Source: www.persecution.org
Date: August 20, 2024
India (International Christian Concern) — During the last four years, 1,682 people have been arrested, and 835 cases have been registered under the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act in the North Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Most of those arrested have been Christians, including pastors.
The Uttar Pradesh government, led by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), began a fierce crackdown from 2020 onwards after bringing into force the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act.
This anti-conversion law is the most stringent and draconian as compared to other unlawful conversion of religion acts prevalent in nine other states across India.
Uttar Pradesh is led by Yogi Adityanath, an ascetic hardliner who has cracked down on minority communities in various ways.
According to a report, charges have been filed in 818 of the 835 cases registered under the anti-conversion law so far. However, according to a prominent law firm operating in North India (name withheld for security reasons), no one has been convicted under the anti-conversion law because there has never been a shred of hard evidence against the religious conversions.
“If there had been even a single conviction under the anti-conversion law, the pro-government mainstream media would have tom-tommed about it all over the national media,” Sahu Johar said.
He added that most of the arrests have been made under false or frivolous charges.
Meanwhile, authorities have reportedly said that the investigating officers would initiate action based on the evidence against anyone who has offered allurement, inducement, or adopted illegal means to carry out religious conversions.
In July, Uttar Pradesh’s government passed an amendment to the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, making all crimes under this law punishable.
Of the most high-profile cases under the anti-conversion law in these four years is the arrest of eight people, including the vice-chancellor and two pro-vice-chancellors of the government-aided Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology and Science in Prayagraj.