Archbishop of Goa and Daman and Patriarch of the East Indies Filipe Neri Ferrão warns minorities are coming under pressure in parts of India to convert to Hinduism.
He echoed concerns voiced by the National United Christian Forum (NUCF) this week regarding the persecution of Christians in India, The Times of India reports.
The NUCF has appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene, stating that progress cannot be made in the country without peace between the religious groups.
Ferrão cited several examples of religious persecution of Indian minorities that point to unrest among the population, including the decision of Bastar Catholic missionaries to put statues of the Hindu goddess Saraswati in their schools after intense pressure from a right-wing, Hindu nationalist non-governmental organization.
The Archbishop also listed the burning of a Delhi church early this month, the government's announcement of a "Good Governance Day" on December 25 allegedly to undermine Christmas, and the proposed anti-conversion bill as threats to the country's freedom of religion rights.
The bill would prohibit Indians from converting from the religion they were born into. Archbishop of Bengaluru Bernard Moras accused the Central government of desecrating the country's Constitution.
"All of us are against forceful conversion," he insisted. "But if persons, on their own will, wish to embrace any religion of their choice, how can we label it as fraudulent conversion?
"The central government clearly mentioned in the election manifesto that they would preserve the secular nature of our nation. Why are they making a U-turn now? The government wants to create communal tension and polarise the country."
According to The Times of India, only 2.33 per cent of India's population is Christian. The NUCF – which is comprised of the country's three leading churches: the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India , National Council of Churches in India, and Evangelical Fellowship of India – also voiced their opposition to involuntary conversion.
"We would like to reiterate that Churches forbid religious conversion by force or by fraudulent means and we fully support the government to take any appropriate action against anyone under the already stringent existing laws of the country," the forum said.
