As Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits the US, concerns have been raised about anti-Christian hate crimes in the world's most populous democracy.
International Christian Concern (ICC) have raised concerns about Modi and his political party, the BJP. They cited a report by the Center for the Study of Organized Hate which found that hate speech incidents in India rose 74 per cent last year, compared with the previous year.
The report indicated that Christians were disproportionately targeted in such incidents, making up around 10 per cent of the victims, despite being only 2.3 per cent of the population in India. The majority of non-Christian victims were Muslims.
Eighty per cent of the recorded incidents happened in states controlled by Modi's BJP party, which the ICC said "highlights the party's role in exposing religious minorities legally and even inciting violence against peaceful Christian and Muslim communities".
The ICC also took aim at anti-conversion laws which can be found in 12 of India's 28 states, again mostly thanks to the BJP. These laws are so broadly defined that they can potentially be used to criminalise any religious activity not approved of by the state.
In Uttar Pradesh the law states, "conversion from one religion to another by misrepresentation, force, undue influence, coercion, allurement or by any fraudulent means." Telling a person that they will be saved if they believe in Jesus could easily run afoul of such a law.
The ICC also noted that such laws can also act as cover for vigilantes. Clergy on the ground have spoken of churches or worship services being attacked by Hindu mobs, on the grounds that singing hymns might entice someone to convert.
Luke Wilson, a researcher for the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), said of the laws, "India's enforcement of state-level anti-conversion laws suggests the legislations' intent is to prevent conversions to disfavoured religions — such as Christianity and Islam — and not to protect against coerced conversions."
