated activities in a week, signaling possibly the first formal rollout of [the] Jharkhand Freedom 

of Religion Act-2017.”137

J. Uttarakhand

On November 20, 2017, the High Court of Uttarakhand issued a decision in the context of a habeas 

corpus petition suggesting that the state government pass an anti-conversion law. The petition 

sought the production of one Ms. Sharma, who had allegedly married a Husain Ansari (alias Atul 

Sharma). Mr. Sharma’s conversion to Hinduism as well as his marriage to Ms. Sharma were 

contested in the case.138 The Court noted that this case was not the first it had considered involving 

134 Prashant Pandey, Jharkhand Guv Approves Freedom of Religion Bill, Land Act; BJP Welcomes Move, INDIAN 

EXPRESS (Sept. 6, 2017), http://indianexpress.com/article/india/jharkhand-guv-approves-freedom-of-religion-billland-act-bjp-welcomes-move, archived at https://perma.cc/TJN5-R3NL; Jharkhand Dharm Swatantra Act, No. 17 of 

2017, JHARKHAND EXTRAORDINARY GAZETTE No. 657, Sept. 11, 2017, http://jhr2.nic.in/egazette/Notification.aspx

(locate Act through search or browse), archived at https://perma.cc/2EYL-9PKX. 

135 Id. § 5. 

136 Id. § 5(2). 

137 Conversion Rules, TELEGRAPH INDIA (Feb 21, 2018), https://www.telegraphindia.com/states/jharkhand/ 

conversion-rules-210193, archived at https://perma.cc/64RV-EV2Z. 

138 Apoorva Mandhani, Uttarakhand HC Suggests Enactment of Freedom of Religion Act to Curb “Sham 

Conversions” for Marriage [Read Order], LIVELAW.IN (Nov. 20, 2017), http://www.livelaw.in/uttarakhand-hcsuggests-enactment-freedom-religion-act-curb-sham-conversions-marriage-read-order/, archived at 

https://perma.cc/JN7J-MXD5. 
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inter-religious marriages, and that in some of these cases conversion was a “sham” undertaken to 

“facilitate the process of marriage”: 

In order to curb this tendency, the State Govt. is expected to legislate the Freedom of 

Religion Act on the analogy of Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, 1968 as well as 

Himachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, 2006, without hurting the religious sentiments 

of citizens. 

The Court, while making this suggestion, is well aware that it is not the role of the Court 

to give suggestions to the State Government to legislate but due to [the] fast changing social 

milieu, this suggestion is being made.139

On December 17, 2017, the governing BJP concluded a meeting of the party in which the Chief 

Minister of the state declared that the government was planning to send an anti-conversion bill to 

the State Assembly.140 Four months after the order of the High Court, the state government 

submitted the bill in the State Assembly on March 21, 2018.141 The bill was passed by the 

Assembly and signed by the Governor on April 18, 2018.142 

Section 3 of the new law provides that forced conversion is punishable with imprisonment of 

between one to five years and a fine (which is not specified in the Act).143 If the conversion 

involves a woman, minor, or member of the SC/ST, the term of imprisonment is two to seven years 

and a fine.144 Section 3 stipulates an exemption for any person who “comes back to this ancestral 

religion,” which is not deemed conversion under the Act.145

Section 8 stipulates that a person who desires to convert his/her religion is required to give a 

declaration at least one month in advance to the District Magistrate or the Executive Magistrate 

“that he wishes to convert his religion on his own and at his free consent and without any force, 

coercion, undue influence or allurement.”146 The religious priest who performs the conversion 

ceremony is also required to give one month’s advance notice of such conversion to the District 

139 Girish Kumar Sharma v. State of Uttarakhand & others, Habeas Corpus Petition No. 20 of 2017 (Nov. 14, 2017), 

http://lobis.nic.in/ddir/uhc/RS/orders/15-11-2017/RS14112017HABC202017.pdf, archived at https://perma.cc/ 

Y7YP-SMHQ; HABC No. 20 of 2017, http://lobis.nic.in/ddir/uhc/RS/judgement/21-11-2017/RS20112017 

HABC202017.pdf, archived at https://perma.cc/R4NE-KLFA. 

140 Government to Bring Anti-conversion Bill: CM, THE TIMES OF INDIA (Dec. 18, 2017), https://timesofindia.india 

times.com/city/dehradun/govt-to-bring-anti-conversion-bill-cm/articleshow/62109095.cms, archived at

https://perma.cc/87TQ-JQ3U. 

141 Deep Joshi, Conversion Bill Tabled in Uttarakhand, Moots up to 2-year Jail to Offenders, HINDUSTAN TIMES

(Mar. 21, 2018), https://www.hindustantimes.com/dehradun/conversion-bill-tabled-in-uttarakhand-moots-up-to-2-

year-jail-to-offenders/story-WTLZs61cL2MNOVt6YPjDVN.html, archived at https://perma.cc/7J8S-ZX8F. 

142‘Anti-Conversion’ Bill Becomes Law in Uttarakhand, CHRISTIAN TODAY (May 6, 2018), http://www.christian 

today.co.in/article/anti.conversion.bill.becomes.law.in.uttarakhand/18557.htm. 

143 Uttarakhand Freedom of Religion Act, 2018, § 5. 

144 Id. 

145 Id. § 3. 

146 Id. § 8(1). 
State Anti-conversion Laws in India 

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Magistrate or any other officer appointed for that purpose by the District Magistrate of the district 

where such ceremony is proposed to be performed.147 The District Magistrate, after receiving the 

information “shall get an enquiry conducted through police, with regard to real intention, purpose 

and cause of that proposed religion conversion.”148 Contravention of the declaration/notice 

requirements “have the effect of rendering the said conversion, illegal and void”149 and are subject 

to stipulated punishments.150

One important difference between the Uttarakhand measure and that of other states is that it 

contains a provision on marriage and religious conversion that stipulates as follows: 

Any marriage which was done for the sole purpose of conversion by the man of one religion 

with the woman of another religion either by converting himself before or after marriage 

or by converting the woman before or after marriage may be declared null and void by the 

Family Court or where [a] Family Court is not established, the Court having jurisdiction to 

try such case on a petition presented by either party thereto against the other party of 

the marriage.151

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.152 

The Supreme Court in Rev Stainislaus v. State of Madhya Pradesh153 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 

 

147 Id. § 8(2). 

148 Id. § 8(3). 

149 Id. § 8(4). 

150 Id. § 8(5)–(6). 

151 Id. § 6. 

152 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. 

153 Rev. Stainislaus v. State of Madhya Pradesh, (1977) 1 SCC 677 (Online). 
State Anti-conversion Laws in India 

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such efforts impinge on ‘freedom of conscience’ and ‘public order’.”154 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 therefore be no such thing as a fundamental 

right to convert any person to one’s own religion.155

Because 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.”156 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 

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

residuary jurisdiction of the central legislature.157

This decision has come under some academic criticism for not recognizing “propagation” as 

including freedom to convert and failing to “discuss the definitions of inducement and allurement, 

which was the primary bone of contention” with these laws. According to Professor Mustafa and 

Professor Sohi,the Supreme Court 

also did not revert to the legislative history of Article 25—the term propagate was included 

in the Constitution as a compromise to assure Christians that it would include freedom to 

convert. Moreover, if one takes the reductionist understanding of propagation—given the 

court in this case—the inclusion of such a term in the Indian Constitution would be 

rendered meaningless. The mere right to propagate for the enlightenment of others would 

already be covered under the right to free speech and expression under Article 19(1)(a) of 

 

154 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. 

155 Rev. Stainislaus v. State of Madhya Pradesh, ¶ 21. 

156 Id. ¶ 24. 

157 Id. ¶ 25. 
State Anti-conversion Laws in India 

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the Indian Constitution. Thus, we submit that the right to convert was actually included in 

Article 25, and, as such, the decision of the Supreme Court in Stainislaus not only was 

erroneous but also led to instability in society, as Indian Christians feel they have been 

cheated in this matter. The assurances given to them in the Constituent Assembly on the 

inclusion of the word propagate have not been fulfilled, and the government has done 

nothing to remedy the situation arising out of the highly restrictive interpretation of the 

term propagation by the Supreme Court.158

V. Implementation and Enforcement

A. Human Rights Concerns

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

rights implications of, and lack of equitable treatment under, these state anti-conversion 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.”159

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.”160 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.”161 In addition, 

“these laws have resulted in inequitable practices against minorities.”162 

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 predatory efforts seeking religious 

158 Faizan Mustafa & Jagteshwar Singh Sohi, Freedom of Religion in India: Current Issues and Supreme Court 

Acting as Clergy, 2017(4) BYU L. REV. 915, 942-3 (2018), 

https://digitalcommons.law.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3113&context=lawreview, archived at 

https://perma.cc/V7KT-H8VW. 

159 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. 

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

161 Id. at 3. 

162 Id. at 2. 
State Anti-conversion Laws in India 

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conversion in exchange for or with the allurement of medical and humanitarian aid, 

education, or employment.163

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

plural India.”164

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.”165 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.”166

B. Arrests and Convictions 

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.”167

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.168 

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.”169 

More recent reports by USCIRF have highlighted certain incidents of arrests: 

 

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

164 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. 

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

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

167 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. 

168 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. 

169 USCIRF ANNUAL REPORT 2016, Tier 2 Countries – India, supra note 10. 
State Anti-conversion Laws in India 

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In 2017, religious minority leaders and adherents faced intimidation and arrest as a result 

of these laws. For example, a Catholic nun, along with four tribal women, were detained 

in June 2017 based on suspicion of induced conversion.170 

In April 2017, three Christians were arrested in the Khandwa district based on allegations 

that they were converting people.171 

In July 2017, Christians protested in Ludhiana, Punjab, after Sultan Masih, the pastor of 

the Temple of God Church, was murdered in public based on suspicions of his engaging in 

the conversion of others.172

Moreover the US State Department has also highlighted an incident in its most recent international 

religious freedom report: 

Media reported police arrested seven Christian pastors – Stanley Jacob, Vijay Kumar, 

Sumit Varghese, David from New Delhi, Amit from Mathura, Anita from Hathras, and 

Dinesh from Rajasthan – on December 4 while they were holding a prayer meeting in a 

private home. The following day a court sentenced them to 14 days in judicial custody for 

carrying out a forcible conversion campaign.173

Other recent incidents of arrests from news reports are outlined below: 

 In early December 2017, in Mathura district in the North Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, police 

arrested seven Christian preachers “for allegedly carrying out a “forcible conversion 

campaign” in a village.174

 In mid-December 2017, Indian police in the state of Madhya Pradesh arrested a Christian priest 

and questioned members of a seminary after a hardline Hindu group linked to the ruling BJP 

government “accused them of trying to convert villagers to Christianity by distributing Bibles 

and singing carols.”175

 

170 USCIRF ANNUAL REPORT 2018, Tier 2: India, at 165 (Apr. 2018), http://www.uscirf.gov/sites/default/ 

files/2018USCIRFAR.pdf, archived at https://perma.cc/MQ2W-FBDD. 

171 Id. 

172 Id.

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

RELIGIOUS FREEDOM 2017: INDIA (May 29, 2018), https://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/2017/sca/281022.htm, archived 

at https://perma.cc/S747-CNZG. 

174 Anuja Jaiswal, 7 Christian Preachers Jailed for ‘Forcible’ Conversion Bid in UP, THE TIMES OF INDIA (Dec. 6, 

2017), https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/agra/7-christian-preachers-jailed-for-forcible-conversion-bid-inup/articleshow/61940544.cms?utm_source=toiandroidapp&utm_medium=others&utm_campaign=show, archived at 

https://perma.cc/3FE7-Y7BU. 

175 Indian Police Arrest Christian Priest after Complaint by Hindu Group, REUTERS (Dec. 16, 2017), 

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-religion/indian-police-arrest-christian-priest-after-complaint-by-hindugroup-idUSKBN1EA06V, archived at https://perma.cc/22F5-X66E; Indian Carol Singers Arrested after 

‘Conversion’ Complaint, BBC NEWS (Dec. 15, 2017), https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-42363561, 

archived at https://perma.cc/LLB3-M9C4; Losing Confidence in Government, Country Is Being Divided in Name of 

Religion: Top Catholic Body, THE WIRE (Dec. 22, 2017), https://thewire.in/government/losing-confidencegovernment-country-divided-name-religion-top-catholic-body, archived at https://perma.cc/C7QE-3P7J. 
State Anti-conversion Laws in India 

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 The Jharkhand Police have arrested sixteen preachers, including seven women, for allegedly

trying to convert local residents to Christianity and making objectionable comments against

tribal places of worship in Dumka. All sixteen were booked under the Freedom of

Religion Act.176

176 Jharkhand: Under Act, 16 Preachers Held for ‘Conversion Bid’, THE INDIAN EXPRESS (July 9, 2018), 

https://indianexpress.com/article/india/jharkhand-under-act-16-preachers-held-for-conversion-bid-5251495/, 

archived at https://perma.cc/3VWT-FYCJ. 
The Law Library of Congress 

Table: Elements of State Anti-conversion Law

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 ** An amendment was passed which would redefine “conversion” to provide that “the return in ancestor’s original religion or his own o

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 per

State In Force? (Y/N) Rules? (Y/N) Repealed? (Y/N) 

Reconversion 

Excluded? 

(Y/N) 

Prior 

Permission? 

(Y/N) 

Notice by 

Priest/Other Perso

Performing 

Conversion? 

(Y/N) 

Arunachal Pradesh Y N N Y* N Y Chhattisgarh Y Y N N** N Y Gujarat Y Y N N Y N Himachal Pradesh Y Y N N*** N N Madhya Pradesh Y Y N N N Y Odisha Y Y N N N Y Rajasthan N N N Y N N Tamil Nadu N N Y N N Y Jharkhand Y N N N Y N Uttarkhand Y N N Y N Y 
The Law Library of Congress 

0123456

Chhattisgarh

Madhya Pradesh

Odisha

Arunachal Pradesh

Himachal Pradesh

Rajasthan

Gujarat

Tamil Nadu

Jharkhand

Uttarakhand

Chart 1: General and Enhanced Prison Terms for Anti-Conversion Violatio

General Prison Terms in YearsEnhanced Prison Terms in Years (applicable where convert is a woman, minor, or member of a scheduled caste (S

tribe (ST)) 

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















 
















State Anti-conversion Laws in India 

The Law Library of Congress 

₹ 0 ₹ 10,000 ₹ 20,000 ₹ 30,000 ₹ 40,000 ₹ 50,000 ₹ 60,000 ₹ 70,000 ₹ 80,000 ₹ 90,000 

Gujarat

Rajasthan

Tamil Nadu

Himachal Pradesh

Arunachal Pradesh

Chhattisgarh

Madhya Pradesh

Odisha

Jharkhand

Uttarakhand

Chart 2: General and Enhanced Fines for Anti-Conversion Violations

General Fines in Indian Rupees (₹)Enhanced Fines in Indian Rupees (₹) (applicable where convert is a woman, minor, or member of a scheduled caste 

* 





















*For this jurisdiction, in both the general and enhanced fines, the violator will be fined for an amount not specified in the c Source: Created by the Law Library of Congress based on information contained in this report.
State Anti-conversion Laws in India 

The Law Library of Congress 26 

Map 1: Status of State Anti-Conversion Laws in India 

 Law currently in force with implementing rules 

 Law currently in force, but no implementing rules 

 Law passed but did not receive assent 

 No current or prior law identified 

 Prior law repealed 

 Law currently in force, but unclear whether there are implementing rules 

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

Jammu and Kashmir

Himachal Pradesh 

Uttarakhand

Arunachal 

Andaman and Nicobar Tamil Nadu

Puducherry 

(Pondicherry) 

Telangana

Andhra Pradesh 

Kerala

Lackshadweep

Goa

Kamataka 

Maharashtra

Dadra and Nagar 

Daman and Diu

Gujarat 

Rajasthan 

Delhi 

Haryana 

Uttar Pradesh 

Jharkhan

Biha

Madhya 

d h Chhattisgarh 

Odisha 

West 

B l

Meghalaya 

Assam 

Sikki

Nagalan

Manipur 

Mizoram Tripura 
State Anti-conversion Laws in India 

The Law Library of Congress 27 

Map 2: State Law Treatment of Re-Conversions in India 

 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. 

Jammu and Kashmir

Himachal Pradesh 

Uttarakhand

Arunachal 

Andaman and Nicobar Tamil Nadu

Puducherry 

(Pondicherry) 

Telangana

Andhra Pradesh 

Kerala

Lackshadweep

Goa

Kamataka 

Maharashtra

Dadra and Nagar 

Daman and Diu

Gujarat 

Rajasthan 

Delhi 

Haryana 

Uttar Pradesh 

Jharkhan

Biha

Madhya 

d h Chhattisgarh 

Odisha 

West 

B l

Meghalaya 

Assam 

Sikki

Nagalan

Manipur 

Mizoram Tripura 
State Anti-conversion Laws in India 

The Law Library of Congress 28 

Jammu and Kashmir

Himachal Pradesh 

Uttarakhand

Arunachal 

Andaman and Nicobar Tamil Nadu

Puducherry 

(Pondicherry) 

Telangana

Andhra Pradesh 

Kerala

Lackshadweep

Goa

Kamataka 

Maharashtra

Dadra and Nagar 

Daman and Diu

Gujarat 

Rajasthan 

Delhi 

Haryana 

Uttar Pradesh 

Jharkhan

Biha

Madhya 

d h Chhattisgarh 

Odisha 

West 

B l

Meghalaya 

Assam 

Sikki

Nagalan

Manipur 

Mizoram Tripura 

Map 3: Conversion Permission and Notice Requirements 

 Prior permission and notice by convert 

 Notice by priest/other person 

 Notice by convert 

 No permission or notice required 

 Notice by priest/other person and notice by convert 

 No current or prior law identified 

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