Key FactsPublished: September 29, 2025 Location: Jaipur, Rajasthan, India Source: Original reporting from Worthy News with additional material from International Christian Concern, Morning Star NewsRajasthan passed sweeping anti-conversion legislation with prison terms up to life sentences.Civil society groups report at least nine attacks on Christians since September 9.Bajrang Dal extremists targeted Hindustan Bible Institute, with police detaining victims rather than perpetrators.Critics warn the law emboldens vigilantes and violates India’s constitutional protections of religious freedom.
by Worthy News Washington D.C. Bureau Staff
(Worthy News) – Civil society groups in Rajasthan are raising alarm over a sharp rise in attacks on Christians just weeks after the state assembly passed one of India’s harshest anti-conversion bills.
The Rajasthan Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Bill, 2025, approved on September 9, has not yet received gubernatorial assent, but civil society organizations have already documented at least nine incidents of harassment and assault this month. The pattern, they say, shows how vigilante groups have been emboldened to target Christians under the pretext of preventing forced conversions.
On September 23, about 50 members of the Hindu nationalist Bajrang Dal surrounded the Hindustan Bible Institute (HBI) in Jaipur’s Pratap Nagar area. Police detained two visiting staff members, who seized their phones, laptops, and institute property despite the Bible college’s long-standing legal registration. Days earlier, Pastor Daniel was assaulted while leading worship in a private home nearby. In both cases, police action against the perpetrators was minimal, fueling accusations of bias.
A coalition of 12 civil society organizations — including the People’s Union for Civil Liberties, Jaipur Christian Fellowship, and several interfaith groups — condemned the violence and met with senior police officials to demand arrests of Bajrang Dal members. “Such communal incidents and attacks on minorities need to stop now,” the coalition declared.
Christian leaders warn that the new law has already chilled worship and ministry across Rajasthan. The Rev. Rajnish Jacob of the Assemblies of God said over 40 of their churches have closed, with pastors facing police pursuit even before the law officially takes effect. Critics argue the bill criminalizes religious freedom, imposes severe prison terms of up to life imprisonment, and exempts reconversion to Hinduism, creating a two-tiered system that violates India’s constitutional guarantee of equality.
Civil rights advocates note that Rajasthan now joins 11 other Indian states with similar laws. They fear a nationwide pattern is emerging under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, which promotes Hindu nationalism. With Christians making up just 0.14 percent of Rajasthan’s 68 million people, community members say they feel increasingly exposed and defenseless.
“Even Christian charity is being viewed as a conversion attempt,” said A.C. Michael of the United Christian Forum. “This bill represents a shift from protecting religious freedom to criminalizing it.”
Christianity in India
According to mission research groups, such as Joshua Project, India is home to an estimated 1,862 unreached people groups, with some sources suggesting the number exceeds 2,400, depending on the classification. These groups represent a staggering 1.3 billion people who live in communities where there is little or no Christian presence. This reality underscores how vast segments of India’s population remain untouched by the gospel, despite centuries of Christian witness in the subcontinent.
Over the past three decades, however, many mission organizations and church leaders have observed growth in real numbers, particularly in India’s interior, rural, and tribal regions. Evangelistic outreach, grassroots church-planting efforts, and movements among marginalized communities have led to the establishment of new congregations in areas once considered inaccessible. Among Dalits, tribal groups, and other socially disadvantaged people, the Christian message has often been embraced as a source of spiritual hope.
At the same time, this growth has been tempered by rising persecution, restrictive legislation, and mounting hostility from Hindu nationalist groups. These pressures have forced many churches into the shadows, making accurate reporting of conversions difficult. The result is a paradox: the Indian church is expanding in many hidden corners of the nation, yet its growth remains fragile and uneven, vulnerable to the very forces that are attempting to silence it.
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