India (MNN) — India’s northern state of Rajasthan delays a controversial vote until mid-to-late January.
Officials passed a draft anti-conversion bill earlier this month, and it needs one more set of votes to become law. If that happens, Rajasthan will be India’s 12th state using the legal system to prevent people from changing their faith.
Unknown Nations’ Greg Kelley says the push for religious suppression comes from the top.
“There’s no doubt that Prime Minister Modi [has] pursued a very aggressive Hindu nationalist agenda, really since he took power in 2014. His re-election in 2019 just further emboldened him,” Kelley says.
(Photo courtesy of Unknown Nations)
“Some of the people we know on the ground are saying that these anti-conversion laws are distractions [to hide] issues like child labor and domestic violence, child marriage, even illiteracy. There’s such a massive increase of robbery and murder and rapes,” he continues.
“So, it’s really viewed, in many ways, as a political posturing to create fear and distract the people from some of the main issues.”
Mob justice is a concerning reality in states with anti-conversion laws. Vigilantes hijacked believers’ Christmas outreach in one location, using the anti-conversion law as a cover. Unknown Nations partners were distributing Christ-centered gifts to schoolkids.
“These boxes were filled with little goodies and things for the children, and some Christian literature was in there. It was distributed with the blessing and permission of the school authorities,” Kelley explains.
“[A] mob had heard about it, a vigilante group of people, and they immediately went to the school and scared the children, took all these boxes, and that teacher got suspended. He’s being tried right now.”
Pray the fear generated by anti-conversion laws will not overcome believers.
“Imagine if you were just going around, especially in the season of Christmas, sharing the good news of Jesus Christ, and by doing that, you could be put in jail for five years,” Kelley says.
Partner with Unknown Nations here to help reach India for Christ.
“We need to recognize India for what it is,” Kelley says. “It is ground zero of the unreached world. By the year 2030, it will simultaneously be the most populated Hindu country and the most populated Muslim country [in the world.]”
Header image is a representative stock photo courtesy of Element5 Digital/Pexels.
