Release International

Himachal Pradesh has become the seventh state of India to give the green light to 'anticonversion' laws -- much to the dismay of its Christian community.

State governor Vishnu Sadashiv Kokje has just signed off the Himachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Bill 2006, making 'unregistered' or 'unethical' conversions illegal.

Christians claim the bill is a complete misnomer as Hindu extremists have used such laws in other states to stamp out a wide range of Christian activities, including aid work. The bill was passed in the state assembly last December. Soon afterwards, Hindu extremists demanded that a pastor in Kangra district close down his orphanage. They then pressured two residents of a drug rehabilitation centre in Khokhan village to make false complaints about a pastor and three Christian workers, according to Compass Direct.

While laws in other states has been linked to the political agenda of Hindu nationalists in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Himachal Pradesh is led by the ruling Congress Party, which claims to be 'secular' and so unbiased towards any particular faith group.

The other six states with anti-conversion laws are Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Arunachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat. Arunachal Pradesh and Gujarat, which approved laws in 1978 and 2003 respectively, have yet to implement the legislation.

• Pray that anti-conversion laws in Himachal Pradesh will not be implemented.
• Pray that the ruling Congress Party would stand firm against the Hindu extremists' agenda and uphold freedom of religion for all.

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