Authorities in Uttar Pradesh instructed state universities to set up internal oversight committees to monitor campus life for alleged attempts at religious conversion to Christianity promoted by students or mission groups.
According to International Christian Concern (ICC), authorities in the state of Uttar Pradesh instructed state universities to set up internal oversight committees — described as "Conversion Prevention Cells" — to monitor campus life for alleged attempts at religious conversion to Christianity promoted by students or mission groups.
Uttar Pradesh is India's most populous state and one of those that make up the so-called "Hindu Belt" — the central and northern region of the country with the lowest historical Christian presence and, typically, the most restrictive legislation on religious conversion (see the full picture in India in Data and Maps). Creating these committees on university campuses extends that kind of surveillance to a new setting: the academic space.
In practice, measures like this tend to create a climate of self-censorship: Christian students may hesitate to express their faith openly, and classmates curious about Christianity may avoid any contact for fear of being formally investigated. The intended effect doesn't always need an actual punishment to work — the mere existence of surveillance already discourages.
Pray for Christian students and faculty at universities in Uttar Pradesh, that they won't be intimidated into hiding their faith, for wisdom for those already there to serve with discernment, and that this kind of surveillance won't spread to other states.
Religious FreedomA government order in Chhattisgarh made the daily recitation of Hindu mantras and prayers mandatory in public schools, worrying Christian parents.
Religious FreedomIndia's Parliament is debating changes to the FCRA that would expand the government's power to seize or freeze the assets of NGOs, community hospitals, and Christian ministries.
