letter from South Asia
Global news headlines often focus on the physical violence facing our Christian brothers and sisters in India – the church burnings, rape of nuns, and mob attacks. However, a more silent, clinical threat is sweeping across the nation. In the “world’s largest democracy”, the law itself is being transformed into a weapon to stifle the good news of God’s Kingdom.
The most recent blow fell on 7 April 2026, when Governor Ramen Deka signed the Chhattisgarh Freedom of Religion Act into law. Despite desperate protests from the Christian community, this legislation has cast a shadow of suspicion over even the smallest gatherings. It signals a move from the state merely failing to protect believers to the state actively orchestrating their suppression. [Chhattisgarh is a landlocked state in central India with a population of roughly 30 million, the 17th most populous, according to Wikipedia.]
Under this new regime, the privacy of the soul is now a matter of public record. Anyone seeking to follow Christ must first notify a District Magistrate. This triggers a public inquiry, turning a personal decision of conscience into a state-monitored event.
The criminalisation of compassion
What is most alarming for those on the frontline is the surgical precision with which the law defines “allurement” and “inducement”. These terms now encompass:
- Providing free education or healthcare
- Promises of a better life
- Acts of Christian charity or prayer
In essence, the very compassion that defines the Judeo-Christian tradition – praying for the sick, as Jesus did – is now a potential crime. If a person finds healing and chooses to follow Christ after a prayer meeting, that meeting can be branded an illegal “conversion activity”. Shockingly, “mass conversion” has been redefined to include as few as two people, carrying penalties ranging from ten years to life imprisonment.
A silence enforced by the state
The architects of these laws, primarily in BJP-ruled states, claim they are preventing “forced” conversions. Yet the vague wording and reversed burden of proof betray a different intent. By making the distribution of Christian literature or the sharing of a personal testimony “undue influence”, the state is effectively dismantling the Great Commission.
We are seeing a reality where gifting a Bible is treated as evidence of a crime and home prayer meetings are monitored as potential “mass conversion” sites. This is not just a restriction of rights; it is a legal attempt to kill the freedom of conscience.
As we stand on this frontline, we ask the global church to see past the noise of the streets. The most lethal threat today is not the mob; it is the silent, legal muscle of the state. Even as the law seeks to silence millions, we remain committed to the truth that God’s Kingdom cannot be bound – though the cost of sharing it has never been higher.
