India's anti-conversion laws: thirteen states, one logic.

Thirteen of India's 28 states now have a law that controls religious conversion. The official name almost always speaks of “freedom of religion”, and the stated goal is to prevent conversions made by force, by fraud or in exchange for benefits. The effect, according to human rights groups and India's own churches, is different: the law becomes a tool to accuse pastors, disrupt worship and pressure families who have decided to follow Christ.

Which states have a law, and since when

Tamil Nadu once had a similar law, from 2002, repealed in 2006 after protests by Christians and other minorities. Karnataka may be next: the government elected in 2023 promised to repeal its law and approved the repeal in cabinet, but as of September 2026 had not brought it to a vote.

What these laws ban

The wording varies from state to state, but the design repeats:

• Conversion by “force, fraud, allurement or marriage”. The heaviest word is “allurement”: in several laws it is broad enough to include a gift, a job, free schooling, health care and even the promise of a better life. A prayer for the sick or a food parcel can be read as a crime.
• Prior notice to the government. Anyone who wants to change religion must notify the district magistrate in advance — 30 days in Karnataka, 60 in Maharashtra — and in some states the request is made public, exposing the convert to family and neighbors before the decision is even final.
• Reversed burden of proof. In states such as Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, the accused must prove the conversion was free, rather than the prosecution proving coercion.
• Higher penalties for some groups. Punishment increases when the convert is a woman, a minor or belongs to the Scheduled Castes and Tribes — precisely the groups among whom Christianity has grown most.
• Non-bailable offence. Under several laws an accusation allows immediate arrest without bail, and it can be filed by any relative — or, in some states, by anyone.

What the laws do not ban

Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan state in the law itself that “returning to one's ancestral religion” does not count as conversion. In practice, reconversion ceremonies to Hinduism — known as Ghar Wapsi — fall outside the law, even when carried out under pressure, while the opposite decision requires prior notice and can lead to prosecution.

Why they hit Christians

Most accusations start with a complaint from a neighbor or an organized group during a service, a prayer meeting or a family celebration. In 2025, according to Citizens for Justice and Peace, 230 criminal complaints were filed against Christians, 155 of them under anti-conversion laws — and only 45 against the groups that attacked the gatherings. India now leads the world in arrests and detentions of Christians, according to the 2026 World Watch List.

The cases followed in this site's news show the pattern: a pastor arrested mid-service in Madhya Pradesh, seven Christians sentenced to five years over a birthday party, families expelled from a village in Chhattisgarh.

What is at stake now

Petitions challenging several of these laws are before India's Supreme Court, and Maharashtra's new law has already been challenged in the Bombay High Court. A ruling on the merits about privacy, prior notice and burden of proof would apply to the whole country. Until then, the trend is toward harsher laws, not milder ones: Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh tightened theirs, Rajasthan and Maharashtra joined the list, and other states are debating similar bills.