The Legislative Assembly of Karnataka state in India has passed the contentious anti-conversion bill. It was proposed earlier this week. The bill would become one of the strictest anti-conversion laws in India if it is enacted.
According to the provisions of this bill, the state government would regulate all religious conversions and criminalize what it would term forced religious conversions. The law will now be sent to the council for final approval and enactment.
“The bill that Karnataka tabled today is one of the harshest among similar laws,” Dr. John Dayal, a prominent Christian activist in India, told International Christian Concern (ICC) earlier this week. “The major concern is the bill’s provision to jail those who indulge in mass conversions for a term from three to ten years.”
“The law is nothing but a weapon in the hands of hate mobs,” a local pastor from Karnataka, who wished to remain anonymous, “This is a legal cover for those who harass and intimidate Christians.”